Reducing carbon emissions and climate change

In March 2020, Hamamatsu Photonics has set our long-term vision of global warming countermeasures and target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 83 % for scope 1 and 2* by FY2051 compared with FY2018. Hamamatsu group will proactively work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through our business activities.

* Scope 1: Direct emissions（use of fuel, etc.）　Scope 2: Indirect emissions（use of purchased electricity, etc.）

Hamamatsu Photonics is conducting a range of energy-saving activities to achieve our medium-term target of reducing its energy consumption rate by 18% or more by FY2031 compared with FY2013.

In the fiscal year under review, we cut its energy consumption rate by 21.7 % in comparison with FY2013, outperforming its target of 6 % or more. We achieved this feat by implementing energy-saving measures in buildings and actively introducing equipment from the Top Runner system. Meanwhile, though carbon emissions^*1 decreased 4.5 % against the previous fiscal year, that figure represented a 7.2 % reduction in carbon emissions per unit of net sales. In addition to taking measures against carbon-based energy sources, we continued to reduce its use of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) and other gases used in semiconductor manufacturing that are factors in global warming. We are achieving these reductions through the introduction of combustion and plasma abatement systems, which it began in FY2006.

We will continue to pursue efforts to reduce energy consumption and prevent global warming.

^*1 The range of carbon emissions to which calculations are applied is based on the Law Concerning the Promotion of Measures to Cope with Global Warming. The carbon emission coefficient used for electrical power is 0.417 (FY1990 value of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC)).

Hamamatsu Photonics recognizes that managing the risk from climate change and taking measures against it are vital issues for our management. We aim to contribute to solving the problem of climate change through its business activities and reduce the environmental impacts they create.

《Risks and opportunities from regulation》
In keeping with its commitments in international treaties to grapple with climate change, Japan is strengthening its measures to reduce energy consumption through domestic legislation. As a specified operator under the Act Concerning the Rational Use of Energy (“Energy Saving Act”), we possesses six factories indicated for energy management. In line with future trends, we expect to be required to increase our efforts to manage energy and combat global warming. As the attendant costs rise, they may have an adverse effect on our business results. We are continually gathering information on energy-related regulations. Based on its short-to-medium-term earnings plan and the medium-to-long-term plan under the Energy Saving Act, we are introducing and improving energy-saving equipment and implementing energy management.

As public interest in energy-saving solutions intensifies, we are focusing increasingly on developing products that fuse its expertise in photonics with energy-saving performance. In this way we expect to expand its market further and reap increases in sales. Our development-related segments are working diligently to reduce environmental impact by creating environmentally friendly products.

《Risks and opportunities from physical impacts》
Our production sites and business partners are concentrated in the Tenryu River basin. As such they are vulnerable to abnormal weather events such as major typhoons and flooding. When such disasters occur, the supply chain can be disrupted by temporary suspensions and delays in the supply chain, resulting in difficulties in obtaining supplies and even production shutdowns. Though the Tenryu River flowing through Hamamatsu and adjoining regions has not overflowed its banks for over 50 years, we plan for such an event in its continuation-of-business (COB) plan. If a disaster occurs, each Division will follow its own response manual, working closely with business partners to gather information from those partners and work together for recovery. As a preparatory measure, we work to reduce risk through measures such as sourcing materials from two or more companies. These preparations testify to our commitment to providing stable supplies of products to customers.

Physical impacts offer opportunities as well. To contribute to solving the problems of climate change, including global warming, major typhoons and flooding, we sells devices for measuring meteorological data. For example, demand is expected to grow for our products using cavity-ring-down spectrometry (CRDS), as a possible means of elucidating the mechanisms of global warming. We appropriate about 10% of sales for R&D expenses, including research on environmentally contributing products. We expect these efforts to lead to market expansion through increased sales and development of new product offerings.

Hamamatsu Photonics is working hard to reduce carbon emissions by advancing the implementation of renewables such as solar and wind power. At Toyooka Factory, we have installed solar-power generating equipment (250 kW) on the walls and roof of No. 10 Building in collaboration with our solar power business. On the premises of the Central Research Laboratory, we combines solar-power generation with small-scale wind-power generation, in a hybrid solution for outdoor lighting. As of January 2020, we have implemented a cumulative total 404 kW of renewable energy.
In October 2018, we commenced purchasing of Chubu Electric’s “CO₂-free Electricity,” expanding our introduction of renewables.

To grasp the environmental impact of the value chain^*2, HPK is working on the calculation of Scope 3 (shown below) which is based on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.
Going forward, we will expand the calculation scope of Scope 3, improve accuracy, and strive to reduce emissions throughout the value chain.

^*2 The entire series of processes involving products, including material procurement, production, logistics, use and disposal. Includes both upstream and downstream parts of the Company’s supply chain.

^*3The CO₂ emission coefficient for electricity used is the actual coefficient used by Chubu Electric.

Method of calculation of scope 3

Third-party Verification of greenhouse gas emissions based on ISO 14064-3

To provide and publish transparent and reliable information on the greenhouse gas emissions data calculated by Hamamatsu Photonics (scope 1, 2, and 3), we obtained third-party verification by SGS Japan Inc., and their written opinion. We will continue to work to improve the reliability of its data and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of its ongoing energy-saving campaign, Hamamatsu Photonics is advancing the visualization of its electrical-power use and striving to reduce peak power consumption. We publish on our intranet a Power Use Status Monitor, which displays demand and power consumption at each business location in real time. This resource plays a valuable role in each employee’s self-directed activities to save electricity.

The Revised Fluorocarbons Recovery and Destruction Law, which was drafted for the purpose of preventing global warming caused by leaks of GHGs substitutes, was enacted in April 2015.

We are promoting compliance with this law by assigning a control number to each relevant equipment and building an internal database for managing that equipment information and inspection records. In each division and business site, we conduct education activities covering laws and regulations as well as internal management methods for the administrators.