Initiatives to Reduce Environment Impacts from Business Activities

The Group operates environmental management systems(EMS) based on a framework that promotes operational efficiencies via initiatives for reducing the environmental impacts of its business activities. Through common activities relating to time (labor productivity), materials (resource productivity), and costs (efficiency), our aim is the simultaneous attainment of the goals of operational efficiency, environmental burden reduction, and cost reduction. For each activity aimed at achieving gains in operational efficiency mainly via reforms to operational flows and reorganizing shifts to reduce overtime hours, we seek to operate systems to harvest benefits from those activities such as lower paper consumption and less electricity consumption from the use of lighting and air-conditioning during overtime hours.

We target the following to reduce our environmental impacts: (1) reducing electricity consumption (CO₂ emissions), (2) reducing paper consumption, (3) reducing waste disposal volume, and (4) promoting green procurement (CSR procurement). We implement the promotion of operational efficiency at all branches, which are all working to promote awareness on reducing environmental impacts. All branches and departments are currently promoting operational efficiency and making every effort to raise awareness about reducing environmental impacts. For problems that our stand-alone initiatives are unlikely to deliver a solution, we are stepping up our supply chain management efforts in the area of CSR procurement, for example by requesting suppliers to change their materials.

The Group is striving to reduce its environmental impacts in the form of both inputs such as electricity and gas used for business activities and outputs like CO₂ emitted as a result of those activities. As SuMi TRUST Bank is subject to the Act on the Rational Use of Energy, we calculate the volume of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions at all of our offices across Japan using a common system. Since fiscal 2015 our total energy consumption for business activities has steadily declined every year, representing a 20.0% reduction over the last five years. In fiscal 2019, total electricity consumption at all sites in Japan came to 54 million kWh, down 2.2% from 56 million kWh the previous year. City gas consumption was 1.8 million m³ , almost unchanged from the previous year. The reduction in electricity consumption is due to the promotion of energy saving at our large office buildings and the impact of branch mergers. At the Fuchu Building, where energy consumption is the highest among the Group’s facilities, we achieved significant results by diligently switching off air conditioners when employees left the building and by raising awareness about such efforts by providing feedback to each department in the form of data on electricity use.

As for CO₂ emissions—the driver of global warming—we succeeded in lowering our annual emissions to 31,327 t-CO₂ in fiscal 2019, a 38.1% reduction compared to the peak of 50,605 t-CO₂ recorded in fiscal 2013. Both scope 1 and scope 2 emissions have decreased significantly, declining 11.6% and 30.7%, respectively, from fiscal 2015. Even though total floor area has decreased due to the discontinued use of some large buildings and the merger of branches, emissions intensity per floor space in fiscal 2019 came to 0.085 t-CO₂/m² , which represents a 17.5% reduction compared to fiscal 2015.

The three large buildings in the Tokyo metropolitan area—namely the head office, Fuchu, and Shiba buildings— are subject to the mandatory reductions in CO₂ emissions prescribed under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Environmental Preservation Ordinance. We continue to steadily reduce our emissions, and over the five years of the second plan period (FY2015 to FY2019), we reduced emissions by 91,726 t-CO₂, a substantial excess reduction of 60,348 t-CO₂ over the mandatory reduction level of 31,378 t-CO₂. We achieved the target for the second plan period without using our 47,540 t-CO₂ worth of emission credits gained from overachieving targets in the first plan period (FY2010 to FY2014). For the third plan period (FY2020 to FY2024), the mandatory reduction targets will be stricter, but we will promote initiatives to achieve them.

The figures in the table show emission reductions at SuMi TRUST Bank’s four office buildings (Fuchu Building, Shiba Building, Chofu Building, and Meguro Building), along with the head office building, all of which are subject to mandatory emission reductions under the Tokyo Cap-and-Trade Program prescribed in the Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance on Environmental Preservation.
The Chofu Building and Meguro Building were excluded from these results starting in fiscal year 2017.
The mandatory reduction ratio is 6% for the head office and 17% for other buildings.
The head office is a multi-tenant building and reduction ratios for each tenant have not been set.
The Group carried over emission credits (from excess emission reductions in the first plan period) worth 47,540 t-CO₂ to the second plan period.
Emissions have been verified by a third-party assessment body.

Our Group has been promoting initiatives to reduce electricity consumption in accordance with the medium- to long-term targets for FY2020 set by the Japanese Bankers Association as part of its initiatives for the banking industry. As for the reduction target for electricity use per total floor area called for by the Japanese Bankers Association, as of FY2019 we have achieved a considerable decrease of 29.7% compared to FY2009.

Fiscal year 2009 figures were calculated from each intensity’s pre-merger total.

We reduced the amount of paper we used in FY2019 by 30 tons year on year (–4.2%) to 676 tons. We will continue to work on reducing our paper usage by promoting activities that improve operational efficiency. The volume of waste paper output was reduced by 90 tons year on year and we continue to maintain a 100% waste paper recycling rate. Other waste output rose 16.3% year on year to 336 tons, but the recycling rate increased to 62%, the highest level in the last five years. We will continue purchasing 100% recycled paper for copier machines and make every effort to reduce our total waste output and make efficient use of recycling to promote the establishment of a recycling-oriented society. Additionally, we will endeavor to carry out proper management and disposal of equipment and chemical substances imposed on business operators under laws such as the Act on Special Measures concerning Promotion of Proper Treatment of PCB Wastes and the Act on Rational Use and Proper Management of Fluorocarbons.