Initiatives Towards Carbon Neutrality

Building a team for carbon neutrality

The primary source of CO2 emissions within the Rakuten Group stems from its Rakuten Mobile telecom service. This is mainly due to the substantial power consumption of Rakuten Mobile’s base stations and data centers. Consequently, Rakuten Mobile’s initiatives will play a crucial role in reaching the carbon neutrality targets set by the Rakuten Group.

Taking on this significant responsibility is the Project Management Office of Rakuten Mobile’s Base Station Head Office. This office is responsible for planning and overseeing the progress of various projects and Kusu, Kaho, and Yuko were the three team members chosen to spearhead the project. They have a wealth of experience in collaborating with different business units to ensure project success, despite their non-technical backgrounds. Their first course of action was to identify Rakuten employees who could contribute to the project and then proceed to establish their new team.

Yuko, who had studied environmental issues in university and volunteered to join the project team, also faced challenges when collaborating with other employees due to her limited experience interacting with engineers.

The team of three, in collaboration with specialized business units such as the Environmental Management Promotion Department, researched possible measures that had the potential to be effective. For instance, they frequently visited tech-focused business units to acquire technical knowledge and guidance. During these early days, Kusu, who worked in sales at Rakuten Ichiba, felt uncertain at times when his work didn't always lead to visible results.

Driving policies forward through collaboration:
Targets achieved 10 months ahead

Working in the Project Management Office provides the team with a comprehensive overview of various initiatives within Rakuten Group. They found ideas for potential initiatives via information shared by teams working on energy conservation and renewable energy, before contacting relevant business units to gather their thoughts.

Kaho is responsible for communicating with teams made up of international employees. While explaining the project’s necessity to employees, she sought technical guidance, deciphered relevant materials, and requested discussions on policies. She conducted several meetings with relevant staff members to firmly integrate the initiatives into daily operations.

Nonetheless, thanks to the team’s hard work, Rakuten Mobile reached its carbon neutrality targets 10 months ahead of schedule, becoming the fastest group company to do so, even surpassing the target by 120%. And this of course significantly contributed to the realization of Rakuten Group’s overall objectives.

Personal growth through green initiatives

Working towards carbon neutrality often involves long-term strategies that don't always produce immediate outcomes. Various measures are underway, some of which will only begin to show their effectiveness in the future, while others are still under development, with results expected from next year onwards. The key is to pinpoint what can be done, and work on making incremental improvements. It’s a project requiring consistent and diligent efforts from all involved – adopting a gradual, step-by-step approach to reach the end goal.
The Project Management Office team members shared what they have gained from this experience in pushing these initiatives forward.

The targets achieved this time were just for a single year, and the Project Management Office still has many hurdles ahead. Looking ahead, the team will continue exploring ways for Rakuten to make meaningful contributions to society and environmental conservation, while taking cues from successful initiatives by other companies. The journey towards carbon neutrality is ongoing, and they're committed to keeping up the effort, one step at a time.

1 Press Release: Rakuten Optimism 2022: Rakuten Begins Unveiling Speakers for Large-Scale Online Business Conference

2 The total of Rakuten Group’s scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from the group's overall business activities. These were calculated, with third-party assurance, in accordance with the GHG Protocol (international standards for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions). Scope 1 emissions are greenhouse gases emitted directly by Rakuten Group. Scope 2 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with the use of electricity, heat, and steam supplied to Rakuten Group by other companies.

3 Press Release: Rakuten Announces Goal to Achieve Carbon Neutrality in 2023

*This article is based on the information at the time of the interview.