The Decarbonization Expo taking place in Tokyo provides corporate carbon reduction solutions. (Photo: Hsu Tsu-lin)
The Decarbonization Expo, running from Feb. 29 through March 1 alongside Japan’s World Smart Energy Week, featured decarbonization and supply chain solutions to help businesses accelerate carbon reduction.
CO2 emissions visualization platform facilitates reduction
Japanese ICT giant NTT DATA displayed C-Turtle, a greenhouse gas emission visualization platform that integrates carbon emissions information across the entire supply chain, covering raw materials, production, transportation, consumption, and disposal, to help companies effectively reduce emissions.
C-Turtle is set to be launched in Taiwan this year, according to Sato from NTT. (Photo: Hsu Tsu-lin)
C-Turtle features a total emission allocation method that shows emissions reductions made by each company throughout the supply chain, allowing businesses to reflect the emission reduction results of their suppliers in their own emissions to reduce Scope 3 emissions and promote supplier participation.
Sae Sato, deputy manager of NTT's sustainability strategy office, told Reccessary that C-Turtle has been gaining traction with companies across various industries since its launch in Japan at the end of 2022, and is expected to make its debut in Taiwan this year.
Carbon recycling devices boost decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with a 140-year history, aims to reduce 50% of its carbon emissions in Scope 1 and 2 by 2030 and achieve net zero across the supply chain by 2040 through reducing product carbon emissions and adopting technologies such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
This is particularly challenging for a company whose business spans a wide range of industries, including automotive, shipbuilding, and electronics, making the recycling of carbon emissions a critical factor.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' carbon recycling device has captured 70% of the global market share. (Photo: Hsu Tsu-lin)
According to Makoto Susaki, chief technology officer at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the company's CO2 recovery technology is based on Direct Air Capture (DAC), where the recycled CO2 can be used directly or converted into synthetic fuels, building materials, and other products.
The technology is applied in large-scale recycling facilities for power plants, with a capacity of up to 5,000 tonnes per day, as well as a small-scale, modular version called CO2MPACT, targeting industries such as steelmaking, cement, and waste treatment.
The company currently holds a global market share of 70% for carbon recycling facilities. Although costs remain high, Mitsubishi anticipates that the future cost per tonne of CO2 recycled could be halved from current levels.
Product emission passports born ahead of EU's new supply chain regulations
With the increasing awareness of carbon reduction, more consumers want to know whether the products they purchase, such as T-shirts and mobile phones, are contributing to environmental burden.
Dutch company Circularise showcased its Digital Product Passport (DPP), developed in collaboration with Marubeni, which collects data on carbon emissions from products and supply chains and shares it with all stakeholders, including consumers.
The product enables understanding of the environmental impacts of products and their materials to support the production of sustainable products, assisting companies in developing circular economy business models and verifying compliance with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.
The Digital Product Passport helps companies develop circular economy business models. (Photo: Nana Chen)
With the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry, the EU will implement a battery passport in 2026 under the New EU Battery Regulation, requiring manufacturers to list the amount of recyclable raw materials used in batteries. Similar regulations are expected for products such as textiles and electronics.
Unlike other products that track emission data upstream through surveys, DPP collects data from all key players in the supply chain and ensures authenticity through third-party verification, said Shyaam Ramkumar, head of growth strategy at Circularise.
Japan promotes carbon recycling technology for supply chain decarbonization
Japanese companies reduce carbon emissions primarily through participation in three initiatives: Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and RE100, which have expanded from the manufacturing sector to various sectors, including retail.
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has established the Green Value Chain Platform to provide information to the growing number of companies that have started calculating supply chain emissions, said Takeo Sugii, a ministry official, adding that more companies are including Scope 3 emissions in their inventories.
The Green Transformation Week held during the Japan Energy Week demonstrates Japan's commitment to promoting corporate energy transition. (Photo: Hsu Tsu-lin)
With the country experiencing the hottest summer in 126 years last year and the increasing frequency of climate disasters, measures must be taken to ensure economic growth and a stable energy supply while pursuing a green transition, he said.
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the Ministry has pledged to reduce greenhouse gases by 46% from 2013 levels by 2030 and aims for a 50% reduction.
The formulated decarbonization pathway particularly emphasizes regional initiatives, aiming to enhance feasibility through collaboration with local governments, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), schools, and citizens to expand the use of renewable energy, resource cycling, and other measures.
One key decarbonization technology is carbon cycling. Japan released a roadmap for carbon cycling technology in 2019, considering CO2 as a source of carbon to be separated, recycled, and converted into fuels and recycled materials after capture, as an important part of Japan's energy policy.
With the support of the private sector, Japan established in August of the same year the Carbon Recycling Fund Institute (CRF) to fund research in this area, involving more than 200 companies including energy giants ENEOS, JPower, and the Mitsubishi Group.
