IBM Japan
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and IBM Japan support Mebuki Financial Group’s introduction of carbon accounting platform (Persefoni)
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IBM Japan, Ltd. (President Akio , hereinafter referred to as “IBM Japan”) is collaborating with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (President and CEO Akihiro Fukudome, hereinafter referred to as “Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation”) to develop Mebuki Financial Co., Ltd. Persefoni AI, Inc. (CEO Kentaro Kawamori, hereinafter “Persefoni”) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calculation platform for the Group (President Tetsuya Akino, hereinafter “Mebuki FG”) (hereinafter referred to as the “Platform”).
By introducing this platform, we aim to promote decarbonization efforts by increasing the sophistication of Mebuki FG’s financial emissions*1 calculations.
*1 GHG emissions related to investments and loans. An organization that has made an investment or loan is deemed to have contributed to the GHG emissions of the investee or loanee, and has indirectly emitted a portion of the GHG emissions in proportion to the amount of the investment or loan.
1. Background of this initiative
As society’s interest in climate change issues increases, companies are required to understand GHG emissions and decarbonize not only their own companies, but also upstream and downstream supply chains. In particular, companies listed on the prime market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange are required to disclose sustainability information, including climate change, and must respond to requests from stock markets, investors, regulatory authorities, etc. . On the other hand, in order to support the promotion of decarbonization by the companies they invest in and lend to, financial institutions need to calculate and analyze their financed emissions, as well as actively engage with their business partners. It is expected.
In light of this situation, Mebuki FG will utilize this platform provided by Persephoni, which strictly complies with the GHG Protocol and PCAF*2, which are international emission accounting standards, to improve the accounting level of financed emissions. We are trying to accelerate our efforts to This will make complex calculation work more efficient, and will enable highly transparent disclosure, analysis, and management of calculation results.
*2Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials. A framework for consistently calculating financed emissions. TCFD (abbreviation for Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which proposes a framework for international disclosure related to climate change) recommends PCAF as a method for calculating financed emissions. . 2. Overview and strengths of this initiative
This platform includes information necessary for calculating financed emissions, such as emission factors and calculation formulas, as well as GHG emissions data disclosed by investee companies. By inputting the above, highly transparent calculations in compliance with PCAF are possible.
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In addition to its long track record of supporting the Japanese financial industry, IBM Japan has a wealth of knowledge and skills in tackling ESG issues for global and diverse companies from a
technological perspective. We support our customers based on our track record and knowledge of response support. Furthermore, in August 2022, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Persephone signed a basic agreement to provide greenhouse gas emissions visualization services towards a decarbonized society (https://jp.newsroom.ibm.com/2022- 08-10-SMBC-Persefoni-and-IBM-Japan-to-address-decarbonization) and jointly provide services that support GHG emissions visualization and analysis management.
In addition, Mebuki FG uses the Chance regional bank joint system*3, and IBM Japan plans to use the Persephone solution and existing system data in the future based on the overall architecture of the core system development, maintenance, and operation of the regional bank joint system. We will continue to contribute to the development of our customers in the financial industry, with a view to collaboration. *3 “Chance Regional Bank Collaboration System” is a system built based on Mitsubishi UFJ Bank’s core systems such as accounting and information systems, reflecting the common and individual needs of participating financial institutions. Participating financial institutions will continue to receive business software developed by Mitsubishi UFJ Bank that has accumulated advanced business know-how, and will use it as a joint system that utilizes IBM Japan’s advanced technology to support their future IT needs. You can strengthen your power.
3.Future developments
As of today, Persephone’s platform is the only platform in Japan that is equipped with PCAF-compliant logic that enables the calculation of emissions related to investments and loans. But it holds a lot of knowledge. This platform is a collaboration between Persephone, which has such advanced technological know-how, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which has solutions for a wide range of companies as a financial institution, and IBM Japan, which has an extensive track record in consulting and system construction. By providing this information, we can comprehensively support our customers’ efforts toward decarbonization.
In the future, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and IBM Japan will use this platform to support financial institutions in calculating the emissions of their investees and loanees, identify high-emitting companies, assist financial institutions’ business partners with emissions calculations, and further support financial institutions in conducting transactions. We understand the goals and results of support provided to our customers, and are considering proposing reduction measures tailored to the type of industry we belong to. Furthermore, the three companies plan to use the introduction of Persephone’s GHG emissions calculation platform for Mebuki FG as a starting point, and plan to roll it out to many financial
institutions, including regional financial institutions. Through this, we aim to accelerate the promotion of sustainability in the financial industry, including efforts for local decarbonization, and realize sustainable local communities.
[Reference] Overview of each company
About Persephone
Persephone is a leading climate change management and accounting platform company. By using our SaaS solutions that are compliant with international carbon accounting standards such as the GHG Protocol and PCAF, companies and financial institutions can perform climate change information disclosure operations required by domestic and
international stakeholders and regulators at a high level. You can do it with confidence, transparency and convenience. Persephone’s platform is an ERP in the carbon field (a method for integrated management of management resources to improve management efficiency), and is a carbon sector ERP (a method for managing management resources in an integrated manner to improve management efficiency). By centralizing carbon management, companies can conduct carbon accounting and management operations with the same rigor and reliability as traditional accounting operations.
Persefoni HP: https://www.persefoni.com/ja
About Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
The SMBC Group, including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, has committed to achieving net-zero GHG emissions from its own investment portfolio by 2050, in addition to achieving net-zero GHG emissions from itself by 2030. I am. Furthermore, we will leverage our domestic leading sales base, speed of strategy implementation, and ability to provide high-quality financial services to earnestly address the challenges faced by our customers in transitioning to and realizing a decarbonized society. .
About IBM Japan
IBM Japan is the Japanese subsidiary of IBM Corporation, which operates businesses in more than 175 countries around the world.We help our customers transform their businesses and provide consistent services ranging from basic research and business consulting to IT system construction and maintenance. We support digital
transformation. For more information, please visit
https://www.ibm.com/jp-ja/.
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