Novo Nordisk Japan Switches to Renewable Energy at Koriyama Factory
Aiming for zero carbon emissions from electricity energy consumption, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd. in Japan will convert all electricity supplied to the company’s Koriyama factory to renewable energy.
August 1, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Novo Nordisk’s affiliate in Japan has agreed to purchase two types of Green Power Certificates from Japan Natural Energy Company Limited.* The agreement commits Novo Nordisk to purchase 1.9 million kWh of renewable energy, 1.8 million kWh from biomass power and 0.1 million kWh from wind power.** The amount is nearly equivalent to the factory’s annual electricity consumption.
“We have put continual effort into energy saving and CO2 reduction resulting in CO2 reductions of 43% in 2011 compared to 2005,” says Claus Eilersen, president, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd. “However, emissions increased in 2012 after the earthquake disrupted nuclear power generation and the subsequent shift to thermal power generation. The purchase of Green Power Certificates will help us get back to a lower environmental impact as well as promote renewable energy.”
The wind power is generated by Suttsu Onsen Yubetsu No Yu wind power station in Hokkaido while the biomass power is generated by Ishinomaki Plywood in Miyagi. Ishinomaki Plywood was heavily damaged by the earthquake in 2011 and Novo Nordisk hopes that its decision will support the rebuilding of its operations.
In 2006, Novo Nordisk A/S headquartered in Denmark entered into an agreement with the Worldwide Fund for Nature to review overall energy consumption in the company’s production sites globally and achieve a 10% absolute reduction in CO2 emissions by 2014 from a 2004 baseline. Conversion to renewable energy is a part of the company’s strategy and all electricity supplied to Novo Nordisk’s Danish operations has been converted to certified renewable energy from the Horns Rev II off-shore wind farm.
In addition to Green Power Certificates, Koriyama factory will also convert fuel from kerosene to natural gas. All efforts together are expected to decrease CO2 emissions from energy consumption by 313 tons in 2014, resulting in a 83% reduction compared to 2004.***
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*In the Green Power Certificates agreement, Novo Nordisk buys certificates from a green energy producer through an intermediary fund that secures the continuous maintenance and development of the green energy grid. The agreement is fully acknowledged by the World Wide Fund for Nature, who has defined strict criteria for certificate schemes they can support.
**Equivalent to about 400 households
***Equivalent to about 90 households
About Novo Nordisk
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk strives to conduct its activities in a financially, environmentally and socially responsible way. The strategic commitment to corporate sustainability has brought the company onto centre stage as a leading player in today’s business environment, recognised for its integrated reporting, stakeholder engagement and consistently high sustainability performance. In 2013, Novo Nordisk received the Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology industry group top ranking on Corporate Knight’s list of Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations. For more information, visit novonordisk.com/sustainability.
