Climate Change

Biodiversity​

Rakuten strives to leave a better environment for generations to come by leading the fight against climate change.

The Rakuten Group recognizes climate change as one of the most pressing issues facing society today.
Changing weather patterns and the increased risk of extreme weather events affect global citizens as well as our operations. To fulfill our responsibility as a global company and align with our corporate mission, we strive to contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society.
To do so, we assess and disclose our greenhouse gas emissions with the aim of reducing them throughout our value chains by improving energy efficiency, adopting clean energy solutions, and helping our customers reduce their own emissions using our products and services.
Please see our Group Environmental Policy for the full text.

TCFD Index

Thematic Area Recommendation Links
Governance Disclose the organization’s governance around climate-related risks and opportunities. Governance
Strategy Disclose the actual and potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities on the organization’s businesses, strategy, and financial planning where such information is material. Strategy
Risk Management Disclose how the organization identifies, assesses, and manages climate-related risks. Risk Management
Metrics and Targets Disclose the metrics and targets used to assess and manage relevant climate-related risks and opportunities where such information is material. Metrics and Targets

Governance

Group Sustainability Commitee

Implementing climate change measures across Rakuten's ecosystem requires a strong, centralized management structure. This is why in January 2022, we established the Environmental Management Promotion Department for developing and implementing strategies to address environmental issues. Moreover, we have organized implementation systems and reporting lines across the Group. Under the Sustainability Committee, the Environmental Subcommittee holds quarterly meetings.
Climate change-related issues are managed by the COO. The Environmental Management Promotion Department and the Environment Subcommittee work closely with relevant teams, organizations, and international initiatives while holding every business unit and department accountable for their environmental impacts.
In each business department, we appoint a person in charge of environmental issues to coordinate with the Environmental Management Promotion Department on a wide range of environment-related activities, including strategy formulation, implementation and risk management.
Group-wide implementation systems and reporting lines are structured so as to escalate information to the Sustainability Committee, which further analyses any crucial decisions and reports directly to the Board of Directors.

Strategy

We conducted a scenario analysis to identify climate-related transition risks (risks related to the transition to a decarbonized society), physical risks (risks related to the physical impacts of climate change), and opportunities for the entire Rakuten Group.

Set Scenarios and References

Scenario Reference
Scenario in which a decarbonized society is realized quickly
(1.5 degrees Celsius scenario)		 Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE) by International Energy Agency (IEA)
Scenario in which physical impacts become apparent
(4 degrees Celsius scenario)		 Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP8.5) in the 5th Assessment Report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Identified Risks/Opportunities and Responses/Initiatives

1.5 degrees Celsius Scenario
Category Type Main Risk / Opportunity Time Horizon Impact Response / Initiative
Transition Risk Policy & Legal Increased reporting obligations for environmental metrics Short - Long Small ・Improvement of internal structures for environmental data collection
Introduction of carbon pricing mechanisms (such as carbon tax) Mid - Long Small ・Reinforcement of GHG reduction initiatives through energy efficiency improvement/renewable energy adoption
Market Loss of revenue opportunities due to delayed development and delivery of decarbonized products/services Mid - Long Small ・Enhanced development of environmentally conscious services
・Promotion of campaigns for raising environmental awareness
Reputation Reduced revenue or degraded reputation due to insufficient climate change countermeasures Mid - Long Small ・Active ESG-related information disclosure
・Reinforcement of GHG reduction initiatives
Opportunity Resource
Efficiency		 Increased introduction of new technology for climate change response Short - Long Large ・Reinforcement of initiatives to optimize resource distribution utilizing artificial intelligence (AI)
Energy Source Increased use of renewable energy in response to rising carbon prices Short - Long Medium ・Promotion of renewable energy adoption through participation in RE100
Products/
Services		 Increased environmentally conscious customer behavior due to increased interest in environmental issues Short - Long Medium ・Improvement of brand image through promotion of GHG reduction initiatives
・Improvement of external information disclosure
Market Increased use of public-sector incentives Short - Long Medium ・Improvement of reputation through participation in public-sector projects
4 degrees Celsius Scenario
Category Type Main Risk Time Horizon Impact Response / Initiative
Physical Risk Acute Increased business damage due to extreme weather events
(such as droughts, floods, typhoons, and hurricanes)		 Short - Long Medium ・Improvement of BCP (Business Continuity Plan)
・Improvement of disaster countermeasures
Chronic Increased electricity costs for data center equipment cooling due to rising temperatures Mid - Long Small ・Promotion of energy efficiency improvement initiatives at data centers
・Promotion of research and development for energy efficiency improvement

Definitions of Time Horizon / Impact

【Time Horizon】
Label Description
Short-term Next 3 years
Mid-term -2030
Long-term 2030-
【Impact(Risk)】
Label Description
Small Little impact
Medium Services and/or
operations are delayed
Large Services and/or operations
are disrupted
【Impact(Opportunity)】
Label Description
Small Little impact
Medium Some services and/or operations
are impacted
Large Entire group is impacted

Risk Management

Climate-related risks are identified, assessed, and managed as part of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Rakuten Group’s risk management framework, by the Environmental Management Promotion Department.
For more details on Rakuten’s ERM, visit the Risk Management page.

Metrics and Targets

To manage the risks and opportunities posed by climate change to our company, we are pro-actively managing environmental impact data, including greenhouse gas Scope 1 emissions (direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the company itself), Scope 2 emissions (indirect emissions accompanying the use of heat, steam, and electricity supplied by other companies), and Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions other than Scope 1 and Scope 2).
Data for each metric is updated in the ESG Databook around June every year.

As a step towards realizing a decarbonized society, the Rakuten Group achieved carbon neutrality, or net-zero*1 greenhouse gas emissions*2, from all Group business operations, including consolidated subsidiaries, in 2023.
For 2024 onwards, we have submitted our short-term greenhouse gas reduction target to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for approval.
Please see our press release for more information.

*1 We promoted energy efficiency and renewable energy adoption groupwide for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and offset remaining emissions by using carbon credits and investing in reduction activities
*2 Total of Scope 1 emissions (direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the company itself) and Scope 2 emissions (indirect emissions accompanying the use of heat, steam, and electricity supplied by other companies), with third-party verification obtained and estimated in accordance with the GHG Protocol, the international standard for estimating and reporting GHG emissions volume

Rakuten’s Efforts

In Our Own Operations

Over 98% of Rakuten's energy usage is electricity, 95% of which is consumed in our mobile network, data centers and offices.

Improving the efficiency of our facilities' electricity usage and managing the sources of the electricity we use are the necessary first steps towards greener operations and minimizing our environmental impact. We promote various measures across the Group by raising our employees’ environmental awareness through e-learning courses and Asakai (weekly all-hands morning meetings).

Overall Value Chain

Partnerships & Initiatives

Rakuten participates in both domestic and international partnerships and initiatives to collaborate with stakeholders on achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and tackling climate change.
The Environmental Management Promotion Department regularly reviews and monitors Rakuten’s participation in these partnerships and initiatives to ensure that they are consistent with our environmental policy/initiatives and the Paris Agreement. The alignment assessment result is reported in accordance with the management system. In case of misalignment, we will further investigate to consider whether we should remain in or withdraw from the organization.

Data & Third-Party Assurance