Hitachi

Hitachi Solutions, Ltd.

Environmental stakeholder discussion

Stakeholder discussion
Stakeholder discussion

Under the theme of, "Expectations for Hitachi Solutions in the Area of Environmental Conservation Over the Next Decade," Hitachi Solutions organized a discussion between its officer responsible for environmental issues, members of the Environment Promotion Division, and Mr. Hiroshi Yokoyama, director of the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry. Mr. Yokoyama recognized our environmental initiatives over the past decade, noting that Hitachi Solutions's commitment to LCA (life cycle assessment) in the area of system solutions was both encouraging and reassuring. After the discussion, he expressed a hope that, in light of global standards, Hitachi Solutions would drive the environmental activities of the entire Hitachi Group. The event held great significance for our future environmental activities.

Mr. Yokoyama's advice on global trends

Mr. Hiroshi Yokoyama
Mr. Hiroshi Yokoyama
Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry

Notable global movements include a pilot project started in July 2011 for the enforcement of the Grenelle law in France and a decision at the ISO's Environmental Management Committee meeting in Oslo in June 2011 to develop an ISO standard on organizational LCA (in relation to the global trend for developing methods to evaluate GHG emissions throughout the supply chain). France was among the first to apply LCA to organizations for compliance with international standards and the move is certain to spread across Europe. When that happens, it is important that Japan be prepared.
  The keyword "scope 3" used in connection with this refers to regulations affecting the supply chain. While "scope 1" and "scope 2" mean, respectively, direct CO2 emissions from an organization's own activities and indirect emissions from purchased electricity, scope 3 covers other CO2 emissions and intends to take into account CO2 emissions of business partners. Furthermore, scope 3 includes environmental impacts at all stages covered by the LCA, as opposed to just carbon emissions. If you don't incorporate the supply chain management envisioned by scope 3 into your plan for the coming decade, you will fall behind.
  Over the next decade, you will be building on what you already have, rather than undertaking major changes. Therefore, strengthening your environmental management efficiently using IT and determining indicators will be key. Environmental management, which involves reviewing all aspects of management from an environmental perspective, deals with issues concerned with the creation of a low carbon society, chemical substances management, life cycle thinking, and compliance with laws and regulations pertaining to the supply chain. These are the keywords of the requirements of global environmental management.
  Japan has revised its Energy Saving Act and promoted energy-saving products based on the "top runner" approach. The time will come when we must steadily share these initiatives with the world.

Our thoughts following the discussion

Hitachi Solutions has sought to make environmental contributions by thinking about how we contribute through software and services. Undoubtedly, IT and related services will play an increasingly important role in addressing GHG and CO2 emissions. The world's attention is currently focused on "smart cities," where every aspect of infrastructure is controlled by computers. This gives us a chance to exert our strengths by assuming a role in a broader range of sectors. We must brace ourselves and step up our efforts.