Epson is combating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in production (scopes 1 and 2) and across its value chain (scope 3) to help drive a transformation toward a decarbonized future, as envisioned by the Paris Agreement. Epson also contributes to society by developing energy saving products and further developing inkjet technology.

• Goal
• Risks & Opportunities (Responding to TCFD)
• Climate Change (Performance)

• Use of Renewable Energy

The 2015 Paris Agreement set a goal of keeping the increase in average global temperature to well below 2℃ above pre-industrial levels. Epson has set targets for reducing GHG emissions in the value chain to achieve this 2℃ goal as well as the goals of Epson 25 Renewed. Epson's targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as being consistent with climate change science.

GHG reduction targets

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions from the use of fuels, etc.
Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions from purchased energy, etc.
Scope 3: Indirect GHG emissions of the entire value chain

Epson has set FY2025 targets for reducing direct emissions associated with its business activities (scopes 1 and 2 emissions) and for reducing indirect emissions (scope 3 emissions). To achieve these SBTs, we are working in concert with our customers and partners to provide eco-conscious products and services that will both drive business growth and increase corporate value.

Epson has launched an Epson Group-wide SBT project under which each business has selected full-time energy conservationists. Actions to reduce emissions are being explored at model sites and then shared with others to increase the likelihood that targets will be achieved.

Main actions for reducing emissions

• Production innovations
• Investment in updated facilities and equipment such as plant infrastructure, scrubbers, and solar power systems
• Purchasing low-carbon electricity and using other forms of renewable energy
• Other reductions to be achieved by power utilities reducing their GHG emissions factors

Renewable Energy Use

Epson expects its energy use to increase as production increases in line with its long-term growth strategy. Therefore, all Epson sites and businesses are implementing energy-saving measures and increasing the use of renewable energy to achieve our SBT.
In 2021, Epson joined the international initiative RE100, which aims to drive a transition on the part of corporation to the use of 100% renewable electricity for their business activities by 2050. We have set a goal of switching to 100% renewable energy to meet the electricity needs at all Epson Group sites¹ around the world by 2023.
¹ Excludes some sales sites and other leased properties

Carbon Pricing

Carbon pricing, an instrument that captures the costs of GHG emissions across society, is seen as a way to spur action and innovation in support of lower carbon emissions. Epson prepared payback period criteria and guidelines that incorporate carbon pricing principles to evaluate (study the feasibility of) potential investments for reducing GHG emissions. They were introduced on a trial basis in FY2018 and were formally adopted in 2020.

Category 11 emissions (emissions from the use of sold products) represent the largest source of Epson's scope 3 emissions, followed by category 1 emissions (emissions from the production of products purchased or acquired).
Under the Epson 25 Renewed Corporate Vision, we are seeking to provide environmental value and mitigate environmental impacts along with our customers. In each product category, we set targets (metrics) that are linked to product value. Ultimately, we have an ambitious goal of reducing scope 3 emissions per unit of value added that is linked to a management performance indicator.

Avoided Emissions

Epson's inkjet technology saves resources. Our printers, which do not use heat to print, draw comparatively little electricity while consumables and limited lifetime parts require only infrequent replacement. Using Epson inkjets instead of laser printers can cut users' electricity consumption and reduce the environmental impacts of society as a whole. In fiscal 2021, in addition to business inkjet printers and laser projectors, the avoided emissions¹ by our digital textile printing and dry process office papermaking systems was calculated to be 276 thousand t-CO2e.

¹ Third-party GHG emission avoidance was estimated by using a flow base approach to calculate the contribution to avoided emissions achieved by replacing conventional products and work processes with Epson products. This is different from the actual reduction amount.
(1) Replacement of laser printers with inkjet printers, (2) flat panel displays with laser projectors, (3) analog printing with digital printing, (4) digital textile printing dye inks with pigment inks, and (5) commercially available recycled paper with paper produced from used paper using dry process office papermaking systems.

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The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) released its final report in June 2017. The TCFD encourages businesses to publicly disclose their medium- to long-term risks and opportunities related to climate change as financial information. Epson takes this as a call to develop resilient management and corporate health, able to adapt to all sorts of transitions in the face of climate change with impacts of a scope and scale we cannot predict.

