Decarbonization as the norm in the next few years—core members of TC’s JCM projects on their aspirations to help solve the world’s environmental problems

Like Ms. Yasufuku, I'm also engaged in promoting the JCM. In my particular case, I often work with Tokyo Century's overseas subsidiaries to prepare proposals for overseas companies. I joined this division just last April, so I'm still learning about the job every day.

That's right. After installation, we measure greenhouse gas emissions on a daily basis, and if any change or problem occurs in the numbers, we contact the local joint venture partner and construction company. Communicating with local companies every day--even after installation--may be a characteristic of JCM projects. What's more, Tokyo Century is in a position to oversee entire projects as a representative. That's why we feel a great deal of responsibility as we carry these projects forward.

It's very rare for a company like ours to engage in a JCM-like project with a manufacturer or local company. In that sense, I think it's unique to Tokyo Century and differentiates us from other companies.

One project that stands out is in Indonesia. This was before the COVID-19 pandemic, and upon its completion we invited the local government and residents as well as the media to a local stakeholder consultation meeting to brief them on the project.

In fact, the event was really important. And the equipment we installed as part of the project was a chiller that emits less CO2 than conventional units. Though, the local people were not quite sure about the connection between the chillers and CO2 reduction. So, we held an event to unveil the new system and thoroughly explain how it reduces CO2 emissions. I have also felt that it's very important to convey the technological information and knowledge used in this project to the general public when carrying out JCM projects.

Compared to before, I now read environment-related articles in more detail. I think many people feel that carbon neutrality and 100% electric vehicles are still a long way off in the future. Or rather, I think a lot of people are skeptical that they can really happen. Yet, looking at the history of humankind, the Wright brothers made the first flight of a manned powered aircraft in 1903. Sixty-six years later, in 1969, humankind reached the moon.

This shows how rapidly science has developed, and I believe carbon neutrality and 100% electric vehicles will be achieved in the not-so-distant future. That's why I think it's necessary to more realistically imagine how to achieve such a future.

I feel the same; I don't think we would have thought that smartphones would become so inseparable from our daily life 10 years ago. I'm sure that our growing environmental awareness will spread in the same way as smartphones. In a few years, the topics of the SDGs and decarbonization may be as commonplace as smartphones and become even more familiar in our lives. I hope they will.

I think the first step is to look around yourself. If you do that from an environmental perspective, you will notice many things. More and more ordinary houses are being equipped with solar panels, and some companies have recently been planting trees on the grounds of their office facilities. In short, lots of activities are underway all around us to solve environmental problems.

When watching the daily news, and for certain topics, it's good to pay attention to opinions different from your own. By doing this, your own thinking may become clearer. In other words, it's important to look at a wide range of opinions. I'm sure it'll be helpful when explaining your opinions to others.

I would like to contribute to Myanmar, my home country, as well as to Japan, my second home. First of all, I'd like to continue to confidently do my management work by communicating with customers every day. I'm currently managing eight projects and nine cases, and I'll do my best to monitor them properly while working with Mr. Tanaka.