Climate Change
- Basic Approach
- Disclosure Based on TCFD Recommendations
- Major Initiatives
- Membership Status of Climate-Related Organizations
Basic Approach
The Daifuku Group supports the Paris Agreement, the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures, the Act on Rationalizing Energy Use, and other laws and regulations related to climate change, and we are advancing environmental management to help create a decarbonized society and realize SDGs. We are actively working to reduce our energy consumption and contribute to the environment through manufacturing, and we file annual reports to the government on energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and other data.
The Daifuku Environmental Vision 2050 (revised in May 2023) establishes addressing climate change as one of our critical issue areas, and we are focused on reducing CO2 emissions through our products and services, reducing CO2 emissions throughout our entire supply chain, and introducing renewable energy.
We will continue to endeavor to improve our business activities as well as our products and services through dialogue with our stakeholders, contribute to the development of society, and increase our corporate value.
Disclosure Based on TCFD Recommendations
In May 2019, Daifuku expressed its support for the TCFD* (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) recommendations. Information is disclosed in line with the core elements of the TCFD recommendations for climate-related financial disclosure: Governance, strategy, risk management, as well as metrics and targets.
- *Established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the TCFD is an international organization comprising representatives from central banks, financial supervisory authorities and finance ministries of major countries and regions, and helps companies understand what financial markets want from disclosure and encourages them to align their disclosures.
Governance
We have set up a Sustainability Committee which is responsible for submitting, reporting, and providing information about items related to sustainable management, including those related to climate change. The committee is chaired by the CEO and the heads of each global business unit, as well as other executive officers, serve as members.
The Sustainability Committee formulates and promotes sustainability management strategies that support the sustainable growth of the Group. The committee will determine policies for the entire Daifuku Group related to sustainability and climate change, including energy conservation, adoption of renewable energy, and environmentally friendly products. The committee will respond to environment and sustainability related laws and regulations, and produce information disclosures.
Strategy
Scenario analysis
To assess the resilience of our business strategies to climate change risks, we performed an analysis based on two scenarios: 1) a temperature increase of 4°C during the 21st century (a predicted result if the world continues to emit greenhouse gases at the current level), and 2) a temperature increase of less than 1.5°C (if regulations on greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly strengthened). The results were that although typhoons and floods in scenario 1 and carbon taxation and other factors in scenario 2 would have an impact on business costs, in both scenarios, demand for products and services is envisioned to grow faster than costs due to increased investment in automation and a growing need for environmentally friendly products.
Scenario analysis process
- We set up a working group consisting of external experts and the Sustainability Committee administration office.
- We assumed a physical risk scenario and a transition risk scenario related to climate change.
- In each scenario, we analyzed the possibility of various events and their impact on our value chain, which includes procurement, direct operations, and demand for products and services.
- For each possible impact that was identified, we clarified our current initiatives and future outlook.
Selected climate scenarios
- Physical Scenario: IPCC AR5 RCP8.5 scenario (equivalent to a rise in temperature of 4 degrees Celsius in the 21st century)
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- Serious impacts concerning flooding and temperature rise
- At the end of the 21st century, the total amount of rainfall in Japan will increase by approx. 25.5%, and the number of sweltering days (days when the highest temperature is 30 degrees Celsius or higher) in the country will increase by 52.8 days, respectively, compared to the annual averages for 1986 to 2005.
- Transition scenario: IPCC SR1.5 (keeping the rise in temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius until the end of the 21st century), IEA SDS (conforming to the 2-degree Celsius target)
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- Reducing net CO2 emissions to zero by around 2050
- In developed countries, a carbon tax of approx. 6,300 yen/t-CO2 will be imposed in 2025 and approx. 14,000 yen/t-CO2 in 2040.
