By HIROSHI KAMIYA/ Staff Writer
December 19, 2021 at 07:00 JST
Yoriyuki Enatsu, right, president of Kirishima Shuzo Co., and Takuzo Enatsu, a senior managing director, show off a newly introduced e-imo electric car in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, on Nov. 24. (Hiroshi Kamiya)
MIYAKONOJO, Miyazaki Prefecture--The humble sweet potato will play a prominent role in a leading shochu distiller’s strategy to go carbon neutral by fiscal 2030.
Kirishima Shuzo Co., established in 1916, uses 100,000 tons of sweet potatoes annually to produce 50 million 1.8-liter bottles of the liquor here.
The company said Nov. 24 it plans to use more energy derived from sweet potatoes to meet electricity demand at its plants and offices, among other measures.
“We will do everything we can to realize a sustainable society as a company that works and grows with the local community,” said Yoriyuki Enatsu, president of Kirishima Shuzo.
In 2006, the company built a recycling plant to generate biogas by fermenting shochu lees and potato scraps--byproducts of shochu production--and began using it as boiler fuel. In 2014, it set up a facility to generate power using biogas and started selling electricity.
The use of biogas enabled the company to slash carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 33 percent in fiscal 2020 from fiscal 2013. The new goal is to reduce emissions by 50 percent by fiscal 2030 from the 2013 level.
Kirishima Shuzo plans to raise the supply of biogas and use biogas-generated electricity to cover its own power consumption. It will also consider procuring other types of renewable energy to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by fiscal 2030.
As part of its strategy, the company has introduced four electric cars, called e-imo, powered by biogas. It plans to replace 130 or so company vehicles with electric models by fiscal 2030.
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