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Asahi Group Supports “We Mean Business” Coalition’s Open Letter
Working to address climate change under the Asahi Carbon Zero (*1) initiative

1 Oct. 2021
Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.

Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo; President and Representative Director, CEO, Atsushi Katsuki) declared its support for the We Mean Business Coalition’s open letter published on September 30, 2021, calling on G20 governments to strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of each country.

The We Mean Business Coalition is a global platform jointly organized by partners, namely networks of businesses and investors, international organizations, thinktanks, and non-profit organizations that support the promotion of taking actions to address climate change. The partners are working together through this platform to expand their efforts to address climate change.

The letter aims to make recommendations to the leaders participating in the G20 Summit in October 2021. Ahead of the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow (UK) on 31 October – 12 November 2021, it stresses that it is imperative for each country to strengthen their efforts to address climate change to accelerate progress on decarbonization. Policy recommendations in this letter cover the agenda for the G20 Summit, including raising their NDCs to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, investing in clean technologies and supporting technological innovation, and introducing appropriate carbon pricing.

Asahi Group calls for “contribution to a sustainable society through our business” as one of the guiding principles in the “Asahi Group Philosophy.” As a company doing business while enjoying “the gifts of nature,” we are seeking to pass on “the gifts of nature” to future generations by actively promoting efforts to address a wide range of environmental issues.

To achieve medium- to long-term goals under the Asahi Carbon Zero initiative calling for zero CO2 emissions by 2050, the entire Asahi Group will take initiatives to save energy, such as proactively using renewable energy at our manufacturing bases in Japan and overseas, reviewing manufacturing processes, and pursuing greater efficiency in logistics. We have also made proactive efforts in research and development, by beginning a demonstration project to generate electricity using fuel cells powered by biomethane gas derived from brewery wastewater, and conducting demonstration tests utilizing CO2 separation and capture testing system and methanation system.

The Asahi Carbon Zero initiative was recognized as the “1.5℃ Target” (*2) by the SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative). By working to address climate change under the Asahi Carbon Zero initiative, we are seeking to strike a balance between society and business continuity.

Atsushi Katsuki, President and Representative Director, CEO of Asahi Group Holdings commented, “We urge G20 leaders to step up and go all in to collectively halve global emissions by 2030 in order to limit warming to 1.5C. We all have a part to play. With greater investment and the right policy signals we can scale up the solutions that exist today and simultaneously innovate to develop the rest. Business has the potential to bring about rapid change, but we need clear and consistent policies to drive the business investments and decisions that will build stronger, just, and more resilient economies.”

  • *1 This is the Asahi Group’s medium- to long-term targets for reducing CO2 emissions, aiming to achieve zero emissions in Scope 1, 2, and 3 in 2050. As for the 2030 targets, we call for 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2, and 30% reduction in Scope 3 (compared with 2019, respectively).
  • *2 This is a joint initiative established by CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project), U.N. Global Compact, WRI (World Resources Institute), and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) to address problems caused by an increased level of greenhouse gas emissions. This initiative is calling on businesses to set science-based targets for CO2 reduction to achieve worldwide targets of limiting an average global temperature rise caused by climate change to less than 1.5℃ compared with pre-Industrial Revolution levels.