If there is one business in ORIX Group’s wide portfolio that appears designed to match the group’s new Purpose statement of “Finding Paths. Making Impact.” it is the Environment and Energy segment, which spans renewables, electric power retail, energy saving services, sale of solar panels, and recycling and waste management.
“ORIX Group’s new Purpose statement fits our business perfectly,” says Hidetake Takahashi, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Head of Energy and Eco Services Headquarters, and the executive responsible for ORIX Group’s Global Investment Strategy. “Our mission is to contribute to a sustainable society via two pillars: decarbonization and creating a circular economy.”
It was with the latter that ORIX began in this area more than 25 years ago, as it tried to figure out what to do with leased equipment – from computers to vending machines – that was returned at the end of the contract term. These items had to be dealt with in a responsible manner, so ORIX built up a nationwide network in Japan to handle them, either reusing them, selecting the right method of waste disposal, or breaking them down into their individual material components for sale and repurposing.
What started as solving a problem for the group’s original leasing business has turned into a big business in its own right. Reducing waste and finding further use for materials, especially those that are rare or do not break down naturally has become a pressing social issue – this is what the ‘circular economy’ is all about. Think of all the steel, copper, aluminum, plastic and fiberglass in a typical piece of equipment; or, indeed, in a solar panel.
......
