San Francisco: In the global entertainment industry’s biggest move on renewable electricity yet, one of the world’s largest electronics and entertainment companies, Sony Corporation, joins RE100, alongside management consulting leader McKinsey & Company, global coworking and community company WeWork and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

RE100 is a global corporate leadership initiative led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP, bringing together more than 140 multinationals committed to 100% renewable power.

RE100 members are creating demand for 182.4 TWh of renewable energy per year – more than enough to power a medium sized country, such as Thailand or Poland. Their operations span a wide range of geographies and sectors, highlighting diverse business action in a pivotal year for clean energy leadership.

Further corporate leadership announcements on clean energy are expected this week as leaders from business, states, regions and cities come together in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit (September 12-14). The Climate Group is leading work on Healthy Energy Systems and hosting the Under2 Coalition General Assembly (September 12).

Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, said: “By stepping up and joining RE100 these leading companies are saying loud and clear that 100% renewables are the solution – they reduce business risk and drive down greenhouse gas emissions. By putting renewables at the heart of their business strategies, RE100 members are sending the demand signals needed for national governments to increase their own ambitions on clean energy.”

Welcoming Sony Corporation to RE100, she added: “We are excited to welcome Sony aboard RE100. From PlayStation® and image sensors to consumer electronics, music, and film, this is the largest entertainment and technology business in the world stepping up and switching its entire operations to 100% renewable electricity. Sony is at the forefront of cutting edge innovation and is showing the global market that renewable energy is the future.”

California Governor and Global Climate Action Summit Co-Chair, Edmund G Brown Jr., said: “The Global Climate Action Summit is a call to action and these companies, with their bold commitment to clean energy, are setting the pace.”

Business leadership

Sony Corporation is the parent company of Sony Group, including Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Picture Entertainment, Sony Mobile Communications and more. By sourcing renewable energy, Sony has already avoided 154,000 tons of CO2 emissions since FY2016

Sony is now targeting 100% renewable electricity by 2040; 30% by 2030. Already sourcing 100% renewable electricity in Europe, its next steps will be in North America and China, and installing on-site solar panels in Thailand and Japan. Japan is home to Sony’s semiconductor manufacturing sites and accounts for the largest energy consumption within the Group. Here, Sony will establish a transfer scheme of electricity generated at Sony sites to fully utilize excess renewable electricity generated by on-site solar panels, while working with other RE100 members to call on Japanese energy companies to provide affordable and reliable supplies of renewable energy.

Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO, Sony Corporation, said: “For many years, Sony has been an industry leader in actively addressing climate change and other environmental issues. As part of our “Road to Zero” initiative to eliminate our environmental footprint, we are pleased to join RE100 and contribute to the realization of a society that operates on fully renewable energy.

“In anticipation of the coming autonomous driving era, Sony aims to contribute to the safety of mobility and to the reduction of environmental impact through its automotive CMOS image sensor business. We have positioned these initiatives as one of our pillars of our societal contribution from a long-term perspective. At the same time, we are also proactively taking measures to assess and minimize the impact of our overall business activities such as semiconductor manufacturing on the environment. By joining RE100, we hope to contribute to the expanded usage of renewable energy not only within Sony but by the industry at large”.

Paul Simpson, CEO, CDP, commented: “We are delighted that Sony Corporation has joined RE100 with a bold commitment to source 100% renewable electricity. This strong uptake of renewables will help them achieve their science-based target. One of the first to move in their industry, Sony is leading the pack in the transition to the new low-carbon economy, and we will be transparently tracking their progress along the way.”

He added: “With a heavy reliance on fossil fuels, Japan’s electricity market is a hard nut to crack if you’re looking to source 100% renewable electricity, but Sony is showing what can be done. We welcome Sony’s intention to work with RE100 peers to demonstrate growing demand to suppliers – just the kind of leadership we need to see.”