IHI Holds Get-Together at Mizuho Aero-Engine Works to Promote Carbon Neutrality Awareness
On March 6, 2025, the IHI Group held a Carbon Neutrality Get-Together at the IHI Mizuho Aero-Engine Works. This event was for managers and personnel involved in carbon neutrality efforts at IHI plants and partner companies in the Aero Engine, Space & Defense Business Area.
To help combat climate change*, the IHI Group aims to achieve carbon neutrality throughout its entire value chain by 2050. It is working to achieve this by reducing GHG (Scopes 1 and 2) emissions, both direct and indirect, from the business activities performed at plants and offices. The goal is to cut GHG emissions by half compared to FY2019 levels by FY2030.
The get-together was one of the measures aimed at achieving this goal. It provided opportunities for managers and personnel involved in carbon neutrality efforts to share information, gain a better understanding of the true essence of carbon neutrality, and recognize carbon neutrality as something in which they have a personal stake. This was the second get-together of its kind during the current fiscal year, following the get-together held in July 2024, and it was attended by a total of 55 people.
In the first part of the event, participants assembled in a meeting room for an overall explanation of the Mizuho Aero-Engine Works. They then split up into three groups and toured the plant. During the tour, plant personnel presented examples of the carbon neutrality efforts the plant was carrying out. There was also an exchange of ideas on how carbon neutrality improvements could be made by reassessing operating conditions to improve compressor operation efficiency. Participants shared their knowledge and ideas with each other.
- The IHI Group's climate change initiatives
https://www.ihi.co.jp/en/sustainable/environmental/climatechange
In the second part of the event, participants played the 2050 Carbon Neutrality card game from Project Design Inc. In this game, players gain a first-hand sense of the impact of various human activities on the global environment. The goal is to encourage them to change their own behavior. The event site represented the entire country of Japan, and participants split up into 12 teams, each consisting of two to three people. Each team represented an organization such as a government organization, manufacturer, or environmental NPO. The teams engaged in business activities and personal consumption activities while working to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and accomplish the goals set for each individual organization.
Some organizations sought to obtain funding, while others worked to reduce their environmental impact. The game simulated the impact of each organization's activities on the future of the global environment. There was also a map that visually represented the emissions and build-up of GHG for Japan as a whole, which the organizations checked as they collaborated with other organizations to try to achieve carbon neutrality. Through the game, the participants experienced first-hand how hard it is to balance economic activity and carbon neutrality.
After the card game, there was a group discussion about the difficulties involved in taking ownership of the challenge of carbon neutrality. Comments from the participants included "I learned that unless steps are taken quickly to cut GHG emissions, the level of GHG will rise and global warming will get worse," "I felt the need for cooperation throughout all of society, including both the public and private sectors, in order to balance carbon neutrality and the economy," and "It impressed on me the need to communicate how personal actions contribute to global warming." The game succeeded in achieving its goals of providing participants with a better understanding of the true essence of carbon neutrality and making them see it as something in which they have a personal stake.
The IHI Group will work as one to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by using activities such as these to promote environmental awareness among employees.