Addressing Climate Change

Addressing Climate Change

Confronting climate change is a key theme that must be addressed on a global scale. Ongoing global warming in the absence of effective countermeasures will cause drastic climate change that will significantly impact the global environment. Under these environmental circumstances, carbon neutral initiatives to reduce GHG emissions to virtually zero have swiftly been gaining traction worldwide.
ORIX has positioned addressing climate change as one of the Group’s ESG-related material issues and is committed to boldly building its renewable energy business, reducing GHG emissions produced from its operations, and complying with TCFD recommendations. One of our key sustainability goals is to reduce GHG (CO2) emissions by 50% by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2030 compared to the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. We also intend to reduce GHG (CO2) emissions to net zero by the fiscal year ending March 2050.
ORIX will continue to actively address the risks and opportunities posed by climate change through its diverse portfolio of businesses. In strengthening governance in relation to climate change and enhancing risk management through scenario analyses, we will employ TCFD’s information disclosure framework, and, in addition, will conduct in-depth information disclosure to our stakeholders regarding climate change initiatives.

Please refer to Material Issues and Key Sustainability Goals for our material issues and key sustainability goals.

Please refer to the following links for climate change-related initiatives:

Information Disclosure Based on TCFD Recommendations

ORIX expressed its support for the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in October 2020. ORIX believes that responding to TCFD recommendations will contribute to improving our corporate value over the mid- to long-term, and that working on initiatives to achieve TCFD recommendations will also be effective in establishing a solid methodology and governance for promoting our sustainability overall.
ORIX implements TCFD recommendations and has begun to disclose information in line with TCFD framework involving governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. We also conducted a scenario analysis of businesses with significant exposure to climate change impact.
Please see below for details on Information Disclosure Based on the TCFD Recommendations.

FY 2021.3
Information Disclosure Framework, Scenario Analysis (Sustainability Report 2021 pages 26-29) Open PDF in New Window[636KB]
FY 2022.3
Information Disclosure Framework, Scenario Analysis (Sustainability Report 2022 pages 33-38) Open PDF in New Window[1.2MB]
FY 2023.3
Information Disclosure Framework (Integrated Report 2023 page 35) Open PDF in New Window[3.6MB]
Scenario Analysis (Information Disclosure Based on TCFD Recommendations 2023)Open PDF in New Window[231KB]

GHG Emissions Reduction Goals

One of ORIX’s key sustainability goals is to reduce GHG (CO2) emissions by 50% by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2030 compared to the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. We also intend to reduce GHG (CO2) emissions to net zero by the fiscal year ending March 2050.
ORIX’s GHG baseline emissions were 1,266 thousand tons CO2e in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. The breakdown by business is as follows.

ORIX Group GHG Emissions (Baseline Emissions) in the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020* (Unit: Thousand tons CO2e)
  Share of emissions Emissions (Scope1) (Scope2)
Environment and Energy Overall 86.0% 1,089 1,069 20
Agatsuma Biomass Power Plant (percent of total)  2.8% 35 35 0
Soma Coal and Biomass Power Plant (percent of total)  35.7% 452 451 1
Hibikinada Coal and Biomass Power Plant (percent of total)  38.6% 489 488 0
ORIX Environmental Resources Management’s Yorii waste incineration facility (percent of total)  7.3% 93 85 8
Real Estate Overall 6.7% 85 19 66
Facilities Operations Business (percent of total)  4.7% 60 16 44
Corporate Financial Services and Maintenance Leasing 0.9% 12 1 11
PE Investment 4.1% 52 14 38
Insurance, Banking, and Credit 0.7% 9 0 9
Outside Japan 0.8% 10 2 8
Other management departments, etc. 0.8% 10 1 8
Total 100.0% 1,266 1,107 158
  • From the calculation of ORIX Group GHG emissions for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. The calculation includes emissions from overseas subsidiaries and investees. We also reviewed the method for calculating GHG emissions from treatment of waste plastics at our waste incineration facility in Yorii Town, Saitama Prefecture. The resulting figures represent ORIX Group GHG baseline emissions for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020.

Total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in the fiscal year ended March 2023 were 1,121 thousand tons. Compared to the baseline emissions, this was a decrease of 145 thousand tons. Emissions from the two coal-biomass co-fired power plants amounted to 793 thousand tons, accounting for 70.7% of the total.
We will continue to examine ways to further reduce GHG (CO2) emissions at the two coal and biomass power plants with high emissions. Aiming for a 50% reduction in emissions by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2030, we are considering measures including refitting equipment to move to pure biomass combustion and switching to next-generation fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. If it is deemed difficult to achieve the reduction, we will consider closing the facilities, so we recorded an impairment of ¥19.6 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2022. In the fiscal year ended March 2023, we held discussions on decarbonization, organized the items to be considered into the three points of equipment conversion, fuel procurement, and renewable energy demand, and began concrete consideration.

  • Please refer to ORIX Group’s GHG emissions here.

Companies must identify and reduce their GHG emissions to support the transition to a decarbonized society; however, corporate value chains include SMEs that have trouble identifying their GHG emissions. Therefore, SMEs must often rely on large corporations and government agencies for information; yet, methods of engagement and communication can be limited. The concept of the Scope 3 Standard is to fill this information gap and create a pathway to facilitate engagement and dialogue. ORIX is a global, publicly listed company and we recognize that we are in a position to fill this information gap and also encourage and aid companies in our sphere of influence to meet societal expectations for reduced emissions.
Regarding Scope 3 (GHG emissions in the value chain), we have roughly estimated the scale of emissions from the Auto, Aircraft and Ships, and Real Estate businesses, and the power generation and electric power retail business in the Environment and Energy segment, as well as emissions from investees and borrowers (Category 15).

  • Scope 3 (Value chain GHG emissions) information is disclosed here.

Promoting the Renewable Energy Business

ORIX operates power generation businesses as a global renewable energy company. As of March 31, 2023, our generation capacity of power plants in operation around the world, including Japan, was 3.7 GW*1. Elawan and Greenko lead business growth, with Elawan having 11 GW*2 (100% share) and Greenko having 18 GW*2 (20% share) of generation capacity, including assets in operation, under construction, and in development. As of March 2025, we expect to expand our generation capacity of power plants in operation to 6 GW*1 (7 GW*1 before considering sale). Our target is to expand to 10 GW*1 as of March 2030.
Also, in Japan, we are promoting broader adoption of renewable energy through our business of operation, management, and maintenance of power plants that use renewable energy, the energy storage plant business, and the introduction of a third-party ownership model for solar power generation systems.

  1. Net figures that take into account the Company’s ownership ratio. If the individual project is a joint venture, we also consider the investment ratio.
  2. Gross figures before taking into account the Company’s ownership ratio.

Global Expansion of Renewable Energy Business (as of March 31, 2023)
Region Company Ownership Ratio Business Capacity*1
Spain and others Elawan 100% Wind/solar power generation 1,360 MW
India Greenko 20.2% Wind/solar/hydro power generation 7,180 MW
China Beijing Energy 4.8% Solar/hydro power generation 5,890 MW
Japan - - Solar power generation 920 MW*2
Wind/geothermal/biomass power generation 30 MW
USA and others Ormat Technologies 11.2% Geothermal power generation 1,360 MW
Storage battery 90 MW
ORIX USA 100% Solar power generation 230 MW
  1. The generation capacities for each entity are gross figures.
  2. Our solar business in Japan has cumulatively sold more than 1 GW in panels, in addition to owned capacity. We have a strong network of customers committed to renewable energy.
  • Please refer to CO2 Avoided Emissions through the Renewable Energy Business here.