Astellas Pharma

Carbon per million dollars of revenue. The legacy industry-standard reference (CDP, MSCI). Useful for cross-sector context, but distorted by margin — high-margin firms appear artificially efficient. Read alongside the operational and asset intensities for the full picture.

OpEx (operating expenditure) is the running cost of the business — staff, services, energy, materials. This shows how carbon-intensive operations are per million dollars of spend. Removes the margin distortion that revenue-based ratios introduce.

EVIC (Enterprise Value Including Cash) is the firm's total capital footprint — equity + debt + cash + minority interest. The EU's standard intensity measure (SFDR PAI 3) — answers: how much carbon does each million of capital deployed in this business produce?

PP&E (Property, Plant & Equipment) plus leased real-estate assets is the firm's physical infrastructure on the balance sheet. This shows the carbon intensity of that physical footprint — uses Scope 1+2+3 for consistency with the other headline intensities. Surfaces stranded-asset risk for asset-heavy firms.

Since April 2020 all electricity at three Ibaraki Prefecture business sites (Tsukuba, Tokodai, Takahagi) has been switched to TEPCO Energy Partner's Aqua Premium plan deemed 100% hydroelectric, enabling ~24,000 tCO2 reduction in FY2023. Astellas is installing solar panels at research facilities, running biomass boilers and wind turbines at the Kerry plant in Ireland, and switching purchased electricity in Europe and the US to renewable sources. FY2023 renewable energy rate was 19% of total energy (373 TJ) and 40% of electricity (91 GWh). Total renewables mix: 86% renewable electricity, 13% biomass (wood), 2% wind, 0.3% PV/geothermal.

Astellas' Net Zero 2050 commitment is built as 90% GHG reduction from FY2015 baseline plus 10% neutralisation of residual emissions. The TCFD disclosure also mentions 'Purchase credits (CO2 emission rights) to reduce Scope 1 emissions' as an option under consideration. The report does not specify durable removal technologies (DAC, BECCS, biochar) and does not yet disclose a removals volume or vintage policy.

• Fuel switching to gas at boilers + LED / heat-pump retrofits

  Astellas uses city gas, LPG and LNG for boilers at research and production sites to reduce both GHG and SOx. FY2023 capex of ~¥600 million focused on solar panel installation, upgrading to heat-pump chillers and LED lighting, delivering 4,825 tCO2 of reductions. Energy monitoring systems are deployed to visualise consumption at each facility.

• Sales fleet electrification (hybrid + EV transition)

  Since FY2008 Astellas has been switching sales fleet vehicles to hybrids and EVs, particularly in Japan and the US. Sales fleet emissions were 13,380 tCO2 in FY2023 (vs 12,378 in FY2022). EV transition is expected to accelerate as some markets phase out fossil-fuel vehicles after 2035; modal shift of transport is also flagged.

• Flood resilience capex at Toyama Technical Center

  Physical risk response: a planned ~¥500 million investment at Toyama Technical Center includes a 3m waterproof wall around the power receiving building, raised substation construction (3m+) and back-up generator purchases, used as a template for similar measures elsewhere if needed.

• Cat 1 Purchased goods & services — Sustainable Procurement Pledge

  Cat 1 (purchased goods and services) was 857,945 tCO2 in FY2023 — the largest Scope 3 category. Astellas has established a Sustainable Procurement Pledge to partner with suppliers, is formulating a supply-chain sustainability roadmap, and analysing CO2 emission data of purchased products to drive supplier-side reductions. A $100/t carbon tax on Cat 1 would create a JPY 0.5–2.3 billion cost burden by FY2030 per their TCFD scenario.

• Business travel (Cat 6) — air travel reduction post-COVID

  Cat 6 business travel by airplane rose to 21,496 tCO2 in FY2023 from 6,940 in FY2022 and 2,410 in FY2021 as travel rebounded from COVID-19 lows. Astellas commits to continuing the company-wide travel reduction effort first triggered by the pandemic as a deliberate Scope 3 lever.