Tackling climate change with the “greenest team on the greenest grid”

Teijin partners with the Envision Racing Formula E Team, who won the world championship in the 2022/23 season of Formula E. Teijin and the team, share a common mission of tackling climate change.

Envision Racing not only has a brilliant track record in races, but also promotes transition to #EVs and renewable energy under its mission "Race Against Climate Change”. As the first carbon neutral certified team, it has earned the reputation of being the “greenest team on the greenest grid”. Furthermore, the team is very active in raising awareness of environmental issues, demonstrating their commitment at COP26 in Glasgow, UK in 2021, and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the end of 2023, as the only sport team to hold exhibitions in the Blue zone, organized by the United Nations. On the other hand, Teijin, whose corporate philosophy is to "enhance Quality of Life," has identified material issues (materiality) to be addressed and has been working on solutions. Its materiality includes “climate change mitigation and adaptation”, “achievement of a circular economy”, “safety and security of people and local communities”, and “realization of healthy and comfortable living for people”.? As such, Teijin has partnered with the Envision Racing Team in 2020, resonating with the missions and values of Formula E and the team to raise its awareness in the wide range of stakeholders globally.

Sharing sustainable ideas through “Race Against Climate Change”- team’s flagship event on environmental issues

The team has been holding an environmental awareness event named “Race Against Climate Change (RACC)” since 2017, with the aim of raising awareness about climate change. RACC invites key opinion leaders from industry, government, and academia and holds panel discussions on topics such as sustainable society, EVs and renewable energy. Teijin actively participates in the discussions on climate change and diversity and inclusion (D&I) as a panelist and shares the views on sustainable cities and transportation, and the promotion of female engineers who are engaged in sustainable technology.

Learning cutting-edge mobility and energy

Akimoto Uchikawa , Teijin’s President and CEO says, “Through the partnership with the team, Teijin is able to understand in advance how mobility and energy will change in the future, which is extremely beneficial”. Both parties are deepening their partnership in various aspects, and one result is that the racing team decided to wear the racing suits made by Teijin's meta-aramid fiber Teijinconex? neo, produced with technology which allows for the creation of very thin yarns. This material is lightweight, comfortable and can be vividly dyed, making it ideal for a wide range of protective apparel. Feedback from racing our racing application in particular has allowed for more technical optimization which also benefits the mass market products such as firefighting suits and factory worker uniforms.

Aiming to provide solutions that enable people to continue to live healthy on a beautiful planet

“As a Group that has both Materials Business that protects the global environment and Healthcare Business that supports the health of people, we at Teijin believe that we want to provide solutions that enable people to continue to live healthy lives on a beautiful planet”, adds Uchikawa. In particular, with regard to “climate change mitigation and adaptation”, Teijin reduces its greenhouse gas emissions by mean of energy saving and switch to alternative clean energy as a step toward a carbon-free society, while contributing to “lightweight and energy efficient mobility” and “clean energy shift” through its products and technologies.

However, there are limits to what a single company can do to combat climate change and create a circular economy, and efforts that involve the entire supply chain are essential. For this reason, Teijin is working on Life Cycle Assessment in order to understand its own environmental impact and clarify points for improvement. By sharing these results with customers, Teijin will contribute to reducing the environmental impact of final products. Furthermore, Teijin aims to realize a “closed loop” of aramid fibers and works to build a network in cooperation with customers and partner companies to collect end-of-life products from the market and recycle them into aramid products.

Uchikawa continues,“In a partnership, it is vital to share a clear common mission and goals and to respect individual diversity. The teamwork of Envision Racing is very impressive and inspiring, because each member demonstrates his/her full potential and works together toward the clear goal of winning a race. I hope watching a neck-and-neck Formula E’s race, “Tokyo E-Prix”, the first ever Formula E race held in Japan, will demonstrate how EVs are exciting and environment-friendly, and will help us to raise the awareness of our initiatives toward a circular economy”.

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One of Teijin’s initiatives towards net zero by 2050 : contribution to sustainable mobility through providing recycled products

For over 20 years, Teijin has a successful record of mechanically recycling end-of-life para-aramid products into pulp for brake pads, linings, and gaskets in automotive. And by increasing the intake of end-of-life materials and developing the sustainable solutions, Teijin is working towards a sustainable and circular value chain.

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Learn more about our partnership : Partnership with Envision Racing Formula E Team | Sponsorships and Cooperations | About Us | TEIJIN

?　This article was created byTeijin, by translating and reorganizing the the advertorial for NIKKEI MAGAZINE ONLINE, which was created by modifying the content of “THE NIKKEI MAGAZINE” (published March 17, 2024).