Sony to accelerate its target year for carbon neutrality from 2050 to 2040

19 / 05 / 2022

• CSR
• news

Sony Group Corporation is accelerating its goal of achieving carbon neutrality throughout the entire value chain, including scopes 1 to 3, by ten years from 2050 to 2040, and its target for achieving 100% renewable energy in its own operations also by ten years, from 2040 to 2030.

Sony is making various efforts regarding the environment from the two perspectives of “Responsibility” and “Contribution.” Sony has pursued environmental initiatives in accordance with its environmental principles since the early 1990s, and in 2010, the company announced the “Road to Zero,” a long-term global environmental planthat aims to realize a sustainable society by achieving a zero environmental footprint throughout the life cycle of Sony’s products and business activities by the year 2050.

The “Road to Zero” plan symbolizes Sony’s responsibility for the global environment, and accordingly Sony has set goals for each of the four perspectives of climate change, resources, chemical substances, and biodiversity in drawing a comprehensive roadmap to achieve the goals of the plan.

As climate change risks become more apparent and serious worldwide, and the transition to a decarbonized society has become an urgent issue, Sony made the decision to accelerate its environmental impact reduction activities in the climate change area and to bring forward the target year of achieving a zero environmental footprint in this area by ten years.

Accordingly, the renewable electricity rate to be achieved as of 2025, which is one of the priority items of Sony’s “Green Management 2025 (GM2025)” medium-term environmental targets enacted to achieve “Road to Zero”, is being raised from the existing target of 15% to the new target of 35%.

At the same time, Sony’s renewable energy procurement policy has been revised to include additional items for environmental consideration when installing and operating power generation equipment.

The Sony Group will implement several measures in order to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2030, and carbon neutrality from scopes 1 to 3 by 2040.

These measures include continuous reduction of environmental impact at own sites. This means that the company will accelerate energy saving, installation of solar power generation equipment, and introduction of renewable energy throughout the Sony Group.

The company will also work on further promotion of energy efficient products.

Therefore, it will accelerate initiatives to reduce annual power consumption per Sony product.

The company will also Strengthen efforts with its business partners, such as those engaged in parts, materials and finished product manufacturing, to manage their GHG emissions, save energy, and convert to renewable energy to reduce the amount of GHG emissions throughout the entire supply chain.

The company will also contribute to carbon fixation through both technological removal and absorption by ecosystems.

Specifically, technological removal through measures such as exploration of investments in startups engaged in carbon removal and other related areas through the Sony Innovation Fund: Environment (“SIF: E”), a corporate venture capital fund established in September 2020 as an initiative to foster environmental technology, and absorption by ecosystems, for example exploring credit generation from carbon absorption associated with augmented ecosystem businesses such as Synecoculture being rolled out by SynecO, Inc., which was established as the first project of SIF: E in April 2021.

While the acceleration of the carbon neutral and 100% renewable energy achievement targets announced this time are part of Sony’s responsibility as a company, Sony is also actively working to contribute to the global environment through its own technologies and businesses, as well as through co-creation with partners. Going forward, Sony will continue to promote activities for the realization of a sustainable and better society and the global environment.