Climate Lobbying Overview: Sony has had some active engagement with climate policies, appearing to take a positive position on energy transition and GHG emissions reductions targets in Japan. It appears to support an increase in renewable energy in the Japanese energy mix and GHG targets. Sony is a member of the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) which has lobbied positively on climate and energy policy in Japan.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Sony appears to have mixed positions in its top-line messaging on climate action. Sony showed some recognition of the science of climate change in an article published on its website in December 2021. In its sustainability report published in August 2022, Sony voiced support for a climate-neutral economy by 2050. On the other hand, in the 4th meeting of Cabinet Expert Panel on Climate Change held by the Cabinet Secretariat in July 2021, Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony’s President and CEO, did not take a clear position on the need for drastic measures promoted by IPCC, while emphasizing a need to consider a long-term perspective for “most” climate change countermeasures. In the 2nd meeting of Cabinet Expert Panel on Climate Change in April 2021, President and CEO Yoshida appeared to strongly support the UN Climate Treaty, arguing that “We also expect that the NDC will be actively raised toward the US Climate Summit due to the sense of crisis about climate change shared this time.”

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Sony appears to have limited engagement with climate-related regulations, with the exception of renewable energy regulations and GHG emissions reduction. According to a Nikkei report published in March 2021, President and CEO Yoshida requested the government for deregulation of renewable energy to achieve decarbonization. As a member of Japan Climate Initiative (JCI), Sony signed a joint statement which stats “we call for a 40-50% renewable energy electricity target for FY2030 in the next Basic Energy Plan to be formulated this year”

Positioning on Energy Transition: Sony appears to hold positive positions on transitioning the energy mix. According to a Reuters report published in December 2020, Sony, along with several other companies, is lobbying the government to expand the use of renewable energy in Japan. In March 2021, Sony’s CEO advocated to policymakers to support a transition to a zero-emissions energy mix, calling for increased renewables at the Japanese Prime Minister’s Expert Panel on Climate Change. In June 2022, Sony was a signatory to a JCI statement submitted to the Japanese government that called for it to “push even harder for the expansion of renewable energy.”

Industry Association Governance: Sony has not disclosed a full list of its industry association memberships in its corporate reporting. In its 2021 CDP response, Sony did not disclose its climate change policy positions, and disclosed its membership in the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) but failed to disclose others found by InfluenceMap to have opposed progressive climate policy, such as the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).

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 Q4 2022.