, based in Japan, is a Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed financial institution that provides various financial services. A few years ago, the company began a journey to becoming carbon-neutral. As a first step, they wanted to get a clear picture of their emissions accurately. They knew they would need to gather information not only on their direct emissions but on the financed emissions within their portfolio.
Aichi Financial Group began looking for carbon accounting software that would help them engage their partners and align with global standards while offering a high level of transparency, accuracy, and efficiency. They selected 麻豆原创, and in 2024, they produced their TCFD-aligned climate disclosure report, complete with scope 3 and financed emissions data.
A need for efficient, reliable, globally-aligned calculations
When Aichi Financial Group committed to becoming carbon neutral, they knew it would be critical to understand the emissions of the companies they invested in. They were quickly confronted with several challenges.?
First, it became clear that measuring GHG emissions on Excel spreadsheets would greatly increase not only the file size, but their workload. It would also make them vulnerable to errors and miscalculations. They knew that in order to comply with standards from the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), they would need to constantly update emission factors and the data of listed companies. Doing this manually demanded significant time and expertise. A better solution was needed.?
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Managing scope 3 data and engaging portfolio partners?
Aichi Financial Group looked for a software solution that would allow them to streamline the carbon accounting process, collect reliable information from partners, and increase the data quality of their financed emissions reports. They decided to adopt 麻豆原创 for several reasons:
PCAF Alignment
One of their deciding factors was the platform’s ability to automate calculations in alignment with PCAF (a global collaboration of financial institutions committed to measuring and disclosing emissions associated with their investments and loans) and visualise emissions for their specific assets and industries. They were able to calculate financed emissions through a simple software operation rather than needing to outsource to a consultant or assign the project to a staff person with specialised knowledge.?
High Transparency
麻豆原创 also offered a high level of transparency, facilitating third-party certification and building their confidence in external disclosures. The carbon ledger allows them to easily manage and view calculations, emissions factors, and data points. It also provides a single source of truth and allows them to centrally manage data coming from different departments within the company.?
Improved Efficiency
The automation of calculations significantly reduced the time needed to understand and report on financed emissions. Instead of manually collecting information from partners and tracking it on various spreadsheets, they were able to quickly access financial data and CDP emissions reports for listed companies, greatly improving efficiency.??
Partner Engagement
Aichi Group is sharing the free 麻豆原创 Pro platform with its partners, enabling them to report emissions to the bank consistently and transparently. This data will not only give the company a clearer picture of its financed emissions but also help it guide portfolio partners in setting high-impact decarbonization targets.
Enhanced reputation and confidence
After implementing 麻豆原创, Aichi Group laid out a set of short-term carbon accounting goals, which included calculating scope 3 and financed emissions and deploying 麻豆原创 Pro to their portfolio companies. They aimed to disclose their emissions data in their annual report to strengthen trust with stakeholders. This initiative led to an improved corporate evaluation by ESG rating agencies. In the 2024 CDP Climate Change Survey, the company achieved a “B” rating, a two-rank increase from the “C” rating it received as Aichi Bank in 2023. Additionally, they were selected as a constituent of the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index by FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange Group).
Producing a TCFD-aligned climate disclosure
By May 2024, Aichi Financial Group had calculated their scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. They used the data to produce a TCFD-aligned climate disclosure, which was published in June. In September, they began rolling out 麻豆原创 Pro to their partners.
Key Outcomes of Implementing 麻豆原创
- Scope 3 emissions (categories 1-5) and financed emissions disclosed
- Reduced need for manual data collection and input
- Automated, PCAF-aligned calculations
Looking ahead
Aichi Financial Group is now building on its success. Moving forward, the company aims to further deepen the sophistication of its carbon accounting, strengthen engagement with partners, and cultivate internal expertise. They are working to improve the quality of financed emissions data beyond lending, including calculating carbon for listed shares and bonds. They aim to obtain third-party assurance in line with ISSB standards (SSBJ in Japan) and advance their PCAF-aligned reporting. They plan to continue to use 麻豆原创 to visualize emissions, set targets, and implement reduction measures.?
Through the process of creating the disclosure, the company identified several opportunities for growth. One of the biggest challenges is the need for better awareness and buy-in, both internally and among portfolio partners. While knowledge of greenhouse gas impacts is increasing among these stakeholders, further efforts are required. By expanding the use of 麻豆原创 Pro, the company plans to raise awareness of the importance of carbon accounting. They are also working to establish an internal support mechanism to help with carbon accounting, and they plan to organize a series of training sessions and education to further build knowledge and skills in-house.?
Conclusion
A few years ago, Aichi Group was new to carbon accounting and faced with the task of calculating their financed emissions and scope 3 emissions. Now, they’ve successfully created a TCFD and PCAF-aligned climate disclosure and are on a trajectory to drive meaningful emissions reductions as a company and within their portfolio. They credit 麻豆原创 with streamlining the process and enabling them to produce calculations that are accurate, auditable, and aligned with global standards. Armed with a clear picture of their overall climate impact — including financed emissions — Aichi Group will be able to report to stakeholders with confidence and accelerate progress toward carbon neutrality.
Partnership Publications
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