Responding to Climate Change
Approach and Policy
Social Issue
The increasing intensity of harmful weather events in recent years has been attributed to rising greenhouse gas emissions. River flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains have impacted livelihoods and taken lives around the world, and economic losses also continue to rise.
In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, and the Paris Agreement was adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21). The objective of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve that goal, the agreement set out the target of net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by the second half of this century.
Moreover, in October 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, which is based on scientific knowledge and stresses that many of the impacts of climate change could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels instead of 2°C. In addition, the Working Group I Report component of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report released in August 2021 states, “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”
Based on this, Casio has revised its social mission from “helping to achieve a low-carbon society” to “helping to build a decarbonized society,” making this its long-term target in accordance with the Paris Agreement long-term climate goal.
In April 2021, based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD),*1 Casio strengthened its governance relating to climate change, formulated strategies based on climate-change risk and opportunity analysis, and disclosed climate-related financial risk information. In 2022, Casio conducted a scenario analysis to identify risks and opportunities and assess the impacts.
In 2024, Casio changed the name for its specific initiatives for the world of the future to “Responding to Climate Change,” and is promoting responses to climate change in general.
Information Disclosure Based on TCFD Recommendations
*1 TCFD: Established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system, this initiative aims to help companies understand and disclose the financial impact of their climate change risks and opportunities.
Importance for the Casio Group
Greenhouse gas emissions related to the Casio Group include direct emissions from the Group’s activities (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from the Group’s activities (Scope 2), as well as emissions from other activities such as procurement and manufacturing of raw materials, logistics, sales, and product usage and disposal (Scope 3). Scope 3 accounted for 96.1% of total emissions in fiscal 2024. Based on this, Casio has set targets for Scope 3 in addition to Scope 1 and 2, and is implementing measures to respond to climate change.
In 2020, in order to gain a more detailed understanding of its greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a decarbonized society based on objective indicators, Casio revised its criteria for calculating greenhouse gas emissions and its medium- to long-term targets to bring them into line with scientific knowledge.
Casio then requested the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi),*2 an international initiative, to validate its revised calculation criteria and medium-term targets. In April 2021, the SBTi recognized that Casio’s approach is in line with the Well-Below 2°C (a goal to keep the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels) and validated that Casio’s criteria and targets are based on scientific evidence. Moreover, in December 2021, Casio joined RE100,*3 an international initiative that promotes the use of 100% electricity from renewable energy sources in business activities, and has been making various efforts to reach this target.
*2 SBTi
An initiative promoted by several international NGOs (CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute [WRI] and the World Wide Fund for Nature [WWF]) to encourage private companies and other organizations to set science-based targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction and help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The SBTi provides validation of science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets that comply with the Paris Agreement.
*3 RE100
RE100 is an international initiative operated by The Climate Group, an international environmental NGO, in partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). It is composed of companies that are working toward using 100% electricity from renewable energy sources in their business activities.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Group Activities (Scope 1 and 2)
Approach and Policy
The Casio Group has a variety of sites in addition to production sites, including R&D centers that mainly conduct testing and research and offices that carry out sales, maintenance, and overall Group management. Energy is used for the activities at each site, producing GHG emissions.
These can be calculated by determining direct emissions (Scope 1) from the use of fuel at Group sites and indirect emissions (Scope 2) from the use of electricity supplied by other companies at Group sites, so we have set targets for Scope 1 and 2 and are promoting reductions across the Group.
Targets and Performance
The Casio Group has set a long-term target to bring Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to virtually zero, and has set medium-term targets as milestones for achieving the long-term target as it moves ahead with reduction activities.
| Scope 2 calculation method | Scope 1 + Scope 2 combined target | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base year | Target year | Target | ||
| Long-term target | Market-based | - | FY2051 | Virtually zero emissions |
| Medium-term target | Market-based | FY2019 | FY2031 | Reduce 38% |
Casio has also set interim targets for each fiscal year based on medium-term target and is confirming the status of achievement.
