This section covers the five SDGs that Hitachi has identified as best aligned with its business strategy across four focus business domains: “power and energy,” “industry, distribution, and water,” “urban,” and “finance, public, and healthcare.” These SDGs offer both significant commercial opportunities for Hitachi and the chance to make a social contribution through business activities. Below, we set out the global sustainability issues for each SDG, followed by the role we see for social innovation in progressing toward that goal and how our products and services can contribute.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Sustainable industrial development is a core driver of environmental protection, economic development, and social stability. More efficient, less energy-intensive industries and services reduce resource dependency and minimize impact on the environment. Robust infrastructure networks help mobilize materials and labor, supporting more equitable wealth distribution and social mobility.
Source: Grand View Research
Progress is being made on this issue in many industries, and its potential positive impact on the world is developing at an ever-increasing pace. By harnessing the internet of things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI), industries are trans-forming into more efficient and sustainable forms.
We believe that technological advances will help connect and empower OT and IT systems, improving efficiency and saving energy and cost. Innovation like this could help raise quality of life worldwide by reforming and scaling every possible process. From design and development to manufacturing and logistics, any system can be improved.
As one of the few global companies with both OT and IT experience, Hitachi is in a unique position. By bringing together our cross-industry understanding and driving technological developments that promote business innovation, we can deliver well-grounded, integrated solutions to every possible challenge.
We are already working with our partners to turn big data into intelligent action. Our Lumada IoT platform provides the most advanced capabilities available today.
Daikin is a leading global producer of air conditioners that sees skills transfer and ongoing improvement of productivity and quality across different countries and regions as important challenges. It was concerned that brazing skills were not being transferred efficiently because of the many aspects of brazing that cannot be adequately explained in written form or through practice alone. In response, Hitachi developed a Brazing Skills Training Support System that can produce quantitative assessments of the “man, machine, and material (3M)” factors of production. This system has been in operation at Daikin's Shiga Plant since its introduction in October 2017.
Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
In 2030, six out of ten people will live in urban environments. Not only will space be at a premium, residents of cities are more likely to be impacted by climate change and more sensitive to the social impact of poor civic planning. Cities are often seen as incubators for innovation and key drivers for sustainable development, and effective management is needed to make the world's urban spaces safe, inclusive, and resilient for all.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Hitachi is motivated by the desire to make cities hospitable and create the ideal environment for people to live and work in. “Smart city” initiatives can help offset the strain of intense urbanization, reduce costs, and ease pressure on resources. The benefits they offer are not only economical and environmental but also social, including great improvements in safety, comfort, stress levels, and leisure time.
We believe that transportation plays an integral role in this scheme as a funda-mental element in every city's development. Transport enhancements and improvements in connectivity let people enjoy wider opportunities and benefits. We will realize this potential through collaborative creation with customers and partners.
As a total railway system supplier, Hitachi uses forward-thinking information and operational technologies to deliver safe, reliable, and innovative railway solutions that help people, communities, and cities thrive through improved connectivity. These solutions include high-speed and driverless technologies, predictive maintenance, and dynamic headway.* To realize truly comprehensive integrated mobility, we are also developing electric vehicle technologies that will increase passenger comfort, make roads safer and less congested, and reduce the burden on the environment.
Through the UK's Intercity Express Programme (IEP), Hitachi is delivering 866 new vehicles that will constitute a step change in capacity, reliability, maintainability, and environmental friendliness on every trip. Journey times will also be reduced, improving the connectivity of cities within the UK.
Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Water is critical to the survival of people and the planet, putting water quality, water sustainability, hygiene, and access to sanitation at the very core of sustainable development. Water stress is now considered one of the five greatest global risks to society. One in nine people lack access to safely managed water, and this scarcity is compounded by continuing urbanization and industrialization. It is clear that only through the combined effort of all stakeholders will effective water management and sanitation be achieved.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Hitachi believes that water is a fundamental part of business operations, playing an essential role in transportation, cleaning, cooling, and other processes.
By developing sustainable water infrastructure in conjunction with our customers and the communities we share, we can improve operational efficiency, reduce competition for resources, and bring water security to all.
We are leading the next generation of integrated water infrastructure. Hitachi can deploy extensive experience and access to advanced technologies, combining OT (e.g., data monitoring and system control) and IT (e.g., IoT, analytics) systems to create a total solution for water treatment. This can include critical infrastructure for potable water, wastewater treatment, and recycling.
Every region has unique water issues, and Hitachi can design, implement, and monitor the individual solutions required. Our integrated systems can use real-time data to efficiently manage and adjust water controls and treatment in response to any challenge.
RemixWater is a new integrated seawater desalination and water reuse system from Hitachi designed to save energy and reduce environmental impact. Capable of drinking water-level quality output, it is suitable for industrial or domestic use. In 2016, construction began on RemixWater as a four-year demonstration program for eThekwini, South Africa's third most populous municipality.
