During Yamaha Motor’s Medium-Term Management Plan that began in 2022, we revised the Yamaha Motor Group Environmental Plan 2050 and announced that we would fast-track our goal of achieving carbon neutrality at all our factories worldwide to 2035. Toward meeting this new goal, we ramped up various initiatives centered on minimizing energy use and introducing cleaner energy sources. The driving force behind these efforts was a unique Yamaha Motor approach for pursuing energy with value by employing our theoretical-value-based energy methodology with IoT. The Energy Conservation Center of Japan awarded this initiative its Energy Conservation Grand Prize in 2022.
As part of its overall vision, Yamaha Motor also set the goal of switching 30% of its overall electricity usage over to solar power by 2035. In addition to installing a 2,200 kW solar power generation system on the entire roof of the Fukuroi South Factory, solar carports were newly installed at some of the headquarters’ parking lots for employees. While supplying power to nearby factories and facilities, we have begun distributing a portion of the electricity generated to other Yamaha Motor offices and sites via the electrical power company’s distribution network.
Various reforms are underway toward achieving carbon neutrality at Yamaha Motor’s manufacturing and logistics sites as well. One standout example is the construction of a verification testing facility equipped with a melting furnace and heat treatment furnace using hydrogen gas. Development of temperature control methods with hydrogen burners has begun in order to eventually add a new thermal energy source for melting aluminum alloy.
Furthermore, Yamaha Motor built the motorcycle industry’s first carbon-neutral mass-production paint line for its motorcycle fuel tank painting operations—CN1. From pre-treatment and painting to baking and drying, every painting process that previously relied on primarily fossil fuels was transitioned to using electricity. These innovations to the painting process have contributed to shorter manufacturing lead times, greater readiness with high-mix, low-volume production, and a more comfortable work environment for employees as well.
At the company’s logistics hubs, Yamaha Motor has begun using low-carbon recycled steel for the packaging frames used to ship motorcycles as part of our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality with the raw materials we use. In these ways, we are steadily moving forward with decarbonization efforts at our Monozukuri sites around the world.
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