ESR Group is partnering with Enerbank, one of the major green certificate operators in Japan, to participate in the Green Energy Certificate system. Through this system, ESR’s self-generated solar power energy from its logistics facilities is now recognised as a renewable power energy source that is fed into the power grid in Japan, and providing an alternative option for companies and communities in Japan to validate their renewable energy contribution with Green Energy Certificates issued by Enerbank.
As a result, the solar panel energy from ESR’s facilities that is supplied onsite to its tenants and customers can now be channeled into their utility companies’ power grid system for the benefit of others. In addition, ESR’s self-generated energy can be accounted and certified through the Green Energy Certificates issued to the businesses and communities to lower their carbon footprint.
The Green Energy Certificate system operates by means of certifying the environmental value of ESR’s self-generated solar energy by Japan Quality Assurance Organisation (JQA), coupled with trading of Green Energy Certificates issued by Enerbank, a national licence-holding issuer of Green Energy Certificates.
By collaborating with Enerbank, environmental value of the actual volume of solar power generated from the rooftop solar panels at ESR’s new economy facilities can be certified, and a Green Energy Certificate (stating the environmental value) will be issued by Enerbank for the customers’ needs. This enables ESR to support and measure its partners and customers in their emission reduction efforts, while expanding the wider application of green energy within the Group’s ecosystem.
As a start, Fukuhara Kogyo Co, one of the ESR’s business partners with operations in the design and construction of photovoltaic power generation equipment in the country, has recently received a Green Energy Certificate issued by Enerbank, for 280 MWh of solar energy powered by ESR Fujiidera Distribution Centre. ESR has been utilising self-generated solar power for its own operations in many of its assets in Japan.
Since June 2021, ESR Ichikawa Distribution Centre has started to supply self-generated power to its tenants. In addition, ESR Fujiidera Distribution Centre and ESR Kuki Distribution Centre have
commenced to supply self-generated solar energy since August 2021 and December 2021, respectively. As of June 2022, total certified volume of self-generated power at these two facilities amounted to approximately 119 MWh since inception. ESR Noda Distribution Centre, ESR Moriya Distribution Centre, ESR Chigasaki Distribution Centre and ESR Yatomi Kisosaki Distribution Centre are some of the assets that will be implementing new rooftop solar panels in place from 2022.
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“Around the world, there has been greater urgency from stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future to combat climate change. ESR recognises the impact of carbon emissions on the environment and takes proactive steps to decarbonise its asset portfolio. The focal point is for ESR to ramp up its generation of renewable energy as part of its decarbonisation strategy to achieve net-zero carbon and to develop a complete ecosystem to support its customers’ needs for green energy and certification,” added Boon Kang Tang, ESR's Group Head, Governance & Sustainability.
In May 2022, ESR closed its fourth sustainability-linked loan representing a total of nearly US$2.5 billion in SLLs across the enlarged Group within the past six months.