Climate change risks and opportunities
| Scenario 2050 | Event | Impact | Daifuku’s preparations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical scenario (rising by 4 degrees Celsius) |
Risk | Acute | Increase in heavy rains (flooding) | Damages to incoming and outgoing goods and equipment, shutdown of our factories, etc. |
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| Chronic | Rise of annual average temperature | Risk of employees experiencing heat stroke in factories and other facilities, associated with high temperatures in summer |
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| Opportunity | Physical | Growing demand for cold chain, e-commerce, and labor conservation from customers, reflecting rising temperatures | Growing demand for our products and services for cold chain, e-commerce, and labor conservation |
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| Transition scenario (rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius) |
Transition | Growing demand for efficiency improvement (energy conservation) from customers, reflecting tighter regulations on CO2 emissions | We will be able to respond to changes in customer demand. (growing demand for products and services that help customers reduce CO2 emissions) |
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| Risk | Policies, legal restraints | Tightened regulations related to CO2 emissions | Increase in procurement and operating costs
due to carbon tax, etc. ➡Global CO2 emissions (FY2018) were approx. 40,000 tons. If the carbon price is 14,000 yen/t-CO2 (in 2040), the total amount will be 560 million yen per year. |
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Transition risk measures
While CO2 emissions from in-house production activities are about 1% of the total, CO2 emissions from customers’ energy use is overwhelmingly high at about 76%. We will focus on the development and sales of environmentally friendly products (83 products as of May 2023), responding to further increases in these customer needs for mitigating carbon dioxide. In addition, to promote decarbonization in business operations, we are conducting surveys and formulating plans for the introduction of renewable energy at major global production sites.
Physical risk measures
In the risk assessment conducted by the entire Group, we have identified natural disasters including typhoons and floods as severe risks that have a significant impact. To improve the effectiveness of our business continuity plan including the supply chain, we have analyzed the degree of business impact and reviewed the organizational structure of each business unit. We have also made efforts to mitigate the risk of suspended supply by diversifying production sites, purchasing key components from two or more suppliers, and other measures. Moreover, at production, installation, and service sites, we are striving to continuously improve the work environment to protect against higher temperatures and ensure thorough safety and health management.
Risk Management
We have built a Groupwide risk management framework based on our risk management rules. We position major natural disasters, including climate change, as a significant risk, and the Sustainability Committee manages that risk in a centralized manner. Concerning climate change risks, we apply the views of external experts and report them to the Board of Directors as necessary.
Metrics and TargetsKPI
The Group has identified addressing climate change as one of the crucial issue areas in the Daifuku Environmental Vision 2050 and has set the following targets. From fiscal 2023 onward, the results will be disclosed based on these KPIs.*
- *In working toward reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement, we have submitted our targets to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which requires companies to set science-based greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. We aim to receive approval from the SBTi by the end of fiscal 2023.
| Key Performance Indicators | FY2030 targets | FY2023 targets |
|---|---|---|
| Daifuku CO2 emissions (Scopes 1 + 2) | 50.4% reduction (compared to FY2018) | 21.0% reduction (compared to FY2018) |
| CO2 emissions from purchased goods and services (Scope 3 Category 1) | 30% reduction*1 (compared to FY2018) | Begin operations of CO2 emission reduction programs*2 throughout the supply chain |
| CO2 emissions from the use of sold products (Scope 3 Category 11) | 12.5% reduction (compared to FY2018) |
- *1Scope 3 Category 1 and Category 11 combined target
- *2Daifuku's own framework on efforts (sharing of goals and supporting measures to reduce emissions, etc.) to reduce CO2 emissions at suppliers
Please see below for the climate-related indicators and targets in the Daifuku Environmental Vision 2050 prior to revision. The results for fiscal 2022 will be disclosed based on these KPIs.
| Key Performance Indicators | FY2030 targets | FY2021 targets | FY2021 results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio of sales from projects that include environmentally friendly products*1 | 70% or higher | 43% | 63% |
| Avoided CO2 emissions through products/services*2 | 300,000 t-CO2 or more | 30,000 t-CO2 | 69,694 t-CO2 |
| Daifuku's total CO2 emission reduction rate (over FY2018) | 25% or more | 2.5% | 13.8% |
| Participation rate in CO2 emission reduction programs*3 throughout the supply chain | 50% or more | 32% | 36% |
- *1Projects that have contributed to customers in terms of environmental consideration through certified Daifuku Eco-Products, etc.
- *2CO2 emissions produced from our products/services are subtracted from the CO2 emissions produced from our products/services in FY2011—the base year for environmental performance.
- *3Daifuku's own framework on efforts (sharing of goals and supporting measures to reduce emissions, etc.) to reduce CO2 emissions at suppliers
Environmentally Friendly Products and Services
Data on CO2 emissions
CO2 emissions (Global)
CO2 emissions (Global: Scope 1 + 2)
CO2 emissions (Japan*: Scope 3)
Breakdown in CO2 emissions of the entire supply chain (Japan*)
FY2021
Breakdown of Scope 3 emissions (Japan*)
FY2021
- * Includes CO2 emissions from the operations of products shipped from Japan to other countries or regions.
