Olympus Targets Carbon Neutrality by 2030

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Olympus Corporation (”Olympus” – Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO: Yasuo Takeuchi) announced today it is targeting carbon neutrality by 2030, while also agreeing with recommendations by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and adding carbon neutrality and enabling a circular economy to its environmental, societal and governance (ESG) enhancement measures.

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Olympus has in place a variety of environmental initiatives across its global operations. However, the company is acutely aware of the damaging effects of climate change on natural ecosystems. For this reason, it has added carbon neutrality and enabling a circular economy as an additional ESG materiality criterion.

In its corporate strategy announced in November 2019, Olympus listed four distinct ESG criteria as material ESG enhancement measures: (1) healthcare access and outcomes; (2) compliance, product quality and safety; (3) responsible supply chain; and (4) diversity and inclusion. To these four will be added the new criterion.

Target of Carbon Neutrality by 2030

Olympus set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 with zero CO₂ emissions from its entire business operation. Olympus has already introduced a wide range of initiatives to reduce CO₂ emissions, which since 2010 includes procuring 100% of its electricity requirements from renewable sources where it manufactures in Europe and the U.S.

Going forward, Olympus will continue to improve its manufacturing process and the energy-saving measures to achieve carbon neutrality. At the same time, it will accelerate the efforts to reduce CO₂ by switching all the electricity procurement for all of its business operations¹ to renewable energy sources by 2030.

Support for the Recommendations of TCFD

The TCFD is an international organization that was established in December 2015 by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop the framework for companies to disclose climate-related risks to financial markets. In 2017, the TCFD issued recommendations for use by companies in disclosing pertinent information about risks and opportunities related to climate change to investors, lenders, insurers and other participants in the market so that they can have a more complete picture when assessing the value of those companies and the risks they face. The initiatives of the TCFD are highly evaluated for encouraging sustainable investments to build an economy which is resilient in the face of climate-related uncertainty. Around 1,900 companies and institutions (as of March 25, 2021) have announced their support of the recommendations by the TCFD. (https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/)

Olympus’ initiatives to reduce its environmental impact and ensure transparent communication about those initiatives fall under its Environmental Health and Safety Policy. The company actively disseminates information about its environmental activities both internally and externally. This includes identifying and disclosing the environmental impact of its business activities.

Olympus strives to promote a mutual understanding about the importance of ESG materiality with stakeholders. Recognizing that climate change is a major issue that affects business operations, Olympus is advancing activities to deal with environmental risks, contributing to carbon tax and complying with other related regulations. Olympus will continue to advance dialogue with stakeholders, and proactively disclose information based on the TCFD recommendations.

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