![[Dialogue] Hitachi's Environmental Strategy](/csr/csr_images/strategy_pagetitle.jpg)
![[image]President, e's Inc. Junko Edahiro](/csr/csr_images/strategy_img_00.jpg)
President, e's Inc.
Junko Edahiro
Junko Edahiro is an environmental journalist and translator engaged in speaking, writing and translating on environmental issues. Ms. Edahiro is a member of the Cabinet Secretariat's Council on the Global Warming Issue and a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo's Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering (RACE).
![[image]Hitachi Group Chief Environmental Strategy Officer (CEnO) Takashi Hatchoji](/csr/csr_images/strategy_img_01.jpg)
Ms. Edahiro, you are well known as the Japanese translator of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and you have consistently offered proposals to address global environmental problems from the citizens' perspective. To begin with, please tell us what is expected of corporations.
I see the global environmental problem as a problem of human happiness. Our way of life has been to work at companies, receive money for our labor, and use this to buy things to realize happiness. But today, the more we buy the worse the global environment becomes, and that leads to unhappiness for ourselves and for our descendants. I want enterprises to deeply consider what actions they should take to create happiness for both present and future generations. In that sense, Environmental Vision 2025 draws my attention as a longer-term plan for the Hitachi Group.
The Japanese government is advocating the Cool Earth 50 initiative to halve CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases by 2050. From the perspective of corporate activities, however, nearly 50 years is too long a time. So Hitachi prepared Environmental Vision 2025 to set interim goals for the year 2025, focusing on three approaches: First, we want to contribute to society through our business activities. Specifically, Hitachi contributes to reducing CO2 emissions from the use of our products by 100 million tons a year. Next, we intend to strengthen management to build more harmonious relations with society. Finally, we want to share our environmental understanding through active communications.
![[image]President, e's Inc. Junko Edahiro](/csr/csr_images/strategy_img_02.jpg)
Reducing CO2 emissions by 100 million tons a year is symbolically important, but that figure is difficult for the average person to grasp. Also, to really establish your plan as a vision shared throughout your organization you may find it necessary to speed up building a framework for every employee to adopt CO2 reductions as their own issue.
Chief Environmental Strategy Officer (CEnO) Takashi Hatchoji (right)President, e's Inc. Junko Edahiro](/csr/csr_images/strategy_img_03.jpg)
The Japanese government has made innovation one of the main pillars for addressing global environmental problems, and has identified 21 revolutionary technologies required to achieve CO2 emission targets. Hitachi has experience and knowledge in most of these technologies.
I am always keenly aware that, in addition to technological progress, the most important thing is to have new technologies adopted by society.
The first point I want to make is that there are limits to what technology can do to solve environmental problems. People's expectations for technology have been growing every year, but it is important to explain the distinction between what technology can and cannot accomplish.
Otherwise, there is a real risk that people will eventually lose their trust in corporations pursuing technological development. From now on, companies should work to accurately convey both the potential and the limits of technology. What's more, from the perspective of spreading technology, it will become necessary to change the assumptions that technologies are based on.
What do you mean by changing the assumptions?
One example is viewing carbon emissions as liabilities, which began as a proposal by European financial institutions. Japanese enterprises often say “the customer is king,” but in some cases seeing only from the customer's viewpoint results in a short-term perspective that will not move society forward. I think we need to make an effort to change the viewpoint of society itself by asking such questions as, “What do we want for the future of the earth?” and ‘What must we do now to achieve it?”
Given the demands for greater corporate interaction with society, we need to view and promote our corporate statement “Inspire the Next” with renewed feeling.
I also think that “co-creative partnerships,” in other words collaboration across organizations, will become immensely important in the future. It should be possible to accomplish a great deal through collaboration that transcends enterprise boundaries. I expect breakthroughs by working together with external research institutes and rival companies, as well as the spread of technology through teamwork with customers and research centers.
Yes, there are times when one times one equals three or even four. I expect Hitachi to continue building up such strategic relationships.
After the Dialogue
found Ms. Edahiro's opinions on what the public expects from corporations to be very helpful. I was reminded of our responsibility as a global corporation to propose new business models in line with our vision for the future of society, and the importance of broadly conveying our corporate approach from the perspectives of our stakeholders. Hitachi will continue pursuing ideal environmental management while advancing our environmental strategies.
Takashi Hatchoji
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