Climate change
Materiality
Our approach
Climate change caused by human economic activity has brought about wide-ranging risks worldwide, from natural disasters to biodiversity loss due to the impacts of global warming, which require urgent global action. We recognize that climate change is a critical issue for the Yakult Group’s business continuity. As global society works toward net zero emissions, the Yakult Group will cut GHG emissions by setting quantitative targets, advancing more energy conservation initiatives and actively adopting renewable energy through the installation of solar power generation equipment.
Related SDGs
Promoting CO2 reduction
At Yakult Honsha plants and bottling companies, we are reducing CO2 emissions by introducing environmentally conscious equipment, switching to LED lighting and improving production efficiency. We are also actively adopting solar power, a clean and renewable source of energy.
At our 13 domestic plants in particular, we have effectively switched to electricity from renewable energy sources.
Main initiatives
Yakult Group Environmental Vision
The world is experiencing climate change and various other environmental issues that are growing more severe with time. The Yakult Group creates products that are available in 40 countries and regions around the world, and we conduct our business on the basis of local production for local sales. We recognize that our corporate activities have not only positive but also negative impacts on local communities and environments in various locations globally.
In March 2021, the Yakult Group created the Yakult Group Environmental Vision to reduce our negative impacts and promote efforts with a positive impact on the global environment with the aim of uniting people and planet as one. We set out our ideal vision for the future in Environmental Vision 2050 and, using backcasting, established short- and medium-term milestones in order to effectively act and make progress toward this vision.
Reducing CO2 emissions from our manufacturing and marketing departments
At Yakult Honsha plants and bottling companies, we have been reducing CO2 emissions by switching to LED lighting, improving equipment and production efficiency, using solar power generation, and other initiatives. We also changed the pump supplying cold water to storage tanks to operate intermittently, in order to reduce power consumption and CO2 emissions.
We are also introducing electric vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions of delivery vehicles used by Yakult Ladies at marketing companies.
Solar panels at Okayama Wake Plant
Electric vehicle (COMS)
Switching to renewable energy to power our 13 domestic plants
- * Fukushima Plant, Ibaraki Plant, Fuji Susono Plant, Hyogo Miki Plant, Saga Plant, Yakult Iwate Plant, Yakult Chiba Plant, Yakult Aichi Plant, Yakult Okayama Wake Plant, Yakult Fukuoka Plant, Fuji Susono Pharmaceutical Plant, Yakult Materials Co., Ltd. Fuji Susono Plant
- Note: Electric power-related CO2 emission factors are the adjusted emission factors of each electric power company.
Special
Report
Report from the Frontlines
Caring for the environment and protecting employee health by introducing electric trucks: Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd.
Caring for the environment and protecting employee health by introducing electric trucks: Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd.
Since 2018, Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd. has been pushing forward with the introduction of electric trucks amid China’s increasingly strict vehicle emissions regulations to reduce CO2 emissions and combat air pollution. In this article, a manager discusses these efforts, focusing on the various challenges encountered along the way.
Guangzhou: A city leading the fight against air pollution in China
Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province and China’s third largest city after Beijing and Shanghai. Numerous Japanese companies have expanded into this region of flourishing trade. While serious air pollution is often reported in China, Guangzhou has actively worked to address environmental concerns, resulting in a 58.5% reduction in PM2.5 particles and a 44.2% reduction in NO2 emissions (achieving targets for three consecutive years) compared to fiscal 2013 levels. By consistently producing these outstanding figures, Guangzhou has distinguished itself among China’s major cities.