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Energy is vital to all aspects of modern life. Merely saying that it “drives technology” underplays its role in global communications, essential healthcare services, and interconnected transport systems. Simply put, energy is the motive force behind socio-economic growth. However, over a billion people still lack access to electricity, and much of the energy produced globally remains both carbon- and labor-intensive.
Source: International Energy Agency
Hitachi believes that supplying natural power in a stable and efficient manner is the key to optimizing energy flows and ensuring a more reliable and sustainable world for generations to come.
We understand that it is important to address energy and global warming issues holistically, by providing solutions based on collaborative creation for all customers within the energy chain.
Hitachi strives to be our customers' energy partner from generation to consumption. We can create clean energy from a variety of sources, including renewable energies like wind and solar, to provide a stable and sustainable power supply. As part of our Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050 initiative, we are committed to reducing CO2 emissions and expanding the share of renewables in the global energy mix through large wind power installations.
Meanwhile, our smart energy infrastructure combines advanced technology and social innovation to deliver innovative solutions from demand response to microgrids and virtual power plants, ensuring that energy is efficiently delivered when it is needed.
In 2016, Hitachi developed an offshore wind turbine capable of producing 5.2 MW of power even in light-wind regions with annual average wind speeds below 7.5 m/s. Increased output and efficiency were achieved through an enlarged 136-meter rotor as well as set-up optimizations and control programs that proactively respond to changes in wind speed and direction. Offering effective cost savings as well as enhanced safety and reliability, Hitachi's turbine continues to spread the use of renewable energy throughout Japan. By early 2018, Hitachi had a solid market share lead in turbine generator systems, with over 198 in operation and 325* more installations planned across Japan.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
To ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth, individuals and firms must have access to financial services that are fit for purpose and suited to their environment. Traditional banking is inaccessible to many in developing countries. However, growing connectivity and mobile telephony have the potential to provide access to financial systems to more people than ever before. Innovative systems must reflect this new paradigm, combining universal accessibility with the flexibility to respond to new challenges and technological developments.
Source: Frost & Sullivan Estimates
Rapid changes across the global economy continue to create new financial opportunities. FinTech is reshaping the future of digital banking and transforming financial institutions, allowing them to be agile, flexible, and truly scalable.
To make better decisions and improve their customer experience, organizations must accelerate their digital transformation and take full advantage of the data available.
Predictive insights made possible by the convergence of IoT, machine learning, and AI allow for personalized services, better decision-making, and risk mitigation.
Hitachi is a trusted partner for replacing legacy infrastructures, streamlining oper-ations, and improving productivity. Through our IoT platform, Lumada, we can facilitate open innovation to save time, energy, and money.
Hitachi has been active in leading the FinTech revolution, from big data and AI to security and the blockchain, and continues to develop groundbreaking technologies today. With Lumada, Hitachi is gradually transforming the financial services industry for greater inclusiveness.
By collaborating with customers, we are creating more efficient, compact, and secure financial networks to benefit both those customers and their clientele. At the same time, we continue using FinTech to create innovative financial services that enhance convenience for the users of global financial institutions.
Hitachi is using digital technologies such as AI and big data to:
Analyzing medical big data is expected to expand the potential range of insurance underwriting.
AI is expected to improve efficiency in securities operations such as market surveillance and stock lending.
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
A healthy population is the foundation of a sustainable, prosperous society. Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy worldwide, but more effort is needed to eradicate diseases and address persistent and emerging health issues. If universal health coverage is to be achieved, a strong commitment is needed to ensure that everyone can access healthcare of the highest standard.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Hitachi's goal is to improve quality of life by identifying and addressing issues present in everyday society, and healthcare is at the core of a strong societal infrastructure. We believe that a global shift in healthcare is required to create a next-generation system offering smart universal care that remains affordable to all.
To achieve this social innovation and digital transformation of healthcare are key. Combining digital technologies with IoT and advanced analytics will bring medical innovation into a new generation of cost-effective, value-based healthcare.
Hitachi's products include medical devices such as diagnostic and particle beam therapy equipment, as well as medical IT and AI technologies that make diagnosis and treatment more efficient, such as medical facility operational systems and electronic medical records. By advancing its efforts in these areas, Hitachi can do its part to improve patient outcomes.
Hitachi's intraoperative MRI (iMRI) is among the core technologies for advanced digital operating theaters. Hitachi's innovative open-type permanent magnet design is superior to the traditional superconducting magnet design, reducing running costs by 30% and offering clear image resolution in low magnetic fields. The economical iMRI technology is gaining wider adoption, giving more patients access to quality healthcare services. We also provide training opportunities for health workers in developing countries.
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