HOME > Corporate Social Responsibility > Division CSR Activities > Energy & Mineral Resources
Meeting Present and Future Resource and Energy Needs
In resource-poor Japan, the social mission of companies that specialize in energy and mineral resources business like Sojitz is to secure and provide a stable supply of resources to Japan and the world, and to develop renewable energy sources to ensure sustainable living for future generations.
In the energy-related field, we are involved in developing oil and gas, the mainstays of industry, as well as other energy resources, and through our global chain business with trading and sales capabilities, we secure access to and provide a stable supply of resources. Regarding mineral resources, we are employing our trading company functions to obtain and ensure a stable supply of resources, for example diversifying supply sources for coal and iron ore for core Japanese industries and acquiring rights to seven rare metals essential for the machinery and hightech industries for government stockpiles.
In the field of renewable energy, we are developing clean coal technology to reduce CO2 emissions and make this resource more environment-friendly, and we are also actively pursuing development of ecology-conscious renewable energy sources such as hydrogen fuel cells.
We will maintain awareness of corporate social responsibility and of its importance as we carry out the business activities of this division, and I will make sure that all employees approach their work with contributions to the local community and concern for the environment in mind.
Online Emissions Credits Trading
CoalinQ Corporation’s portal site for trading carbon emissions
credits online
CoalinQ Corporation, a wholly-owned Sojitz subsidiary, operates Asia’s only portal site for coal. The website, which holds over 200 member companies, provides a variety of information on coal, and operates online coal trading platform.
With CO2 cited as one of the causes of global warming, the new business of emissions trading was born. Sojitz, through a tie-up with Asia Carbon Exchange Pte. Ltd. (ACX, a Singapore company that auctions emissions credits), decided to participate in online trading of emissions credits taking advantage of the IT capabilities of CoalinQ.
This has allowed CoalinQ members to engage in online emissions credits trading through the website, compared to the previous system in which only direct trading was possible. It has also permitted small and medium-size companies to take part in a market previously dominated by large CO2 emitters. Sojitz hopes to further expand the online trading market and encourage more emissions credits trading.
Clean Coal Technology (CCT) Business
Sojitz is the only trading company with direct brown coal liquefaction technology. By applying this technology we are able to use coal, the world’s most abundant fossil fuel, in a more economical and environment-friendly way.
The brown coal liquefaction business paves the way for using brown coal, whose uses were previously limited because it yields a low-grade product. This aligns with the interests of resourcepoor Japan and also of countries with coal resources. Liquefaction technology makes transport and usage easier since the coal is no longer in solid form.
We are currently developing technologies to upgrade brown coal into high-grade coal using liquefaction technology and to gasify brown coal (for producing chemical ingredient gas and synthetic natural gas), and we are working on commercializing CO2 fixation technology. We are also thinking of going into the power generation and other businesses derived from these technologies and of creating a business to develop and use coal bed methane.