An electric truck on a Guangzhou street
| Air pollutants | Guangzhou (2022) |
Class1 AQI | Class2 AQI | Documented supplementary explanations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 22㎍/㎥ | 15㎍/㎥ | 35㎍/㎥ | Meets standards every day and maintains excellent results among the nation’s major cities, with a 58.5% reduction compared to 2013 levels |
| PM10 | 39㎍/㎥ | 40㎍/㎥ | 70㎍/㎥ | Annual reductions, with a 45.8% reduction compared to 2013 levels |
| Nitrogen dioxide | 29㎍/㎥ | 40㎍/㎥ | 40㎍/㎥ | Targets achieved for three consecutive years, with a 44.2% reduction compared to 2013 levels |
| Ground-level ozone | 179㎍/㎥ | 100㎍/㎥ | 160㎍/㎥ | Annual fluctuations, with a 14.7% increase compared to 2013 levels |
| Sulfur dioxide | 6㎍/㎥ | 20㎍/㎥ | 60㎍/㎥ | Maintains comparatively low levels annually while trending towards reduction, with a 70% reduction compared to 2013 levels |
| Carbon monoxide | 1.0㎍/㎥ | 4.0㎍/㎥ | 4.0㎍/㎥ | Maintains comparatively low levels annually, with a 33% reduction compared to 2013 levels |
Reducing emissions by introducing electric trucks
China has set goals of reducing CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 65% compared to 2005 levels by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. In order to achieve these goals, regulations on automobile emissions are becoming stricter. In particular, diesel trucks have seen heavy regulation, with their use being restricted within some cities. For Yakult, delivering safe and secure products in a fresh state from our production sites directly to our customers and stores is a common pillar of our business operations throughout the world. In a hot and humid city like Guangzhou, which is located in the subtropics, refrigerated trucks are an indispensable tool. However, around 2018, Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd. began feeling the impact of government regulations on emissions, which led to the company’s decision to convert our fleet of diesel trucks into electric ones. Electric trucks cost 30–40% more than diesel ones, but thanks to a subsidy system set up by the Chinese government to encourage electric vehicle use, Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd. received an approximate 5% subsidy (as of 2021) to facilitate our introduction of electric trucks.
An electric truck at a charging station
Limited model options along with frequent breakdowns and challenges
When we began introducing electric trucks in 2018, there were few models suited to our business needs, so we were forced to lease heavy-duty models. However, few employees possessed the necessary licenses to operate a large vehicle, which made it difficult to set delivery routes and assign tasks. In addition, we frequently experienced breakdowns and other challenges. As we reviewed the way we used our vehicles in our daily operations and communicated with the leasing company about parts that needed improvement, we noticed a gradual reduction in breakdowns, and the leasing company was able to deal with issues more smoothly when they arose. Even so, three years after introducing these electric trucks, we still had no leasing options for models other than large vehicles, and were unable to resolve issues such as driver shortages and high costs. For this reason, in 2021 we shifted our strategy from leasing to directly purchasing electric trucks in order to meet our business needs.
Another major challenge in introducing electric trucks has been installing charging stations. At Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd., we have fast charging stations capable of charging vehicles up to 60 kW class, but it takes five to six hours to fully charge two vehicles at once. The charging station is designed to automatically stop when the vehicle is fully charged, but just in case something goes wrong, we make sure that charging only happens during hours when employees are present. In practice, even a fully charged vehicle has a maximum operating range of approximately 150 km. This suffices for deliveries within the city, but is a cause for concern when delivering to suburban areas.
Charging station
Electric vehicle use is expanding thanks to government support, making it possible to purchase vehicle models that suit our business needs
Back in 2018, there seemed to be few companies using electric trucks, but the government’s environmental initiatives over the past five years has rapidly popularized their use. Nowadays Guangzhou residents seem to naturally accept the sight of electric trucks moving throughout the streets.
An electric truck is relatively expensive compared to a gasoline or diesel vehicle, and the issue of limited charging station availability remains unresolved. On the other hand, the price of gasoline, including diesel fuel, has risen steeply, so that electric trucks now offer operating cost benefits that are equal to or even greater than those of diesel trucks. Drivers also appreciate their smooth acceleration.
Still, the greatest effect of introducing electric trucks has been the reduction of our environmental impact. If electric vehicles become more widely adopted throughout Guangzhou, air quality would be improved, helping to protect people’s health. For this reason, Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd. will continue to take the lead and promote the use of these vehicles.
Employee Comment
Company: Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd.
Department: Promotion Section of Business Planning Department
Name: Lu Manli
Employee Comment
I’m concerned that global climate change due to the increase in CO2 emissions will have a series of impacts on natural ecosystems, leading to issues in our daily living environment, economy and even society. Personally, I believe that taking steps to protect the environment through efforts such as electricity and water conservation can help improve air pollution and slow the deterioration of the ecosystem.
