Green Transformation (GX)
Creating Enterprise Value by Addressing Environmental Issues
Message from the Green Transformation Committee Chair
Eiji Kan
Senior Managing Executive Officer
Green Transformation Committee Chair
In 2022, Kanematsu established the Green Transformation Committee (GX Committee), creating an integrated framework for the management and support of environment-related businesses within the Group.
There has been a marked increase in environ-mental awareness among employees and customers lately, and the number of projects brought to us has increased dramatically in just the past year.
Beneath the GX Committee is the GX Accelerator team,comprising employees from across the Company’s segments whoare highly knowledgeable about their respective industries.
These employees carry out wide-ranging support activities to promoteenvironment-related businesses within the Group, from planning and proposing new projects to building internal GX momentum.
The GX Committee facilitates the smooth advancement of all such projects by centrally monitoring their status through the GX Accelerator team and conducting periodic reviews.
In addition to projects in the energy, chemicals, plant, and other existing fields, there have been numerous undertakings that contribute to the global environment in such wide-ranging fields as agriculture and food, reaffirming for us the importance of GX.
As just one example, Kanematsu Sustech Corporation, which Kanematsu made a wholly owned subsidiary via tender offer at the end of fiscal 2023, has developed a ground improvement technique using piles made from wood treated with proprietary preservation technology.
This technique greatly reduces carbon emissions compared with the typical use of cement or steel for such applications.
The core of a trading company’s business lies in creating busi-nesses and making them economically sustainable.
I believe that our role with regard to environmental conservation parallels this.
By adding environmental value wherever we can to the excellent products that the Group offers, we aim to simultaneously satisfy our customers and contribute to the environment, thereby build-ing environmentally sustainable businesses.
GX Committee
Initiatives
Kanematsu Sustech’s Eco Wood Pile Construction
By making effective use of timber produced in Japan,Kanematsu Sustech Corporation is helping to revitalize the Japanese forestry industry and expand demand for domestically produced materials.
Construction using Eco Wood Pile stores the CO 2 absorbed by wood during its growth in the ground for decades, realizing a reduction in CO2 emissions compared with conventional construction methods using cement or steel.
Used for ground improvement, Eco Wood Piles are made from wood that has undergone high-quality pres-sure treatment to prevent rot and termite damage, enhancing its durability, a process that Kanematsu Sustech has been using since its founding.
Through the Eco Wood Pile (S) Society, to date, 225,514 m3 of Eco Wood Pile material has been used in ground improvement for 44,526 buildings, reducing CO 2 emissions by 129,820 tons (as of June 30, 2023).
Kanematsu Sustech will continue to work with Eco Wood Pile (S) Society companies across Japan to reduce CO2 emissions though the use of the environmentally friendly technology of Eco Wood Pile.
Investment in Australia-Based Samsara Eco
In 2023, Kanematsu invested in Samsara Eco, an Australian environmental technology startup.
Samsara Eco possesses an original enzyme recycling tech-nology that can break down plastic into its original compo-nents (monomers) in a short time frame.
One example of the possibilities this offers can be found in the familiar product of PET bottles.
PET bottles that are unclean or contain coloring agents cannot be recycled via conventional processes.
In contrast, Samsara Eco’s technologies can break down even plastics containing impurities and additives.
Furthermore, this breakdown process uses no fossil fuels whatsoever, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Agricultural and Food Supply Chain GX
Kanematsu boasts strengths in food supply chains and does business with a vast number of companies, including farmers, animal feedstuff producers, meat packers, food product manufacturers, retailers, and food service compa-nies.
We are advancing efforts to add value through GX by leveraging these strengths.
For example, we are working with our wide-ranging business partners to promote sales in Japanese markets of low-carbon coffee and low-carbon pork products created through the efforts of overseas farmers, the uptake of plant-based meat and other meat substitutes, and the use of burp-reducing cattle feed and low-carbon meat raised on such feed, while working to facilitate carbon storage in the soil of food- and feedstuff-producing regions.
Kanematsu Petroleum’s GX Strategy
Kanematsu Petroleum Corp. is engaged in the supply of thermal energy, a business that has a major impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
Aiming to offer decarboniza-tion solutions to customers and promote their uptake, in 2021 Kanematsu Petroleum established a Decarbonization Promotion Office and joined the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership.
As a result, the company has become eligible for subsidies from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment for efforts to identify ways to save energy and is promoting efforts at its factories to find energy-saving opportunities, switch to eco-friendly fuels, and install energy-saving equipment, as well as operating a business that provides biodiesel for ships and automobiles. Going forward, while advancing collaboration with other companies, Kanematsu Petroleum will continue to deepen its initiatives, including those aimed at decarbonization, as an energy solution company.
In order to realize a sustainable society, carbon neutrality and circular economy are the important environmental aspects. While immediate action is necessary, companies are facing various problems, such as the extremely difficult tasks of selecting the best solution among the various options including new technology, as well as the additional costs to take action.
For such customers, with our knowhows based on the actual business experiences of the decarbonization solutions adopted by various companies, Kanematsu formed a business alliance with partner companies including Asuene, Inc. and The Norinchukin Bank to support the viableand effective Green Transformation (GX), covering from calculation to reduction and visualization, that follow the latest trends required for the company. and eventually becomes an added value of the supply chain.
