Environment
Environmental Management
GMO Internet Group Environmental Policy.
Core ideology
GMO Internet Group is aware that working on the global environmental problems including climate change and environmental pollution is a universal issue and strives to reduce the environmental impact on customers and society through our services as a company that provides Internet infrastructure and service infrastructure to realize a decarbonized society and contribute to a sustainable society.
Conduct guidelines
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Realization of a carbon-free society
- We strive to develop and provide advanced and innovative services that help mitigate the effects of climate change and realize a low-carbon society. We are also committed to continuous improvement to reduce the environmental impact of our operations.
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Preserving natural capital
- We will give consideration to the impact that our business activities have on ecosystems, and make efforts for waste management and protection of water resources and biodiversity.
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Legal compliance and fulfillment of responsibilities in the international community
- We will place importance on environmental issues and strive to reduce risks.
- We will comply with domestic laws and regulations related to environmental conservation.
- We will work in collaboration with the international community to combat climate change.
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Education and awareness-raising activities
- GMO Internet Group educates and enlightens its partners so that each and every one of them understands the importance of environmental issues to improve our services and create innovations that are environmentally friendly.
Initiatives on the Climate Change
Our Response to Climate Change (Information Disclosure based on TCFD Recommendations)
1.Governance
To fulfill its social responsibilities and contribute to a sustainable society and environment, GMO Internet Group has established Sustainability Promotion Committee, with Founder, Chairman and Group CEO as the chairman and Director, Executive Vice President and Group CFO as the executive in charge of sustainability, and convenes meetings on a quarterly basis. The Sustainability Promotion Committee promotes sustainability initiatives including those addressing climate change in cooperation with group companies (sustainability promotion divisions, corporate divisions, business segments) and offers recommendations to the Board of Directors and at management meetings, if necessary.
2.Strategy
We have identified risks that future climate change may have impacts on our business and climate-related opportunities using the scenario analysis methodology in line with the TCFD recommendations. The Sustainability Promotion Committee has developed scenarios assuming changes in the natural and social environment surrounding us, by reference to IEA/IPCC scenarios, and identified risks and opportunities related to climate change.
We have adopted the 1.5℃ scenario which assumes a society where rapid acceleration of the movement toward reducing CO2 emissions through a transition to a decarbonized society exposes changes in needs associated with tightening of regulations such as carbon pricing and an increase in stakeholders' environmental awareness.
| Category | Description | Term | Countermeasures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transition risk | Policy/ laws and regulations | Increase in business costs due to introduction of a carbon tax | M, L | ・Reduce carbon emissions through energy saving ・Promote decarbonization of our supply chain by introducing renewable energy |
| Market/ services | Loss of business opportunities due to failure to satisfy customer needs to reduce environmental burden | M, L | ・Promote green transformation (GX) of existing services ・Develop new sustainability-related services | |
| Reputation | Fall in evaluation from stakeholders, increases in recruiting cost and funding cost, and impact on stock price due to inadequate efforts against climate change issues | S, M | ・Promote sustainability-related activities by setting up an organization dedicated to decarbonization through supply chain and accelerated efforts to accommodate green transition of society and customers | |
| Physical risk | Chronic | Increase air conditioner efficiency | M, L | ・Increase air conditioner efficiency |
| Acute | Suspension of business/services due to collapse of data centers, data loss and human casualties due to abnormal climate and natural disasters | S, M | ・Improve BCP of data centers, offices, communications, etc. ・Enhance data center facilities and remote access/maintenance environment, etc. | |
| Opportunities | Market/ services | Increase in demand for our services to promote online access and paperless due to growing social demand for eco-friendly management | S, M | ・Execute current strategies under the corporate slogan "Internet for Everyone" including supporting digital transformation (DX) with our electronic contract service "e-contract service GMO Sign," etc. |
| Reputation | Higher recognition from stakeholders and increase in corporate value due to aggressive measures toward climate change issues | M, L | ・Promote sustainability-related activities by setting up an organization dedicated to decarbonization through supply chain and accelerated efforts to accommodate green transition of society and customers | |
| Short-term (S): 1 to 3 years; Mid-term (M): 3 to 8 years; Long-term (L): 8 to 30 years | ||||
3.Risk management
GMO Internet Group has a management system enabling to respond quickly to risks by determining uncertainties and effects (risks) of achievement of the management targets in relation to changes in the business environment including climate change. To understand and analyze the risks from various perspectives, the Group Risk Management Division shares information with relevant departments and group companies and reports the identified risks and their recent status to the Risk Management Committee made up of Deputy to the Group CEO and relevant general managers. The Risk Management Committee identifies persons responsible for selecting and coping with important risks (risk owners), examines measures, gives instructions and reports the activity details to the Board of Directors on a regular basis.
Led by the Secretariat of the Sustainability Promotion Committee, we also examined climate change risks. Then, the Sustainability Promotion Committee and the Board of Directors deliberated and decided on the identification and assessment of the Company's climate change risks. The identified climate change risks are incorporated in the process of overall risk management and sustainability risk management and monitored on an ongoing basis.
4.Metrics and targets
Please refer to the following for the Group's annual GHG emissions of Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3.
