On November 24th, Mitsui Fudosan announced that it has formulated a Group Action Plan for the Realization of a Decarbonized Society.

In December 2020, the company set a mid to long term target for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), but has now formulated a new plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, raising its GHG reduction target by 2030 to a 40% reduction.  Compared to 2019, the previous reduction target was 30%.

In order to promote the plan, the newly established Sustainability Promotion Department was announced on October 1st, and a new Internal Carbon Pricing (ICP) system will be introduced in 2022 as a way to encourage decarbonization efforts by costing out the CO2 emissions of newly developed properties. 

By monetarily visualizing the environmental impact and managing the progress of CO2 emission reduction, the company hopes to raise the awareness across the entire group and accelerate decarbonization efforts.

To achieve the company’s 2030 targets, Mitsui Fudosan will promote the conversion to Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) and Zero Energy Homes (ZEH) in all new developments in Japan for projects currently under construction and others still in the planning phase . 

For existing properties, solar panels will be installed on the rooftops of distribution and commercial facilities to generate and supply electricity on-site. 

In office buildings, further utilization of LED lighting will be used along with optimization of illumination levels. 

Hotels and other commercial facilities will see air conditioning optimization systems installed as well.

Mitsui Fudosan also will expand the use of green electricity for all facilities in Japan. 

Specifically this means the company will expand the scale of their mega solar business to 380,000 kWh/year, approximately five times the 2019 level, to secure power generation equivalent to our own power in the Tokyo metropolitan area. 

Mitsui Fudosan will also strengthen partnerships to decarbonize the entire supply chain that supports the building of their developments, including efforts to reduce CO2 emissions during construction and for the methods of obtaining lumber.

Looking ahead to 2050, the company will actively consider the use of new renewable energy technologies such as offshore wind power and geothermal power generation, as well as the development of new energy creation projects. 

Mitsui Fudosan will promote innovation for the creation of new technologies by conducting research and development with select partnerships including academia such as the University of Tokyo and various construction companies, investing in energy related start up companies and providing on-site opportunities for demonstration tests. 

Further Reading

Mitsui Fudosan Group Action Plan for the Realization of a Decarbonized Society (Japanese only; November, 2021)