Special
Report
Report from the Frontlines
Growing the sustainable Yakult Forest with our global stakeholders: Yakult Europe B.V.
Growing the sustainable Yakult Forest with our global stakeholders: Yakult Europe B.V.
In 2022, Yakult Europe B.V. has launched a partnership with Treedom, a global web platform to promote the trees planting worldwide with the aim of making the planet greener. Planted trees will be taken care by local farmers over the long term. In this article, one of our staff explains the value of this partnership and future ambition.
Preserving biodiversity and more: Reforestation with Treedom
From a global perspective, Europe is known for its high level of awareness around environmental issues. The European Union has taken the lead in developing environmental laws and regulations, and a range of European corporations continue to implement forward-thinking environmental initiatives. In 2022, Yakult Europe B.V. entered into a partnership with Treedom, a global web platform working to plant trees and expand forests across the globe, to grow the Yakult Forest together with all of our employees. This initiative not only contributes to reforestation, it also has the potential to bring social and economic benefits for local communities in developing nations.
Harvesting oranges in Ecuador
Treedom was established in Italy in 2010. It promotes reforestation through a system where seedlings purchased online are planted and cultivated by local farmers in places like Africa and Central and South America. To date Treedom has partnered with approximately 11,000 companies, with 220,000 farmers in 15 countries having planted 3.8 million trees. There are many tree-planting organizations around the world, but Treedom is unique in both their long-term support for the planted trees and their efforts surrounding forestry conservation and management. For this reason, Treedom’s planting cost per tree is higher than those of other organizations. However, we found noticeable differences compared to other organizations in the way Treedom tackles environmental issues such as biodiversity and climate change, as well as offering the social and economic opportunities to farmers.
Harvesting oranges in Ecuador
A Tanzanian farmer watering young avocado plants
Creating online Yakult Forest community with Yakult employee
While valuing Treedom’s unique activities, it took continuous discussion with corporate communication colleagues in each country to select one organization for partnership. In this internal selection and planning process, we have discussed thoroughly the objective of this partnership and found that vision of Treedom perfectly matches Yakult’s corporate philosophy and Environmental Vision. So we have decided to move forward with the partnership and to start where we can.
To celebrate this partnership we gifted actual plant with online Treedom code to all Yakult group colleagues in Europe so everyone can choose the type of their trees and country where trees will be planted according to their choice and join Yakult forest on Treedom platform.Through the Yakult Forest page, employees can follow the stories of the growing trees with pictures and geographical information where trees are planted. Internally we have received positive employee feedback that they are happy and excited to see actual action and one step towards better tomorrow.
Plants and Treedom codes gifted to employees
Yakult Forest webpage
Expanding initiatives with a wide variety of stakeholders
We have also worked to maximize this partnership through external communication. We have created press releases which has been announced in each language on local websites across Europe. To further raise awareness of this initiative, we sent out newsletters and promoted it on social media. In addition, we also gifted Treedom codes to our external stakeholders and consumers and offered them the opportunity to join the Yakult Forest community.
Furthermore, in September 2022, Yakult Europe B.V. and the City of Almere in the Netherlands cohosted a CSR seminar at Floriade Expo 2022, international horticulture exhibition. We invited Treedom as one of the speakers to highlight for both internal and external stakeholders the importance of active partnerships to improve society and the environment.
As of June 2023, our partnership with Treedom has resulted in 6,747 trees planted in seven different countries, which is expected to reduce CO2 by 1,880.4 tons.
Ruaha National Park , Tanzania
At Yakult Europe B.V., we will continue striving to grow the Yakult Forest not only with Yakult employees but also through an expanded community of stakeholders.
Employee Comment
Company: Yakult Europe B.V.
Position: Corporate Communication Officer
Name: Miki Niwa
Employee Comment
Our future ambition is to maximize this partnership not only within the Yakult Group, but also by involving our external stakeholders. Treedom offers an unique online platform with attractive photos and videos which lets us share our story and engage even more people in this initiative. By continuing this partnership we can support tangible benefit for people and planet.
Sustainability
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