Tokyo-Japan Sony Corporation announced today at San Francisco that they are joining the RE100 initiative operated by the international non-government organization (NGO) The Climate Group in partnership with CDP. The initiative is driven towards a 100% use of renewable energy and Sony, as a part of this initiative, will do so for all its business sites till the year 2040.
RE100 comprises of 140 companies worldwide, as counted till 10th September 2018, including tech giants like Facebook, Google, Goldman Sachs, and Microsoft. CDP is an international NGO which drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Backed by investors worth $87 trillion, the organization runs the global environmental disclosure system used by thousands of companies and hundreds of cities, providing data analysis and expert insights.
According to Sony’s official website, in order to accelerate the use of renewable energy, Sony will promote the following initiatives moving forward:
1. In addition to its European sites, which have already achieved 100% renewable electricity, expand the use of renewable energy in North America and China.
2. Promote the installation of solar panels at manufacturing sites in Thailand, Japan, and elsewhere.
3. Within Japan, which contains many of Sony’s semiconductor manufacturing sites and has the largest energy consumption within the Sony Group, establishes an intracompany electricity transfer plan generated at Sony sites. Consider supplying Sony sites through electrical grids owned by power companies with energy created by in-house generation facilities that use renewable energy such as solar panels.
4. Within Japan, work together with other RE100 member companies to strengthen outreach to the renewable energy market to ensure a sufficient and stable supply of economic renewable energy.
Sony has adopted the target of using renewable energy a “Road to Zero” long-term environmental plan. It plans on using renewable energy equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 300,000 tons by 2020 and is accelerating the use of renewable energy in diverse ways, including the use of Renewable Energy Certificates and installation of solar panels. The cumulative total of CO2 emissions is reduced by using renewable energy since fiscal 2016 is approx.154,000 tons.
“By stepping up and joining RE 100 these leading companies are saying loud and clear that 100 percent renewables are the solution – they reduce business risk and drive down greenhouse gas emissions,” the Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson said in a statement.