Energy usage
Energy usage
GMO Internet Group will work on and promote activities to conserve energy and reduce CO2 emissions for the realization of a carbon-free society to address global warming.
We take climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, such as measurement, disclosure, and reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission and improvement of energy efficiency.
Specific initiatives
<Office building>
At Shibuya FUKURAS, where GMO Internet Group's second headquarter is located, renewable energy is used to power the entire building, leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions. A control management system that automatically turns off the air conditioning and the lighting in the office based on the hours, and an outdoor air-cooling system that minimizes the loss of warm or cold air have been adopted, leading to the conservation of energy. In winter, with an outdoor air-cooling system, the power consumption of air-conditioning systems is controlled by bringing in outside air (not from air-conditioning systems) when the outside air temperature is higher than indoor temperature settings, conserving power and reducing environmental impact.
<Services>
With GMO GlobalSign HD's e-contract service GMO Sign, everything, from agreement to storage, is concluded online. We are making the shift to paperless offices by launching services and are lightening the impact of logistics on the environment.
Specific initiatives
<Introducing remote work>
GMO Internet Group introduced remote work in January 2020.
Forty percent of the approximately 5,000 partners based in Shibuya work remotely, contributing to environmental protection, such as reducing the CO2 emissions due to transportation and making the shift to paperless offices.
<Ways of cooking at our large-scale kitchen>
GMO Yours (in Shibuya FUKURAS), a large-scale communication space that is made available to approximately 5,000 partners, provides up to 1,200 lunches every day and is implementing energy-saving measures.
Promote Circular Society
Policy
<Promotion of a circular society>
We contribute to the realization of a circular society and minimize environmental impact through initiatives to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste, utilizing resources effectively for our normal business activities. Waste is strictly segregated and 100% of the waste including waste oil is delivered to a recycling company. The aim is to reuse it.
<Water resource conservation>
GMO Internet Group does not require a large amount of water or water of a designated quality for its normal business activities. However, regarding the management of water resources as an important challenge in environmental protection, it analyzes risks and manages the quantity of water intake and discharge.
Using World Resources Institute's (WRI) Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, we periodically check the water stress of the water source from which we receive water supply for our business activities. We will take appropriate steps if the water stress is judged to be high.
Water usage
Solving the water problems will become increasingly important in the future, in the midst of the increasing severity of problems such as water pollution and water shortages due to increased population and drought that is related to global warming.
The Group strives to conserve water resources and water consumption, such as saving water and utilizing water resources effectively.
Water usage and emissions were 1,312㎥ in FY2019, 2,734㎥* in FY2020, and 3,068㎥ in FY2021, 4,333㎥ in FY2022, 6,203㎥ in 2023.
* Water usage and emissions increased in FY2020 as we moved into Shibuya FUKURAS, the Group's second headquarter, and also because GMO Yours, the one installed in Shibuya FUKURAS, started serving meals.
* Water usage and emissions increased in FY2022 can be attributed to the following factors resulting from the lifting of the COVID-19 state of emergency:
1) Increased office attendance: This led to a rise in demand for lunch and cafe services.
2) Resumption of corporate events and bar time: The amount of water used was added in line with the increase in the number of participants.
Specific initiatives
<Restrooms of the office building>
The Group has moved into an office building (Shibuya FUKURAS) where water-saving faucets are applied to all restrooms in order to eliminate wasteful drainage and get wastewater under control.
Water discharged from washstands is first collected in a water storage facility located in the basement of the building. After it is filtered and sterilized, it is reused 100% as water to clean toilets.
<Ways of cooking at our large-scale kitchen>
GMO Yours (in Shibuya FUKURAS), a large-scale communication space that is made available to approximately 5,000 partners, provides up to 1,200 lunches every day and is implementing water-saving measures.
Protection of Biodiversity
Main initiatives
Biodiversity loss is one of the environmental issues that have become increasingly serious in recent years, as with climate change.
From the standpoint of sustainable business operations, we also understand the importance of the protection of biodiversity, and we will conduct activities to conserve biodiversity and will reduce the impact that our business activities have on biodiversity.
Specific initiatives
<Sustainable seafood>
GMO Yours, a large-scale communication space, is working on the utilization of products that have acquired an international certificate label that guarantees sustainability, such as Marine Stewardship Council ("MSC"; responsible fisheries) and Forest Stewardship Council ("FSC"; responsible forest management), and in August 2022 it will launch a lunch menu including sustainable seafood that has a valid MSC Chain of Custody certificate.
* LEOC, a food service company that prepares meals at GMO Yours inside GMO Internet Group's first headquarter (Cerulean Tower) and second headquarter (Shibuya FUKURAS), has a valid Chain of Custody certificate for the above two stores.
<Discouraging the use of plastic>
GMO Yours has removed the plastic cups and straws from November 11, 2019, reducing approximately 2.5 t of plastic waste per year with the aim of reducing the plastic waste that leads to marine pollution. GMO Yours has been suggesting to partners that they utilize their own cups for drinks at the cafeteria since it has been opened, and partners are working to reduce disposable waste by using their own cups or tumblers.
We will launch a new initiative (utilize lunch bags to reduce the amount of disposable plastic bags) following the above, and this initiative is expected to reduce a total of approximately 4 t of plastic waste per year (including the above 2.5 t).