Epson's initiatives to mitigate global warming revolve around reducing CO2 emissions by conserving energy, and reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) other than CO2.

2021 Overview

In the 2021 fiscal year, Epson accelerated the use of renewable energy in addition to driving site-based energy-saving initiatives, enabling us to progress toward our SBT Initiative-validated 2025 target of reducing scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 34% compared to FY2017. This boosted the percentage of renewable energy from less than 1% in the past to about 35% (and 49% in the case of electricity).

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Epson is proactively working to reduce the direct and indirect emissions associated with its business and production activities (scopes 1 and 2 emissions). However, it is indirect emissions that occur in the value chain (scope 3 emissions) that account for the vast majority of Epson's GHG emissions. The lion's share of scope 3 emissions are emissions during the use of our products (category 11: use of sold products) and emissions associated with the procurement of raw materials (category 1: purchased goods and services). Therefore, Epson has incorporated these two categories in its SBT (science-based target). In the future, we will switch from an intensity target based on reducing emissions as a percentage of business profit to a more ambitious reduction target that is in line with the 1.5℃ scenario.

Logistics Initiatives

Epson is reducing GHG emissions by increasing the efficiency of product, part, and waste transportation. We are making products smaller (which increases shipping efficiency), rethinking our logistics centers, innovating the loading and packing processes (to boost loading efficiency), and reconsidering shipment departure and arrival frequencies and number of trips.

Cooperation with Suppliers

Epson and its suppliers can help address societal challenges and achieve sustainability by aligning their approach to supply chain CSR.

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About 70% of Epson's GHG emissions come from the consumption of electricity. However, the percentage of our GHG emissions from electricity consumption is now lower because of a pilot project in Japan under which we switched to renewable electricity. At home and abroad, we have increased the percentage of renewable energy to 49% of electricity usage by selecting the optimal low-carbon electricity in each region, such as hydropower and wind power, and by proactively investing in on-site electricity generation.

In 2021, Epson joined the international initiative RE100, which aims to drive a transition on the part of corporations to the use of 100% renewable electricity for their business activities by 2050. We have set a goal of switching to 100% renewable energy to meet the electricity needs at all Epson Group sites¹ around the world by 2023.

We have completed the transition to renewable electricity at our global production sites in Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States (Portland), Indonesia (Bekasi), Thailand, the Philippines and China. We have done the same at office buildings owned by our European sales companies in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K. In addition to generating electricity with a rooftop mega-solar power plant, our production site in the Philippines switched to a mix of geothermal and hydroelectric power in January 2021. The Philippines is exploiting its volcanic resources to harness geothermal power, and Epson's site in that nation serves as an example in which our energy use is adapted to regional characteristics.

In Japan, Epson purchases Shinshu Green Electricity, CO2-free value-added electric power produced locally with abundant water sources in Nagano Prefecture using Nagano Prefectural hydroelectric power. This is both reducing Epson's GHG emissions and increasing local consumption of locally produced energy. In the Tohoku area, where Epson has a semiconductor fabrication plant and which accounts for about half of Epson's domestic electricity consumption, Epson uses CO2-free renewable electricity that utilizes a mix of geothermal heat from the Ou Mountains and hydropower. In November 2021, Epson completed the transition to 100% renewable electricity for all its domestic sites in Japan.

Sites using 100% renewable electricity (As for January, 2023)

¹ "All sites" referenced in this release excludes leased properties for sales offices, etc., where the amount of electricity cannot be determined.

Case of onsite solar power generation

* Power Purchase Agreement: Onsite Solar Power Generation Service

The use of renewable energy (energy from natural sources) is one of the most effective ways to reduce GHG emissions. Accordingly, Epson is implementing plans to expand its use of renewable energy long-term. However, there are obstacles to expanding renewable energy use, including costs and supply limitations in some regions. Recognizing that there is nothing one company alone can do about these obstacles, Epson decided to declare its support for the important policy recommendations below as one solution. The realization of these recommendations will make it easier to take actions that minimize the impact on future climate change.

Coordinated global action is essential to combat climate change. We at Epson will therefore continue our efforts toward decarbonization, including by supporting future such recommendations. When deciding whether to join or continue our association with industry groups, we check whether the group's climate change initiatives are aligned with Epson's own policies.

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