Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: Hitachi actively engages in various climate policies, generally taking positive positions with some exceptions. The company demonstrates positive top-line positions on climate policy and broadly supports climate regulations, renewables, energy efficiency, and decarbonization of the energy mix in the EU and Japan, while in India it was unsupportive of e-waste management rules. Hitachi holds memberships and executive roles in industry associations that have engaged negatively with certain climate policies, including the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), while also maintaining memberships in associations that have shown positive engagement.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Hitachi demonstrates broadly positive top-line messaging on climate change. In the December 2023 UK business statement for COP28, endorsed by its subsidiary, Hitachi Energy, it called on the UK government to deliver new commitments and clear guidance for the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). In Japan, Hitachi advocated for defining the carbon value of products, while remaining unclear on whether it supported regulatory carbon pricing, in the December 2023 GX Working Report submitted to the GX League, organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Hitachi subsequently presented the report to METI during a committee held in January 2024 as a representative of the GX Working Group.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Hitachi broadly supports climate-related regulations globally in 2023–2024, although it did not support circular economy legislation in India in 2025. In June 2023, Hitachi Energy submitted a consultation response on the EU Climate Target for 2040, endorsing an EU-wide 2040 climate target and a greenhouse gas budget for 2030–2050. In December 2023, Hitachi Energy endorsed the UK business statement for COP28, which supported doubling energy efficiency by 2030. In Japan, during a committee hosted by METI, Hitachi appeared to support energy efficiency but remained unclear on whether it supported legislative efficiency standards or targets. In India, according to a Reuters report published in April 2025, Hitachi was unsupportive of India’s e-waste management rules.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Hitachi broadly supports the energy transition globally, with occasional ambiguity.
In Japan, in the December 2023 GX League Working Group Report led by Hitachi, the company supported low-carbon strategies, electrification of electricity, and the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors.
In Europe,in January 2025, during a meeting with European Commission, Hitachi Energy communicated support for a transition toward renewable energy. In December 2023, Hitachi Energy endorsed the UK business statement for COP28, which called for the UK to support the phase out of unabated fossil fuels and triple the global renewable energy capacity by 2030, while advocating for climate finance to support vulnerable countries in their transition. In the United States, in a Ceres press release published in December 2024, Hitachi Energy directly advocated to federal policymakers in the United States to defend the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits. In the World Economic Forum CEO Joint Letter, signed by Hitachi Director Higashihara in October 2023, Hitachi supported the transition to a low-carbon economy by broadly supporting the EU Green Deal Industrial Plan and the US Inflation Reduction Act. Globally, in the World Economic Forum CEO Joint Letter, signed by Director Higashihara in October 2024, Hitachi broadly supported regulatory measures to decarbonize industry, and advocated for regulatory measures towards the electrification of transportation, industry and heating.
Industry Association Governance: Hitachi did not disclose a full list of industry association memberships in its corporate reporting on the company website. Hitachi’s Chairman is a Vice Chair of the Board of Councillors of Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), which has historically opposed key climate policies in Japan. Executive chairman of Hitachi is a Vice Chairman of Japan Atomic Industry Forum (JAIF), and President & CEO of Hitachi is a Chairman of Japan Electronics And Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) which have engaged with a mix of positive and negative positions on climate policy in Japan. Globally, Hitachi retains memberships in BusinessEurope and National Association of Manufacturers, both highly active and negative on climate policies in their respective regions. On the other hand, Hitachi’s subsidiary, Hitachi Energy has a senior executive on the Board of WindEurope, and both Hitachi and Hitachi Energy are members of the European Rail Supply Industry Association (UNIFE).
A detailed assessment of the company’s corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap’s CA100+ Investor Hub here.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information, see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2025.