Initiatives to Reduce Environmental Impact

SBI Group acknowledge that supporting biodiversity and protecting the global environment, which is the basis for the survival and life of all living creatures, is essential to the realization of a sustainable society. Based on this recognition, we are practicing our business activities in consideration of the environment and with responsibility for the conservation of the global environment.

Specifically, we calculate and disclose greenhouse gas emissions associated with its business activities, sets reduction targets, and supports the financing of companies with products and technologies that contribute to reducing environmental impact. Furthermore, the SBI Group promotes digital transformation (DX) within and outside the Group by providing services that utilize innovative technologies and spreading cross-industry technologies to outside of the Group, while also working to solve environmental issues through its own business activities to reduce environmental impact.

SBI Group recognizes the importance of contributing to limiting the global temperature rise within 1.5℃ compared to pre-industrial levels, in line with the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, the international framework on global warming, and is working to visualize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the SBI Group.

The Japanese government has adopted and submitted to the United Nations “The Long-term Strategy under the Paris Agreement”, which was approved by the Cabinet in response to Paris Agreement. This strategy sets forth the long-term goal of achieving net-zero by 2050 as being consistent with the best available sciences from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and others. Moreover, towards realizing the national target of carbon neutrality by 2050, the SBI Group targets net zero GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by FY2050. Its interim target is a 33% reduction by FY2030 (compared to its FY2018 levels).

In addition, we have begun calculating Scope 3 emissions for each category in order to understand the scale of the Group's Scope 3 emissions and have disclosed some of these emissions.

＜Towards achieving GHG emission reduction targets＞
The Group's GHG emissions increased sharply in FY2021 due to the acquisition of SBI Shinsei Bank Group as a subsidiary in December 2021. Although SBI Shinsei Bank Group accounts for approximately 90% of the SBI Group's GHG emissions in FY2023 (total of Scope 1 and Scope 2), SBI Shinsei Bank Group has a goal of achieving net zero emissions by FY2030.

Izumi Garden Tower, where SBI Holdings has its offices, is promoting energy conservation and pursuing a change in contracts to have electricity generated from renewable energy with Non-Fossil Fuel Certificate.*1 Since April 2022, the majority of the offices used by the SBI Group have switched to green power.*2
SBI Shinsei Bank Group is also reducing its power consumption by promoting energy conservation and pursuing a change in contracts to have electricity generated from renewable energy with Non-Fossil Fuel Certificate*1 in its office buildings as well as integrating data centers and shifting to cloud computing.

SBI Shinsei Bank Group has set the target of achieving net zero GHG emissions*3 from its investment and loan portfolio companies by the end of FY2050. At the same time, the actual GHG emissions are calculated in accordance with the international standards published by PCAF *4. In FY2022, SBI Shinsei Bank also measured its investment and loan portfolio GHG emissions for a portion of the business corporation and residential mortgage loans, in addition to project financing and real estate non-recourse financing*5. In the future, SBI Shinsei Bank plans to gradually expand the number of target assets and improve calculation accuracy.
In addition, SBI Shinsei Bank sets a target of achieving zero loan balance for project finance for coal-fired thermal power generation by the end of FY2040.

SBI Group will continue to consider initiatives that will further contribute to reducing GHG emissions.

*1 A certificate issued for the environmental value of electricity generated using non-fossil fuels.

*2 Electricity produced mainly from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower.

*3 The GHG emissions are calculated as the contribution of the SBI Shinsei Bank Group to the GHG emissions of each investee and financing

*4 In October 2022, SBI Shinsei Bank joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and is working to advance the assessment of GHG emissions of its investees in accordance with the GHG protocol (aggregation method) having the transparency set out by the PCAF

*5 Of the asset types in the PCAF criteria, SBI Shinsei Bank measured GHG emissions from its investment and loan portfolio based on the following calculation methods: the corporate entities for "listed equity and corporate bonds" and "business loans and unlisted equity"; residential mortgage loans for "mortgages"; project financing for "project finance"; and real estate non-recourse loans for "commercial real estate"

SBI Group is promoting digital transformation (DX) both inside and outside the Group and contributing to the reduction of environmental impact by providing services that utilize innovative technologies and disseminating these technologies outside the Group across industries.
For example, Machi no Wa, one of the SBI Group companies, provides an information platform called "Machinoen," which uses blockchain/distributed ledger technology to electronically issue and operate digital gift certificates and community points. It will reduce the administrative burden on local governments as well as commerce and industry associations, by providing everything from application to raffle, purchase, and payment at merchant stores in digital format compared to the conventional paper-based issuance method. By doing so, it will also help revitalize the local economy and improve customer convenience in a way that is compatible with a post-COVID society such as by preventing congestion at application desks.
In addition, SBI Business Solutions, one of the SBI Group subsidiary, provides various cloud systems for corporate back-office support such as expense settlement systems (Keihi Bank), billing systems (Seikyu QUICK) and approval request and circular distribution systems (Shonin Time) which has all been previously done paper-based.
In addition to improving operational efficiency at the companies that have adopted them, they also help reduce environmental impact by the paper-to-digital transformation. .

Machi no Wa(Japanese Only)
SBI Business Solutions(Japanese Only)

LIMEX, which is mainly composed of limestone and can replace paper and plastic

Water crisis continues to worsen due to population growth, aggravation of climate change, and water pollution, and it is said that more than two billion people around the world are compelled to drink unsafe water.
SBI Group has adopted LIMEX as the material for the business cards of its executives and employees from FY2018 to contribute to solving this global environmental issue.

LIMEX is made mainly from limestone and can substitute for paper and plastic without using water or wood pulp as raw materials. For example, in the case of business cards, each box of 100 cards will conserve about 10 liters of water resources. SBI Group has contributed to the conservation of approximately 11 tons of water resources from April 2023 to March 2024.

We will continue to expand its usage inside and outside the Group to further conserve water resources.

While it is estimated that approximately one in nine people in the world are undernourished mainly in developing countries, “food loss and waste" is a social problem in developed countries, such as food not being fully consumed and being discarded, or products being thrown away because changes or deformation of outer packaging. Here are some examples of how we, the SBI Group executives and employees, who are also consumers in the society, contribute to issues such as "waste loss reduction"

SBI Holdings, through an introduction from Sumitomo Realty ＆ Development Co., Ltd. , which owns the Izumi Garden Tower where the majority of the SBI Group companies are located, conducts outlet sales of products that would otherwise be discarded for reasons such as "near expiry date" or "packaging changes" to the Company Group's officers and employees.

Furthermore, SBI FXTRADE has become the first company to endorse the "TABECHOKU Primary Industry SDGs Project" of vivid garden Inc. , which operates "TABECHOKU," an online marketplace for direct shipment of agricultural products, and is promoting collaboration with the company to contribute to the SDGs through support for local producers. The project is designed to strengthen support for producers working towards the achievement of the SDGs and promote further development of the primary industry, such as vivid garden's efforts to utilize plastics-free packaged foodstuffs and sub-standard agricultural products in cooperation with companies. SBI FXTRADE is promoting initiatives to reduce waste loss through its support for the project, including a campaign to give away "environment and health friendly foodstuffs" to customers who fulfil the trading requirements, as well as through the production of emergency food that effectively utilizes farm products and ingredients that would otherwise be discarded, and uses them for emergency in-company stockpiles.

TABECHOKU Primary Industry SDGs Project
https://www.tabechoku.com/ulp/for-business/sdgs/ (Japanese Only)
SBI FXTRADE Special Website
https://www.sbifxt.co.jp/special/tabechoku-tieup/ (Japanese Only)