Striving for a sustainable future

AS A responsible corporate citizen, Mitsubishi Electric Asia is committed to addressing major social challenges through its various businesses. The Singapore-based company's efforts are guided by its parent company, Mitsubishi Electric Group's Sustainability Vision of "Creating Harmony with People and the Planet".

It is a commitment that Mitsubishi Electric Group takes seriously, with a focus on creating a prosperous, comfortable, and sustainable society with added social and economic values benefiting society, customers, shareholders and employees, as well as all other stakeholders.

Since its establishment in 1977, Mitsubishi Electric Asia has been providing high-performance products and services ranging from home electronics, industrial and factory automation, space systems, public utility systems and semiconductors to households and businesses across the Asia Pacific. In 2007, the company embarked on a green journey that has seen it take part in environmental initiatives such as the Clean and Green Singapore campaign and the global Earth Hour movement. It was also an active supporter of the Eco Action Day campaigns.

The Mitsubishi Electric Group's sustainability strategy is expressed through five key initiatives it terms as Materiality - "Realise a sustainable global environment", "Realise a safe, secure, and comfortable society", "Respect for all people", "Strengthen corporate governance and compliance on a sustainable basis", and "Creating a sustainability-oriented corporate culture". They aim to address these challenges: carbon neutrality, circular economy, safety or security, inclusion, and well-being.

To achieve these goals, the group is working to transform into a "Circular Digital-Engineering" organisation by leveraging knowledge within and outside the group to provide sustainable solutions that build urban resilience and tackle climate change.

"The group places more focus than ever on sustainability initiatives at the management level to realise a "vibrant and sustainable society" that it has committed to in its Purpose," says Frederick Goh, Director of Corporate Affairs Division at Mitsubishi Electric Asia.

Taking actions to cut emissions

The Mitsubishi Electric Group utilises its technological capabilities across its business units and value chain to solve environmental issues. In Singapore, the company offers a wide range of air conditioners with the highest 5-tick energy efficiency label under the National Environment Agency (NEA) standards.

One example of its commitment to sustainability can be seen in one of its product offerings: the Mitsubishi Electric Starmex R32 series. This series uses a more climate-friendly refrigerant called R32, which has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) that is two-thirds less than its predecessor.

The R32 is also easier to recycle, and uses around 20 per cent less refrigerant than its predecessor, thus helping to lower energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.

Mitsubishi Electric Asia limits its environmental impact from its own operations in areas such as electricity and water consumption, as well as waste generation. For instance, the company installed solar photovoltaic panels on its rooftop and features an edible garden that reduces heat load, further lowering electricity use for cooling the office areas underneath. These efforts in environmental conservation initiatives have enabled the company to obtain the Green Mark Platinum Certificate from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) for Mitsubishi Electric Building in 2014, which was renewed in 2021.

At the rooftop garden, employees adopt plots to grow their favourite vegetables, spices, and herbs. It is a space for them to experience food self-reliance, destress and socialise. As a result, Mitsubishi Electric Asia received a Community in Bloom Award in 2021 for Silvery category from the National Parks Board for achieving good recognition in gardening efforts.

The company works towards building an eco-conscious mindset among employees and fostering a sustainability-oriented corporate culture by implementing good environmental practices. These include reducing CO₂ emissions generated from its office building, proper waste management procedures, adopting 3R practices the principle of reducing waste, reusing and recycling resources and products.

Making real impact

The Mitsubishi Electric Group has committed to tangible and specific targets related to its five sustainability initiatives. On carbon neutrality, for instance, the group has pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations by 50% or more by 2030 and achieve net-zero across its entire value chain by 2050.

In Singapore, Mitsubishi Electric Asia embarked on its energy conservation journey over a decade ago and has made substantial reduction in its electricity consumption, and fulfilling its share of reduction for the whole group's target.

On the environmental front, the company has forged an ongoing partnership with the Waterways Watch Society (WWS), a non-governmental and non-profit environmental organisation focused on conserving Singapore's waterways and raising environmental awareness.

Beyond its work to cut emissions, Mitsubishi Electric Asia also gives back to local communities in Singapore through a broad range of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes based on the three pillars of Philanthropy, Education and Environment.

The company has established strong and long-term partnerships with local charitable organisations, such as Apex Day Rehabilitation Centre for Elderly, AWWA Special Student Care Centre and Thye Hua Kwan Seniors Activity Centre. These include organising various community-based volunteering activities to foster the spirit of giving and good corporate citizenry among employees, in line with the company's CSR slogan of "Caring Hands and Loving Hearts".

In December 2022, Mitsubishi Electric Asia launched a Book Recycling Drive that collected over 500 pre-loved books from employees to exchange and give away. Some of the books were donated to Dignity Mama, a micro-enterprise model in Singapore that provides caregivers and young adults with special needs the ability to start small businesses.

During the Chinese New Year in February 2023, our employees participated in a Red Packets Recycling Drive where used red packets were sent for recycling into useful paper products. On 3 February 2023, the company held its regular Chinese New Year celebration with the APEX Day Rehabilitation Centre for Elderly. During that same month, the company also donated five refrigerators to three of its adopted charities to support their expanded storage needs, or as replacement for faulty units.

The company was recognised as a "Champion of Good" by Singapore's National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre in 2020 and 2022 for being an exemplary leader and multiplier of corporate giving in Singapore.

Looking ahead, the Mitsubishi Electric Group and its subsidiaries will continue to leverage its technological capabilities to provide solutions that address social challenges. More pressingly, the group endeavours to fulfil its carbon neutrality obligations through its innovative products and integrated solutions; whether it's reducing CO₂ emissions related to the usage of new products, or slashing emissions across its own factories, offices and entire value chain.

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