The group, which until then had wanted to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, explained in a press release that it wanted to "accelerate the reduction of its impact on the environment" while the risks linked to climate change "become more evident and serious" in the world.
A pillar of the video game, music and film industries, also a manufacturer of household appliances and electronic components, Sony says it initially wants to aim for carbon neutrality by 2030 for emissions directly related to its activity and those due to the energy they consume ("scope 1" and "scope 2").
He then wants to achieve carbon neutrality before 2040, including for emissions related to the life cycle of manufactured products and supply chains ("scope 3").
Regarding the use of renewable energy for its activities, in order to reach 100% by 2030, Sony is now aiming for 35% renewable energy by 2025, compared to 15% so far.
To achieve this objective, it intends to gradually reduce the environmental impact of its own facilities through energy savings and the installation of solar energy production equipment, and to encourage its business partners to do the same.
These commitments are "a positive signal that (Sony) takes the fight against climate change seriously", according to Eri Watanabe, an official for Japan of the environmental NGO 350.org, who however says she is more skeptical about the means to achieve it.
The group says it wants to contribute to the extraction and fixation of carbon, in particular by technological means (by investing in start-ups in this field).
But the effectiveness of "technological extraction is not proven and it is not certain that it can contribute to decarbonization", notes Ms. Watanabe, interviewed by AFP.
"Sony can be a real climate leader" and influence other Japanese companies to raise their environmental targets, she agrees, provided "it doesn't rely too much on unproven effectiveness" to reduce its emissions.
At the beginning of 2021, more than 90 major Japanese private companies, including Sony, had urged the Japanese government to double its 2030 target for renewable energy compared to its current target, which is considered too unambitious.
In 2020, Japan set itself a carbon neutrality target for 2050 before raising its 2030 target for reducing CO2 emissions to 46% compared to their 2013 levels, against a previous target of 26% for the same deadline. .
Last year, Japan also raised to 36-38% the share of renewable energies that it is aiming for in its electricity production by 2030, against a previous target of 22-24%.
© 2022 AFP