Message from Kenichiro Yoshida
Chairman and CEO, Sony Group Corporation

On April 22 each year, we commemorate Earth Day. It is a day for all of us to think about the environment and the planet on which we live.

Thinking of the Earth on Earth Day

As we gradually return to our pre-pandemic lives, I feel we are more thankful than ever to experience the great beauty of each country and region. At the same time, the world continues to face many challenges, from natural disasters to extreme weather and global conflict.

At Sony, we are engaged in diverse businesses based on our Purpose to "fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology." Our ability to continue these activities is based on the existence of a healthy global environment. Therefore, as a company, we strive to fulfill our "responsibility" to the Earth and "contribute" through our technology and businesses.

Responsibility to protect the Earth

In terms of our responsibility, in 2010 we launched the "Road to Zero" long-term environmental plan that aims to reduce our environmental footprint to zero by 2050. With the risks of climate change intensifying and become ever more apparent worldwide, last year we announced the acceleration of our timeframe for achieving our net zero* targets by ten years from 2050 to 2040, and also brought forward our target for achieving 100% renewable electricity across our own operations by ten years from 2040 to 2030.

In order to fulfill these targets, we will further expand our implementation of renewable energy across the Sony Group and strengthen our promotion of energy-saving products. We are also proactively working to reduce the amount of GHG emissions throughout our entire supply chain.

Contribution through technology

In terms of our contribution, at Sony we believe we can make a difference through our businesses and technologies. One such example is Virtual Production (VP). VP brings together the physical filmmaking world with the digital world to produce content in real-time. We estimate this technology can reduce GHG emissions by as much as 75% to 80% compared to filming on location, for instance by removing the need for on-site generators, and minimizing the travel for cast and crew to filming locations.

Our Intelligent Vision Sensor IMX500, which integrates AI processing functionality into the image sensor itself is another technology that we believe can contribute to reducing environmental impact. IMX500 enables only the required data to be extracted, using high-speed edge AI processing. For instance, in the case of 4K images, it is possible to reduce the amount of data sent to cloud services to 1/7400 that of conventional cameras. As a result, this technology has the potential to reduce power consumption and communication costs. Its ability to extract only necessary metadata is a feature that is also expected to have applications in the field of logistics.

As a company engaged in diverse businesses on this Earth, we will continue to fulfill our responsibility to the global environment, and contribute through our technologies and businesses. I intend to consider these issues from an even broader perspective going forward, and hope to explore what we can do together with you, bringing these ideas one after another to fruition.

Kenichiro Yoshida
Chairman and CEO, Sony Group Corporation