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16 Local Companies and Organizations Declared their Commitment to Transition to 100% Renewable Energy within 5 Years.

Nagasaki, September 27, 2021 – The Fukue Chamber of Commerce and Industries (The Fukue CCI) in Goto city, which is located in the westernmost part of the main islands of Japan, has launched a groundbreaking initiative to encourage local businesses and organizations to commit to using 100% renewable energy sources. Today, we are pleased to announce that 16 local companies and organizations declared their commitment to achieve a target of ZERO carbon emissions within 5 years.

● GOTO RE100 Initiative is an original local action by the Fukue CCI. This action was inspired by initiatives established by the Climate Group (London) in 2014.

● 16 local businesses and organizations submitted a declaration and action plan for reducing carbon emissions to the GOTO RE100 Certification Committee, which consists of a panel of experts. The role of the committee is to examine the relevant documents and plans, to communicate the status and progress of each organization up until the set deadline and to monitor their ongoing efforts after the achievement of Carbon ZERO.

● Fukue CCI is very committed to the success of the GOTO RE100 Initiative from both the perspective of reducing carbon dioxide emissions (related to SDGs Goal No.12 and No.13) as well as promoting the sustainable development of the local economy (related to SDGs Goal No.8).

The 16 businesses and organizations will be supplied with locally produced electricity that is free from CO2 emissions by Goto Municipal Electric Power Co., Ltd. (Goto City, CEO: Taketoshi Hashimoto).

These 16 companies and organizations consumed approximately 3 GWh of electricity and emitted an estimated 937 tons of CO2 in FY2020. Over the next five years, the Fukue CCI will work to reduce these emissions to zero.

One of the features of the Goto RE100 Initiative is that the Fukue CCI supports small and medium-sized businesses in calculating their CO2 emissions, which is difficult for them to do on their own. Moreover, businesses can also receive help creating an action plan to achieve zero emissions. In order to receive certification, a declaration and action plan must be prepared and submitted to the Goto RE100 Certification Committee established within the Fukue CCI, and an annual status report must be submitted.  Thanks to the ongoing support provided throughout this process, the Fukue CCI believes that the hurdles facing businesses to reduce CO2 emissions will be lowered.  In the future, the Fukue CCI also plans to work on developing products and services with zero CO2 emissions.

Since the 2050 Carbon Neutral Declaration made by Prime Minister Suga in October 2020, there has been a rapidly spreading movement to convert electricity sources used for business activities to renewable energy.

The GOTO RE100 Initiative provides businesses and organizations rooted in the local community an opportunity to embrace a global trend while proactively working toward decarbonization, thereby enhancing their corporate value, product value, and service value, which in turn will contribute to the development of the local economy and the realization of a carbon-neutral society.

The Fukue CCI is committed to continuing its efforts to increase the number of businesses and organizations participating in GOTO RE100 Initiative, and contribute to the development of businesses in Goto and the local economy.

About the Fukue CCI:
The Fukue CCI was established in 1948 as the Goto Chamber of Commerce and Industries and is now one of 515 regional chambers in Japan that are operated under a special government law called the Chambers of Commerce and Industry Act.  More than 900 members (as of Mar. 2021) are operating their own businesses in Goto city, which is located on the Goto Islands, approximately 150 km from Nagasaki City. The population of the area consists of less than 37,000 people. Population decrease is one of the most important local issues. To prevent the population from decreasing, the Fukue CCI is taking a wide variety of significant actions, promoting the development of renewable energy is also considered to be one of those important actions. The Fukue CCI has also been supporting the implementation of floating-type offshore wind power generators since 2015 and has developed related businesses such as O&M for the wind turbine and power retail business.

[Media Contact]
The Fukue CCI
Hajime YAMADA (Mr.)
+81-(0)959-72-3108

fukuecci@vc.fctv-net.jp