To preserve the ecosystem and achieve a society harmonized with nature to continue to enjoy nature's benefits, we established targets to minimize our impact on natural capital as part of our long-term environmental targets. We classify the emission of greenhouse gases and chemical substances into the atmosphere and the generation of waste materials in the course of our business activities as negative impact activities.
Providing products and services that contribute to ecosystem preservation and undertaking activities to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems are categorized as positive impact activities.We are working to quantify and minimize the difference between positive and negative impacts by 2050.
Hitachi identified the negative impacts that our business activities had on natural capital and evaluated these activities using version 2 of the Life-cycle Impact Assessment Method based on Endpoint Modeling (LIME2) and an inventory database (IDEA v2*1), aiming to reduce such impacts. According to our estimates, approximately half of our negative impacts in fiscal year 2022 were related to climate change. With regard to climate change, we pursue initiatives aimed at to create a decarbonized society. Regarding urban air pollution, and resource consumption, certain findings have come to light in impact assessments concerning raw materials procurement.
To this end, we plan to accelerate the pace of efforts intended to achieve a resource-efficient society. To reduce our environmental load further and minimize our impact on natural capital, we will step up a wide range of activities that include increasing the energy efficiency of our products and services, improving factory efficiency, using resources more effectively, and managing chemical substances properly.
To expand positive impact, we engage in social contribution activities, such as forest conservation, and business activities that contribute directly to ecosystem preservation, such as building water treatment plants. We are also studying how to quantify the impact of these activities on the environment.
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