Navigating Sustainable Management with LCA: Mazda's 2050 Carbon Neutrality Mission

Mikako Aoyagi (Communication Supervisory Group), who developed a passion for environmental issues during the COVID pandemic, interviews Ryuji Kawamoto (Development Strategy Planning Department) and Takeshi Fukagawa (Carbon Neutral and Resource Circulation Strategy Department), who are working on carbon neutrality initiatives at Mazda. They explore the concepts of LCA and Mazda's current efforts toward carbon neutrality.

Mazda has committed to making all its global factories carbon neutral by 2035, building its strategy on three key pillars: energy conservation, renewable energy, and carbon-neutral fuels.

In this third installment, Aoyagi focuses on clean energy, interviewing members of the Plant Engineering Department who implement and manage the solar power generation facilities operating in Mazda's factories since 2021. She investigates the behind-the-scenes story of a project that began as a team initiative and uncovers the energy strategies needed to meet the challenging targets for achieving carbon neutrality.

As revitalizing local economies through local production and consumption of renewable energy is seen as a favorable strategy, the use of offsite corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is drawing attention as a potential solution.

In 2023, as part of energy reforms aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, Mazda launched an offsite corporate PPA in partnership with companies in the Chugoku region. But this didn’t happen overnight. It was the achievement of many years of building a network of like-minded partners and collaborators, while continuously communicating the significance and vision of the initiative.

What exactly is an offsite corporate PPA? And why is Mazda promoting it?  To explore where Mazda are in addressing this challenge, an area which holds potential not only for the wider adoption of renewable energy but also for regional revitalization.