Working for the global environment
Hitachi defines itself by the contribution we make in tackling society’s challenges. This starts with addressing our environmental impact on the world around us – working to decarbonize our entire business and more.
We also create a positive impact on the world. Accelerating progress towards net zero shapes our entire commercial business. Seeking out partnerships and driving innovation, we’re committed to accelerating a sustainable future for all.
Our Priorities
We are acting across three priority areas to improve our environmental impact:
We are working to become carbon neutral across our operating sites by 2030, and throughout our value chain by 2050.
Adopting circular business practices, we are improving our resource and water use by 50% in our own operations by 2050.
We are defining our impact on biodiversity and nature, and taking steps to better understand how we can operate in line with planetary boundaries.
Key Targets
Performance in 2022
Becoming a carbon-neutral business
As part of Hitachi’s responsibility to tackle climate change, we place a priority on reducing our energy use and carbon footprint.
This means rethinking the way we design products, power our factories and ship our products. We’re making progress but know there’s more to achieve. Reducing our carbon footprint starts with changing the way we operate and power our business sites.
We are steadily reducing our carbon emissions by introducing energy-saving equipment and shifting to renewable energy sources. We have set clear interim targets, and aim to achieve a 50% reduction in our CO2 emissions by 2024 and an 80% reduction by 2027 (compared to emissions in 2010).
Carbon reduction roadmap for Hitachi operations
Emissions reduction pathway for all Hitachi operations, covering scope 1 & 2 emissions
As a global business with a portfolio and partnership network that spans multiple industries and geographies, Hitachi’s environmental impact extends far beyond our operating sites. We are collaborating with our supply partners to monitor and track progress on reducing emissions throughout our value chain.
We are also committed to supporting the wider societal change needed to help ensure a more sustainable future. As a responsible business, we collaborate with and contribute to a wide range of external initiatives. From being a Global Alliance Member of the Earthshot Prize to a signatory to the Business for Nature initiative, we contribute to societal change beyond our business.
Learn more about how we’re working with others.
Our belief in transformation has reshaped our business to accelerate the pace of change
Resource efficiency through innovation
Transforming our environmental impact requires rethinking the way in which we produce, consume and process the planet's resources.
We are adopting circular approaches to business that allow us to reduce waste, optimize how we use precious natural resources and become more water-efficient. This is both in our own operations and throughout our global value chain.
How we’re putting circularity to work across our business
Innovating our product design
We have introduced eco-design and life cycle assessments into our product development processes. Together, these help reduce emissions during product usage, which accounts for a large share of carbon emissions throughout the value chain and helps lower the overall environmental impact of products over their life cycle.
Innovating our manufacturing process
Becoming more circular means reducing the amount of waste and unused materials generated from our business sites. To do this, we are optimizing our manufacturing processes, installing on-site recycling facilities and reusing materials across business sites.
This supports our broader goal to minimize landfill as part of our focus on achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030 from our manufacturing sites. We are also improving water efficiency across our sites by monitoring water intake, controlling leakage and reusing cooling water and purified wastewater.
Innovating our business models
We must also make changes to the way in which our products are shipped, used and disposed of so that we can reduce waste. Hitachi is introducing new business models, such as subscription models, sharing-based models and pay-per-use systems. We have also collaborated with partners throughout our value chain to introduce schemes to recycle, repair and resell used products.
Minimizing impact on nature
Hitachi is committed to minimizing the difference between positive and negative impacts on nature as part of our long-term environmental targets.
Measuring our impact on nature
As part of our efforts to understand our impact on nature, Hitachi sought to better quantify exactly how our business impacts the natural world. We are taking actions to reduce carbon emissions and increase resource-efficiency. We also identified a need to address our contributions to air and water pollution.
Reducing air and water pollution
Hitachi aims to decrease air and water pollution by reducing levels of chemical substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used in all stages of our operations – from design through to shipping. Hitachi proactively monitors incoming chemical substance regulation and aims to control usage six months prior to official regulation.
Ecosystem preservation activities
Hitachi business sites engage in a wide range of preservation activities including eco-system monitoring, forest conservation, and desert greening. More broadly, other business activities contribute directly to ecosystem preservation, such as building water treatment plants.
Roadmap to minimize nature-related impacts
Partnership and innovation are essential to accelerate the pace of change towards a sustainable future
Innovation and impact for sustainability
Transforming our own value chain is not enough. As a global solutions-provider, Hitachi considers how our business can best facilitate the global transition to net zero and support a more sustainable future.
Our scale and connectivity join the dots between governments, industry and cities. Developing products and services that reduce environmental impact, we collaborate to bring impact to customers, partners and society at large.
We facilitate the global transition towards net-zero through three business areas, which each contribute to wider transformation:
We work closely to find new synergies, redefine business models and forge change
Finding new solutions at speed relies on collaboration with diverse perspectives from our colleagues, our various businesses and crucially from our partners.
Our environmental vision
