Contributions Toward Decarbonization in the Supply Chain
Supporting Companies’ GHG Emissions Calculations and Industry-wide Decarbonization
The NAGASE Group is working in collaboration with Zeroboard Inc. to achieve decarbonization throughout the supply chain by leveraging the network it has established in the chemical industry, including the development of a package to support greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calculations
Quantifying GHG Emissions in the Entire Supply Chain Poses a Challenge to Decarbonization
As carbon neutral initiatives are picking up steam worldwide, companies can no longer delay the transition to decarbonized business operations. Companies are expected not only to disclose and reduce their own direct GHG emission volumes and reduction targets, but also data on the entire supply chain related to their business activities.
Companies are faced with issues related to their own GHG emissions (Scope 1), such as the labor burden of collecting data from multiple locations and the cost of implementing specialized solutions. Companies also have difficulty acquiring primary data (Basic unit of emissions for each of the suppliers’ products and services) on emissions throughout the supply chain (Scope 3). In addition, supply chains in the chemical industry are extremely long and span across the globe, making Scope 3 emissions even more difficult to track.
Supporting GHG Emissions Calculation and Visualization in Collaboration with Zeroboard Inc.
In order to solve these issues, NAGASE & CO., LTD. has formed a business partnership with Zeroboard Inc. from September 2021. Together they have launched an initiative to support the decarbonization of companies primarily in the chemical industry through sales of zeroboard, a cloud service that calculates and visualizes GHG emissions.
The first step to establishing GHG reduction measures is to know the volume of GHG the company emits. The NAGASE Group supports the shift to corporate decarbonization by helping companies that have adopted zeroboard to visualize their GHG emissions, working together to consider reduction measures, and using on-site feedback to develop and provide concrete solutions for reducing emissions. In this way the NAGASE Group’s unique strengths are put to use, including the expertise it has cultivated in the chemical industry since its founding and the strong relationships with each of its business partners from upstream to downstream of the supply chain.
The NAGASE Group’s Collaboration with Zeroboard Inc.
The NAGASE Group’s Carbon Neutrality
In January 2022, the NAGASE Group announced its Group-wide commitment to carbon neutrality and set the following targets.
Targets for 2030
- Reduce Scope 1 and 2 by 46% (compared to 2013)
- Reduce Scope 3 by 12.3% or more (compared to 2020)
Specific numerical targets up to Scope 3 are highly difficult to achieve. In working with customers to reduce GHG emissions along the supply chain, we will first set high targets for our own GHG emissions calculations, with the aim of becoming a role model for decarbonization in the chemical industry.
zeroboard: A Cloud Service that Calculates and Visualizes GHG Emissions
In addition to streamlining the calculation of companies’ GHG emissions, zeroboard also calculates and visualizes GHG emissions stemming from corporate activities and their supply chains based on the categories of the GHG Protocol, which are international standards. In addition to linking and sharing GHG emissions data among user companies along the supply chain, zeroboard also helps with labor burden and cost issues by providing an easy-to-use interface and offering low-cost plans, making it simple for SMEs to adopt the service.
Speedy Sharing of Business Partners’ Opinions
Shoichi Furukawa
Environmental Solutions Section, Specialty Chemicals Department
How do you support business partners’ GHG emissions calculation and visualization?
Calculating GHG emissions along the supply chain is a challenge for many companies because the data collection and calculation process is extremely complex and difficult for one company to undertake alone. The NAGASE Group has a network and expertise in the chemical industry that allows it to engage in dialogue with many companies from upstream to downstream in the supply chain. It harnesses these strengths to help business partners visualize their GHG emissions. Our internal sales team is a cross-departmental team composed mainly of young employees, and we have built a system that enables us to quickly share honest opinions from our business partners in various industries and supply chains, which serves as a driving force both inside and outside the Company.
How did your business partners react to zeroboard?
zeroboard is not limited to calculating GHG emissions in the supply chain. In the future, it will enable companies along the supply chain to work together and facilitate Scope 3 reduction efforts by linking data between user companies. The product version of zeroboard was launched in January 2022 and has already been adopted by many companies. We have received comments from companies in a wide range of industries, including fragrances/cosmetics, paints, automotive parts, and chemical materials, saying that they were able to visualize their GHG emissions smoothly. Companies also voiced their expectations for the NAGASE Group to continue demonstrating its strengths and help them reduce their GHG emissions.
How did your business partners react to zeroboard?
zeroboard is not limited to calculating GHG emissions in the supply chain. In the future, it will enable companies along the supply chain to work together and facilitate Scope 3 reduction efforts by linking data between user companies. The product version of zeroboard was launched in January 2022 and has already been adopted by many companies. We have received comments from companies in a wide range of industries, including fragrances/cosmetics, paints, automotive parts, and chemical materials, saying that they were able to visualize their GHG emissions smoothly. Companies also voiced their expectations for the NAGASE Group to continue demonstrating its strengths and help them reduce their GHG emissions.
What is your outlook for the future?
Our business partners face many diverse challenges in the visualization of GHG emissions. We will continue to propose appropriate solutions to the issues faced by our business partners, both within the Group and in collaboration with Zeroboard Inc. In this rapidly changing world, NAGASE will not only support the visualization and reduction of GHG emissions, but will also promote environmental responses to biodiversity and the water environment. We will deliver value that only NAGASE can provide as a “guide runner” alongside our business partners, finding solutions to all their problems.
NAGASE’s zeroboard promotion team members
Integrated Report 2022
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