Tokyo, December 17, 2019 - Rakuten, Inc. today announced that it has joined the international initiative RE100 and aims to adopt 100% renewable electricity for all its business operations by 2025.
RE100, an abbreviation of “Renewable Electricity 100%,” is an international initiative run by the Climate Group, an international environmental NGO, in partnership with CDP, an international NGO that promotes information disclosure on climate change. The initiative brings together the world’s most influential businesses committed to 100% renewable power. Rakuten is the 30th Japanese company to join the initiative, and the 220nd company to join worldwide*1.
In recent years, Rakuten has promoted the adoption of renewable electricity in Japan through its services provided by Rakuten Energy, including a trading platform for Japan’s environmental value “J-Credit” using blockchain technology. Other initiatives include Project R100, which supports Rakuten Ichiba merchants and Rakuten Travel hotels in powering their business operations with 100% renewable energy, and encouraging CO2 offsets during sporting events*2. Rakuten is considering various approaches to renewable initiatives by actively involving internal and external stakeholders, notably Rakuten Energy, to achieve its commitment to switch to 100% renewable electricity at its offices, data centers and fulfillment centers by 2025.
Masatada Kobayashi, Group Managing Executive Officer and Chief Well-Being Officer (CWO) in charge of sustainability at Rakuten, commented, “Rakuten joined RE100 because we are determined to mitigate the adverse impact on climate change from our business activities, and to leverage our technologies and culture of innovation to create more solutions for issues related to climate change. It is part of our commitment to providing greener services to our customers. The Rakuten Group will continue to promote new initiatives to expand the use of renewable energies.”
Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100, commented, “We congratulate Rakuten, Japan’s largest online shopping mall, on joining RE100 – they are the 30th Japanese company to sign up to the initiative, sending a strong signal that businesses in Japan want access to low-cost, clean power. We applaud their ambitious commitment of switching to 100% renewable electricity by 2025, and urge other companies to follow their lead.”
Rakuten will accelerate the use of renewable energy with a vision of involving all companies from Rakuten Group in Japan and overseas to join RE100 in the future.
*1 The list of RE100’s member companies as of December 17, 2019 can be accessed from http://there100.org/companies.
*2 Details of each service and project are as follows:
■Rakuten Energy Trading System (REts)
A trading platform enabling corporate customers to purchase and sell the environmental value J-Credit
https://trading.energy.rakuten.co.jp/rets/ (Japanese only)
■Project R100
A project supporting environmentally conscious merchants from Rakuten Ichiba and hotels from Rakuten Travel to realize business operations with 100% renewable energy
https://energy.rakuten.co.jp/performance/ (Japanese only)
■CO2 Offset at Sporting Events
Rakuten has been offsetting CO2 originated from electricity consumed during sports games sponsored and co-sponsored by Rakuten, using the J-Credit trading service provided by Rakuten Energy. In 2019, Rakuten conducted CO2 offsets at the Rakuten Super Nighter and the NBA Japan Games 2019 Presented by Rakuten.
For details on carbon offset at the NBA Japan Games 2019 Presented by Rakuten, please refer to the following link.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/innovation/sustainability/2019/1001/
About Rakuten
Rakuten, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 1.3 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 18,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.
About RE100
Led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP, RE100 is a collaborative initiative bringing together the world’s most influential businesses committed to 100% renewable power. Renewables are a smart business decision, providing greater control over energy costs while helping companies to deliver on emission reduction goals. RE100 members, including Global Fortune 500 companies, have a total revenue of over US$5.4 trillion and operate in a diverse range of sectors – from information technology to automobile manufacturing. Together, they send a powerful signal to policymakers and investors to accelerate the transition to a clean economy. RE100.org | #RE100