Epson Transitions to 100% Renewable Electricity at All Group Sites Worldwide
Epson Transitions to 100% Renewable Electricity at All Group Sites Worldwide
Epson becomes the first in the Japanese manufacturing industry to fully transition to 100% renewables
Epson is pleased to announce that, as of December 2023, all electricity used at Epson Group sites around the globe 1is from renewable sources. This makes Epson the first 2in the domestic manufacturing industry to complete the transition to renewable electricity at all of its sites worldwide, including Japan. The Epson Group consumes approximately 876 GWh 3of electricity per year. By sourcing renewables to cover this demand, Epson expects to reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 400,000 tonnes.
Epson publicly committed to becoming carbon negative and underground resource 4free in its Environmental Vision 2050. The use of renewable electricity is a key means by which Epson seeks to reach its goal of achieving decarbonization. In line with this, Epson declared, in March 2021, that it would switch to 100% renewable electricity to meet the electricity needs at all Epson Group sites 1around the world by 2023. In November 2021, the switch was completed in Japan. The global switch to renewable electricity was completed on schedule in December 2023.
In addition to sourcing renewable electricity, Epson will promote the broader adoption of renewable energy, including by generating more of its own power and by supporting the development of new power sources through co-creation 5. Epson will reduce the amount of energy associated with production and products and will pursue further advances in resource circulation to attain the goal of becoming carbon negative.
Steps taken to switch to 100% renewable electricity use at all Epson Group sites 1
March 2021: Publicly committed to switching to 100% renewable electricity at all sites
April 2021: Switch completed at all sites in its local area of Nagano Prefecture, Japan
November 2021: Switch completed at all sites in Japan
December 2023: Switch completed at all global sites
Global President Yasunori Ogawa said, “For eight decades, Epson has demonstrated a proactive approach to environmental action. We have maintained the founder's commitment to preserving the cleanliness of nearby Lake Suwa and became the world’s first company to eliminate CFCs from our manufacturing processes. Now we have successfully completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity at all Epson Group sites in just two years and ten months since declaring our commitment to doing so in 2021. This will not only help us to achieve our own goals but will also help to facilitate a broader adoption of renewable electricity within society by spreading awareness. Our goal of realizing social sustainability is a bigger issue, one fraught with difficulty, but we will act with determination to address the issues with a spirit of creativity and challenge."
Epson believes that its philosophy of efficient, compact and precise innovation enriches lives and helps create a better world, and it will continue to engage in practices that are aligned with this purpose, thereby advancing toward its aspirational goal of achieving sustainability and enriching communities in tandem with its customers and partners.
1Excludes some sales sites and leased properties where the amount of electricity consumed cannot be determined
2Among Japanese companies that have joined the RE100. Current as of January 9, 2024, per Epson research.
3Results for the 2022 fiscal year ended March 2023. Includes co-generation system (CGS) electricity and privately generated electricity.
4Free of non-renewable resources such as oil and metals
5A project to expand the sourcing of renewable electricity in Nagano Prefecture
Author profile
Charlie de la Haye
PR and social media manager, Epson UK
About Epson
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to co-creating sustainability and enriching communities by leveraging its efficient, compact, and precision technologies and digital technologies to connect people, things, and information. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson will become carbon negative and eliminate use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050.
Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of around JPY 1 trillion.