In fiscal 2024, the Casio Group carried over renewable energy plan contracts made in fiscal 2022 with electricity providers for the electricity used at its sites in Japan and also increased renewable energy plan contracts for sites outside Japan. In addition, Casio entered power purchase agreements (PPA) to begin using electricity from renewable energy sources at production sites in China and also purchased renewable energy certificates, as well. With these means, Casio met its annual interim target for fiscal 2024.
As a result, Casio achieved the reduction rate (38% reduction from the fiscal 2019 level) set as the medium-term target for fiscal 2024. However, understanding the need to carefully monitor increases in costs associated with maintaining renewable energy plan contracts and purchasing renewable energy certificates, as well as fluctuations in energy usage due to changing business activity volumes, Casio plans to continue working to meet its medium-term targets.
Evaluation Standard◎: All targets met, ○ : Most targets met, △ : Remaining issues outweigh results, × : No progress made
| Targets | FY2024 Targets | FY2024 Performance | Evaluation | FY2025 Targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term target: Reduce to zero the total volume of Casio Group’s greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by FY2051 |
Reduce the market-based greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) of group companies by 16% compared to FY2019. | Reduced 44% compared to FY2019 | ◎ | Reduce the market-based greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) of Casio Group by 19% compared to FY2019. |
| Medium-term target: Reduce the total volume of Casio Group’s market-based greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by 38% compared to FY2019 by FY2031. |
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Other Than Scope 1 and Scope 2 (Scope 3)
Approach and Policy
Emissions from the value chain related to Casio’s business activities other than Scope 1 and Scope 2 are classified and calculated for each Scope 3 category. Casio has set targets for categories with particularly large emissions and is working to reduce Scope 3 emissions overall.
Targets and Performance
Casio has set targets for Scope 3 emission reductions with fiscal 2019 as the base year. GHG emissions associated with purchased goods and services (Category 1) and use of sold products (Category 11) accounted for more than three-quarters of total Scope 3 emissions as of fiscal 2019. Casio has set the following targets with a focus on these emissions and is carrying out emission reduction activities.
Casio has also set interim targets for each fiscal year based on target below and is confirming the status of achievement.
| Target categories | Base year | Target year | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1: Purchased goods and services Category 11: Use of sold products |
FY2019 | FY2031 | Reduce 30% |
Emissions in Category 1 (purchased goods and services) were reduced in fiscal 2021 and since then, they have trended slightly upward. This is likely the result of the downward trend in the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing increase in product manufacturing activities. Since emissions associated with raw materials purchased from suppliers account for the largest portion of Category 1 emissions, Casio is working to address the supply chain as a key measure. In fiscal 2022, Casio started carrying out supply chain surveys on GHG emissions reductions and collecting information. In fiscal 2024, based on the survey results, the company held discussions on future measures led by the department in charge of the survey.
Emissions in Category 11 (use of sold products) have continued to decrease significantly since fiscal 2020. It is thought that this can mainly be attributed to a decrease in sales of product groups with high GHG emissions related to use by customers of sold products from fiscal 2020 onward due to changes in Casio’s business strategy.
The actual total of Category 1 and 11 emissions for fiscal 2024 already exceeded the fiscal 2031 target rate of reduction (reduce 30% compared with fiscal 2019), mainly due to a significant reduction in Category 11 from fiscal 2020 onward.
Evaluation ◎: All targets met, ○ : Most targets met, △ : Remaining issues outweigh results, × : No progress made
| Medium and long-term targets | FY2024 Targets | FY2024 Performance | Evaluation | FY2025 Targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from purchased goods and services (Category 1) and the use of sold products (Category 11) by 30% by FY2031, compared to FY2019 | Aggregate results of the supply chain survey and consider response | Conducted a supply chain survey and compiled the results. However, left the issue of how to respond to the results of this survey for further consideration | 〇 | Promote the compilation of supply chain surveys and consider future responses |