Today, the following 15 companies have come together to establish the Carbon Neutral LNG (“CNL”) Buyers Alliance (the “Alliance”): Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (President: Takashi Uchida), Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (President: Akiyoshi Koji), Isuzu Motors Ltd. (President: Masanori Katayama), Olympus Corporation (President: Yasuo Takeuchi), Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (President: Masaaki Yabe), Duskin Co., Ltd. (President: Teruji Yamamura), Tamagawa Academy & University (President: Yoshiaki Obara), Toshiba Corporation (President: Nobuaki Kurumatani), Toho Titanium Co., Ltd. (President: Yoshihiro Nishiyama), New Otani Co., Ltd. (President: Kazuhiko Otani), Marunouchi Heat Supply Co., Ltd. (President: Yutaka Tajima), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Ltd. (President: Masaru Hashimoto), Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (President: Junichi Yoshida), Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. (President: Takashige Negishi) and Lumine Co., Ltd. (President: Yuji Morimoto).
The Alliance was established through the concerted efforts of Tokyo Gas, which procures and supplies CNL, and the remaining companies, which purchase CNL, with the aim of spreading the use of CNL and increasing its utility value toward the achievement of a sustainable society. Choosing carbon neutral energy is an important solution that will contribute toward tackling climate change and the SDGs, as well as directly lead to ESG management. The companies participating in the Alliance will work to increase the recognition of CNL in society and carry out initiatives to improve its evaluation by investment institutions and establish its position within the various systems in Japan with the aim of contributing toward Japan’s achievement of a carbon neutral society by 2050.
CNL is a type of LNG that offsets greenhouse gases, which are generated in the process, from extraction to the burning of natural gas, and that carries a carbon credit (carbon offsetting). Thus, it is deemed to be carbon neutral on a global scale even when burned. Tokyo Gas began importing CNL in 2019 and became the first company in Japan to supply it to customers as carbon neutral city gas. The carbon credit for CNL involves the CO2 reduction effects of environmental conservation projects throughout the world that have been certified by a reliable carbon credit certifier.