Kirin Brewery announces it will switch to 100% renewable energy for purchased electric power at all Kirin Brewery plants and sales offices; as a result, GHG emissions of purchased electric power from these locations will be zero

TOKYO , January 19, 2024 (press release) –

Kirin Brewery Company, Limited (Kirin Brewery), a group company of Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin Holdings), will switch to 100% renewable energy from January 2024 for purchased electric power at all Kirin Brewery plants and sales offices. As a result, GHG＊2 emissions of purchased electric power from these locations will be zero.＊3
Kirin Brewery has been gradually introducing renewable energy since 2020, with five plants＊4 now using 100% renewable energy for purchased electric power. By newly converting four plants＊5 and all sales offices to 100% renewable energy, the ratio of renewable energy in the electricity used by Kirin Brewery as a whole will be 66%. In the future, we aim to achieve RE100 as soon as possible by replacing all electricity used in Kirin Group operations with renewable energy.
*1: RE100 is an international initiative for the environment that is made up of companies aiming to achieve 100% renewable energy use.
*2: Greenhouse gases.
*3: Reduction in GHG emissions of approximately 20,700 tons per year.
*4: Kirin Brewery Sendai Plant, Kirin Brewery Toride Plant, Kirin Brewery Nagoya Plant, Kirin Brewery Okayama Plant, Kirin Brewery Fukuoka Plant.
*5: Kirin Brewery Hokkaido Chitose Plant, Kirin Brewery Yokohama Plant, Kirin Brewery Shiga Plant, Kirin Brewery Kobe Plant.

The Kirin Group joined RE100 in 2020, and has set a goal of 100% renewable energy for electricity consumption by 2040. The Kirin Group’s Environmental Vision 2050 has set the lofty goal of achieving net zero GHG emissions＊6 throughout the entire value chain by 2050, and in 2022 we became the first food and beverage company in the world to have its net zero targets validated by SBT (Science-based Targets) Initiative. *7
*6: A state in which anthropogenic GHG emissions and removals are balanced and GHG emissions to the atmosphere are net zero.
*7: An initiative established in 2015 by the CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). https://sciencebasedtargets.org Corporate GHG reduction targets are reviewed scientifically and validation is based on a sound rationale.

The Kirin Group will continue to address complex and interrelated environmental issues (biological resources, water resources, containers and packaging, and climate change) in an integrated manner, and to work with all those involved in the value chain to connect the Group’s desire to enjoy and pass on the bounty of the earth to future generations. The Kirin Group will proactively promote various initiatives that will have a positive impact on nature and people.

For Reference

Kirin Group's Environmental Vision 2050

About Kirin Holdings

Kirin Holdings Company, Limited is an international company that operates in the Food & Beverages domain (Food & Beverages businesses), Pharmaceuticals domain (Pharmaceuticals businesses), and Health Science domain (Health Science business), both in Japan and across the globe.

Kirin Holdings can trace its roots to Japan Brewery which was established in 1885. Japan Brewery became Kirin Brewery in 1907. Since then, the company expanded its business with fermentation and biotechnology as its core technologies, and entered the pharmaceutical business in the 1980s, all of which continue to be global growth centers. In 2007, Kirin Holdings was established as a pure holding company and is currently focusing on boosting its Health Science domain.

Under the Kirin Group Vision 2027 (KV 2027), a long-term management plan launched in 2019, the Kirin Group aims to become “A global leader in CSV*, creating value across our world of Food & Beverages to Pharmaceuticals.” Going forward, the Kirin Group will continue to leverage its strengths to create both social and economic value through its businesses, with the aim of achieving sustainable growth in corporate value.

* Creating Shared Value: combined added value for consumers as well as for society at large

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