Major Initiatives
Accelerating climate change and energy responses
The material handling systems we provide are constantly in operation at our customers’ logistics facilities and factories around the world. As a result, the largest proportion of our CO2 emissions is associated with energy use during product operation. Therefore, we will promote energy-saving product design based on environmental considerations and overall system operation optimization.
In business operations, we will work to further promote energy conservation measures at our production bases both in and out of Japan and adopt renewable energy. The Group has a high percentage of sales outside of Japan, and energy consumption at our non-Japan production sites tends to be higher than that at Japanese sites. We collect monthly data on the Group’s energy use, and in fiscal 2020 we conducted a study to procure renewable energy at the locations with the highest electricity use. Procurement of renewable energy has been started successively from the sites that are ready, and as of the end of fiscal 2021, 9.9% of total electricity consumed was derived from renewable energy.
In terms of product production, we mainly assemble parts procured from our suppliers, and our suppliers located upstream in the supply chain, tend to account for a relatively large amount of CO2 emissions. Therefore, we have been advancing initiatives in cooperation with our suppliers, such as our CO2 emission reduction program. In the program we request our major suppliers, those with the top 80% of procurement value, to set CO2 emission reduction targets. The participation rate in this program in fiscal 2021 was 36%, achieving our fiscal year target.
Status and schedule of renewable energy procurement
FY2021
- Introduction of roof-top solar panels at the Changshu Plant of Daifuku (China) Automation Co., Ltd.
- Daifuku Logan Ltd. completes green power switchover at Hull operations
FY2022 (tentative)
- Daifuku (Thailand) Limited purchases renewable energy certificates for its Pinthong and Chonburi plants
- Purchase of renewable energy certificates at Contec Americas Inc.’s Melbourne office
- Daifuku Co., Ltd. to buy back the environmental attributes of electricity generated by the Daifuku Mega Solar at Shiga Works
A photovoltaic system installed at Hini Arata Kan demo center
In March 2010, Daifuku installed solar panels on the Hini Arata Kan material handling and logistics exhibition center located in Shiga Works. In fiscal 2021, the system generated about 240,000 kWh of power, which reduced CO2 emissions by 85 tons.
Daifuku Mega Solar
In November 2013, Daifuku installed the photovoltaic system, Daifuku Mega Solar, at Shiga Works. Comprising 17,752 panels, the system has a maximum power generation capacity of 4,438 kW (one of the largest in Shiga Prefecture) and an annual output of approx. 4,300,000 kWh (equivalent to the annual power consumption of 1,000 general households).
Sharing transportation resources
We are now building a partnership with suppliers for parts and materials and set up a pickup and delivery service in order to reduce costs and properly control delivery dates. While suppliers had previously transported cargo with their own trucks, by centrally managing cargo collection and quantity information, we are now able to make rounds with a single truck in each region, and we are striving to further consolidate and streamline trips to logistics sites. We are contributing to the prevention of global warming by reducing CO2 emissions throughout the entire supply chain as well as reducing each supplier's logistics costs.
- *One truck makes the rounds to each supplier and picks up cargo that had previously been delivered by separate trucks. This method improves load efficiency and reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Modal shift*
Daifuku typically uses trucks to transport products to customer sites, but we are in the process of shifting to the more environmentally friendly methods of railway and marine transportation. Our aim is to improve the quality of logistics operations by coordinating delivery schedules and managing costs, thereby reducing CO2 emissions as much as possible. In fiscal 2021, we were able to cut CO2 emissions by 344 tons through the modal shift of transportation methods.
- *Choosing modes of transportation with lower environmental impact, such as railroads and ships, to transport cargo. By switching from trucks to ships and trains, it is possible to transport cargo with reduced CO2 emissions and less impact on the environment.
Local production for local consumption at cafeterias
Since August 2014, dishes using local ingredients are provided every week at the three cafeterias in Shiga Works. Plenty of variety is provided, such as the renowned locally produced Hinona turnips and highly nutritious and richly flavored eggs from Eigen-ji. This initiative reduces the amount of CO2 emissions incurred from transporting food.
Membership Status in Climate-Related Organizations
To fully realize the Daifuku Environmental Vision 2050, the Daifuku Group has joined multiple organizations aiming to solve climate change issues, and is involved in information sharing and policy proposals.
Organizations
- Japan Climate Initiative
- Japan Climate Leader's Partnership (supporting member）
- TCFD Consortium