Rigaku aims to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to fiscal year 2021 levels. This goal reflects our belief that innovation and responsibility must move hand in hand to achieve sustainable growth. To reach this target, we are implementing various initiatives, such as generating renewable energy at our manufacturing sites and improving energy efficiency across operations.
After launching our formal Sustainability Promotion Program in 2022, Rigaku was honored with the Sustainability Fast Mover Award from the Carlyle Group in 2024, selected from among Carlyle’s more than 300 portfolio companies. This award recognizes Rigaku’s significant progress in sustainability-related activities, including the development of our materiality framework, transparent disclosure of CO2 emissions, setting a clear CO2 reduction roadmap, and various initiatives to strengthen corporate governance.
Reference: Rigaku Awarded Carlyle’s 2024 Sustainability Awards
Along with the Award, we also received 1,250 tons of verified voluntary carbon credits, issued from the Pichacay Landfill Gas Project, a landfill gas methane recovery and renewable power generation project in Ecuador. This project captures methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from landfill sites and converts it into renewable electricity, contributing both to climate change mitigation and local community benefits.
The Pichacay Landfill Gas Project
We recently decided to retire these carbon credits to offset some of our non-regulatory CO₂ emissions that cannot yet be eliminated. First, we offset emissions associated with hosting the Battery Forum 2025 at Rigaku Europe SE in Germany. We used the remainder of the credits to offset emissions related to outbound business travel from Japan in 2024.
As a leading global company of analytical instruments, we place a high priority on direct communication with customers internationally and close collaboration across our global teams. While we actively reduce travel emissions through online communication, certain on-site interactions, such as hands-on demonstrations of our instruments and technical consultations, remain essential. The carbon credits were utilized to offset emissions from such necessary travel.
Looking forward, Rigaku is strongly committed to prioritizing the direct reduction of CO₂ emissions primarily through our internal renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. In this way, offsetting serves as a bridge toward deeper decarbonization, not a substitute for real reduction.
Please note that the offset reported here falls outside the scope of statutory emissions reporting, as we continue advancing transparency, innovation, and meaningful climate action across our global operations.