On February 13, 2024, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", President and CEO: Kenichi Hori), Mizuho Bank, Ltd. ("Mizuho Bank", President and CEO: Masahiko Kato), Mizuho Innovation Frontier Co., Ltd. ("Mizuho Innovation Frontier", President, CEO, and Representative Director: Junichi Ikeda), and e-dash Co., Ltd. ("e-dash", President and Representative Director: Toma Yamasaki) concluded a capital and business alliance agreement ("the Alliance").

Under the Alliance, e-dash will procure finance totaling ¥2.5 billion through additional investment by Mitsui as the existing shareholder, as well as a third-party allotment of new shares to be subscribed to by Mizuho Innovation Frontier.

1. Purposes and Details of the Alliance

Companies in every sector and industry are working toward the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 by disclosing data on and reducing their CO2 emissions. A key priority in this context is the creation of mechanisms to help companies make a smooth transition to decarbonization, and to support decarbonization and industry restructuring across entire supply chains.

In February 2022, Mitsui established e-dash, which provides comprehensive support for efforts to realize a carbon neutral society in Japan, from the visualization of CO2 emissions by companies and local governments, to the development of specific emission reduction methods.

In July 2022, Mizuho Bank formed a business alliance with e-dash and has been supporting decarbonization initiatives by its customers, including mid-scale enterprises and SMEs, by introducing e-dash’s services to its customers.

In addition to the aim of further accelerating such collaborative efforts, the Alliance represents an agreement and commitment by the four companies to create mechanisms to support not only the visualization of CO2 emissions by individual companies, but also decarbonization and industry restructuring across entire supply chains. The four companies will work together on various levels, including the development and proposal of new businesses and solutions.

2. Comments from Those Involved

Toru Iijima (Managing Officer, COO of the Energy Solutions Business Unit, Mitsui)

• Mitsui recognizes climate change as a pressing social issue that needs to be addressed, and it is pursuing industrial solutions through business initiatives in collaboration with various customers and partners.
• e-dash is a business that plays a vital role in the promotion of decarbonization management as a platform providing integrated support to businesses at all levels, from the visualization of CO2 emissions to the setting of targets and the proposal of solutions.
• Building upon the new partnership with Mizuho, we will work to address various social needs and apply Mitsui's comprehensive strengths toward decarbonization across entire supply chains.

Yasuhiko Ushikubo (CSuO, Mizuho Bank)

• Mizuho provides both financial and non-financial support for its customers' initiatives toward the realization of a decarbonized society.
• The realization of a decarbonized society will require not only actions by individual companies, but also the promotion of initiatives spanning entire supply chains. Starting with the visualization of CO2 emissions as a first step, we consider the acceleration of these initiatives to be extremely important.
• Together with Mitsui and e-dash, the powerful partners we are joining hands with under the Alliance, we will facilitate our customers' decarbonization initiatives and contribute to an energy transition in Japan, and by extension, to the enhancement of Japan's industrial competitiveness.

Junichi Ikeda (President, CEO, and Representative Director, Mizuho Innovation Frontier)

• The CO2 emission visualization services provided by e-dash solve human resource issues and other challenges faced by mid-scale enterprises and SMEs as they work to reduce their carbon emissions, and we believe the services have the potential to provide a spark to decarbonize entire supply chains.
• I have high hopes that, through collaboration among e-dash, Mitsui, and Mizuho under the Alliance, we can further accelerate decarbonization initiatives that go beyond the visualization of CO2 emissions.

Toma Yamasaki (President and Representative Director, e-dash)

• e-dash was launched in 2021 as a new business initiative by Mitsui and was subsequently incorporated to constitute its current entity format as a business operating company. During that period, we have witnessed a dramatically rapid rise in awareness of the need for decarbonization in the Japanese business community.
• With the visualization of CO2 emissions as a starting point, e-dash has provided an array of consulting services that include the proposal of emission reduction road maps and more detailed disclosure. Through the course of its business activities, e-dash has steadily made strides together with clients ranging from large corporations to SMEs, and in collaboration with Mizuho Bank and our other alliance partners.
• Businesses will increasingly be expected to clearly show their stance on climate change, and to disclose environment-related data as non-financial information. Under such circumstances, empowered by this reliable four-company capital and business alliance, we will contribute to the further acceleration of the decarbonization efforts of Japanese industries.

Company Profile

Mitsui

Mizuho Bank

Mizuho Innovation Frontier

e-dash