Medium-term management plan of Keiyo Gas <9539>.
4. Long-term important initiatives.
In the "Medium-term Management Plan 2022-2024" and "Long-term Management Vision 2030", the company's strategies that are positioned as important are Carbon Neutral Challenge and CX / DX strategy. Below are the details of medium- to long-term initiatives.
(1) Carbon neutral. The company has been working on promoting the use of low-carbon energy "city gas" so far, but from now on, it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, it is committed to tackling the "three challenges": Challenge 1, which develops low-carbon gas energy supply, carbon-free electricity, energy saving, regional collaboration, etc. for customers; Challenge 2, which develops decarbonization techniques and new technologies such as the development of renewable energy, contribution to decarbonization, and promotion of R&D; and Challenge 3, which promotes carbon neutrality in the company, group companies, and trading partners. The company aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 800,000 tons (respectively 48% of the 2013 level) by 2030 through these Challenges.
In Challenge 1, the company aims to actively provide energy, services, and products that contribute to CO2 reduction to customers. It aims to expand the supply of low-carbon gas energy by promoting decarbonization of gas energy (with a goal of achieving 5% carbon neutrality ratio for city gas by 2030) and further improving the already high city gas penetration rate nationwide. It will also strengthen the utilization of carbon-free electricity, such as effective use of EV power in emergencies, introduction support for solar power generation and EV in the regions, promotion of PPA models, surplus power purchase of solar power generation, and energy-saving proposals and solutions for buildings and residences. Furthermore, it will strengthen cooperation with local governments aiming to create zero-carbon cities by supporting Eco Green Support, which supports environmental conservation activities in regions, and other efforts to enhance the eco-value of regions.
In Challenge 2, the company aims to actively develop renewable energy domestically and internationally and promote R&D related to decarbonization and SDGs, with plans to increase its carbon-free power handling volume to 300,000 kW, approximately five times the 2021 level. For this purpose, it invested in the "Komorebi Fund No. 1", which targets solar power plants in Japan organized by Looop Community Co., Ltd., and also raised funds through green bonds. As one of the company's contribution methods to decarbonization, it plans to create credits by reducing CO2 emissions through resilience and energy-saving proposals based on its extensive experience and knowledge, and by consuming credits locally while contributing to decarbonization, as well as by undertaking forest conservation to pass on healthy forests to future generations. In terms of R&D, it plans to promote research and development contributing to decarbonization and SDGs by utilizing the know-how and assets of the company's group to collaborate with academic institutions and start-up companies in fields such as methaneization and promotion of CCUS (Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage), which utilize CO2 separated and stored for other purposes.
In Challenge 3, the company aims to achieve a virtual zero CO2 emission level in its business activities at an early stage and actively work on carbon neutrality with its trading partners. Specifically, it aims to achieve not only zero CO2 emissions for the company by 2030 through carbon-neutral gas, carbon-free electricity, and car sharing of company vehicles, but also for the entire group by horizontally deploying such initiatives after 2030. Moreover, it will promote CO2 reduction by electronicizing and streamlining various business and services such as paperless and expanding web services to enhance customer convenience. As a registered SDGs partner company, it aims to actively contribute to SDGs in collaboration with trading partners to reduce environmental impact.
※CCUS (Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage): The use of separated and stored CO2.
(2) CX・DX Strategy
Based on the thorough customer perspective and the utilization of digital, we aim to provide customers with "new value" by improving CX and promoting DX in an integrated manner. There are three Action Plans in the CX・DX strategy, in Action Plan 1, we create psychological and emotional value through the strengths of the gas business (face-to-face contact) and digital technology (non-face-to-face contact). In Action Plan 2, we promote the strengthening of human capital and the rationalization of business, and in Action Plan 3, we establish and evolve the foundation of utilizing digital technology.
Concrete measures of Action Plan 1 are to establish a mechanism for flexibly guiding staff to build a responsive system to customer needs, to analyze and utilize customer feedback, and to improve customer response levels. We will understand the true intentions of customer feedback, and create fundamental solutions for enhancing issue resolution and response capabilities. We will expand the point return measures for loyal customers who have been using our services for a long time, and enhance the convenience of web services, making them seamless and requiring minimal touches, in cooperation with SNS and member sites. By thoroughly utilizing data, we will provide products and services tailored to individual customer needs and achieve data-driven management to expedite decision-making. By contributing to various scenes in daily life, we will enhance brand power as a "customer's regular medical institution."
In Action Plan 2, we value human resources as important capital and strengthen "investment in people" toward maximizing value. We work on activating communication by creating new spaces for interaction, expanding free addresses, and promoting various working styles and telework, while raising the level of communication, creating awareness for ideas and business transformation, and increasing employee loyalty by enhancing work-life balance. We will draw up a personnel strategy linked to the management strategy and connect it to each individual's mindset change. By simplifying existing business and thoroughly reviewing existing business through a review of precedent and digital technology, we will provide "new value" by changing work styles through paperless and electronic methods.
In Action Plan 3, we enhance the expandability and flexibility of the system by renewing the core system, construct new IT infrastructure, and achieve seamless information cooperation. By developing and evolving the digital platform, we aim to maximize the overall capabilities of the group smoothly and deliver more services early. Furthermore, we will establish a specialized organization to actively promote the CX・DX strategy, unify the entire group, and solve the challenges of each company. We will also sort out the competencies required by role and implement appropriate education, making all employees DX human resources to utilize digital technology appropriately. We aim to achieve 400,000 member site registrations by 2030, a productivity increase of over 30% (compared to gas business per customer in 2021), a 50% reduction in paperless by 2024 and 100% reduction by 2027, and cumulative DX investment of 6 billion yen.
Furthermore, in order to actively promote the CX・DX strategy, we will establish a specialized organization to unify the entire group, solve the challenges of each company, and educate all employees to become DX human resources in order to properly utilize digital technology. By doing so, we aim to achieve 400,000 member site registrations by 2030, a productivity increase of over 30% (compared to gas business per customer in 2021), a 50% reduction in paperless by 2024 and 100% reduction by 2027, and cumulative DX investment of 6 billion yen.
(Author: FISCO guest analyst Nobumitsu Miyata)