Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), and IBM Japan, Ltd. today jointly announced that they have built a demonstration system (the “System,” see Figure 1) for CO2NNEX for e-methane, a digital platform for visualizing the amount of CO2 emissions across the value chain of e-methane (methane synthesized with the methanation technology) and transferring e-methane’s environmental value. CO2NNEX for e-methane is based on CO2NNEX, a digital platform being developed by MHI and IBM Japan for visualizing the CO2 supply chain. In conducting the PoC (Proof of Concept) of CO2NNEX for e-methane, the three partners will discuss and exchange views with the Japan Gas Association, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., Toho Gas Co., Ltd., and INPEX CORPORATION to identify effective ways to promote the use of e-methane and establish its environmental value. Using the System, this tripartite project aims to achieve the following: A system for managing the amount of CO2 emissions from its sources throughout the e-methane supply chain to provide the data of e-methane’s quantified environmental value to gas users; A shared platform that digitally connects e-methane production sites to markets for trading and transferring the environmental value of e-methane, which will be blended with natural gas in the pipeline. The three partners pursue this initiative, aiming to contribute to the transition to a net zero society, which requires practical solutions as currently studied, such as CO2 accounting methods for CCU (carbon dioxide capture and utilization), including methanation, and the application of the accounting methods for e-methane, a recycled-carbon fuel.
The System has been established as part of the partners’ joint project for another PoC that has been underway since October 2022 utilizing CO2NNEX. For the System, the partners have developed a feature that visualizes the amount of CO2 emissions throughout the e-methane lifecycle, from production to transport, supply, and combustion (see Figure 2) and a feature that displays the balance of e-methane environmental value held by each participant and requests/authorizes the trading of the value (see Figure 3).
The project plans to conduct the demonstration to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of utilizing CO2NNEX for e-methane while promoting a wider recognition of the System to collect feedback from academia, industry, and government. The partners intend to apply the PoC results to planned methanation demonstrations, aiming to realize the practical application of e-methane and contribute to achieving a carbon neutral society.
About CO2NNEX for e-methane
CO2NNEX for e-methane quantifies e-methane’s environmental value by tracking and managing CO2 emissions throughout the e-methane supply chain from production to supply, including transport, and combustion by each participant at each location. The project aims to build a shared platform that transfers and trades e-methane’s environmental value.
About methanation
Methanation is a technology for synthesizing methane, the main component of natural gas, from hydrogen and CO2. The resulting product is known as e-methane. The use (combustion) of e-methane results in no effective increase in CO2 for society as a whole because CO2, which is normally emitted into the atmosphere, is captured and recycled for use in producing e-methane. Also, methanation is expected to be an economically efficient way of achieving carbon neutrality, with e-methane being distributed through the existing gas infrastructure and combusted in existing gas appliances, requiring no large-scale investment for constructing new energy systems or modifying the existing ones.
About Osaka Gas
Osaka Gas announced the Daigas Group Carbon Neutral Vision in January 2021 for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 mainly through the introduction of carbon neutral gas produced by methanation, decarbonization of its power sources primarily through the use of renewable energies and the reduction of carbon emissions. The company is also conducting a number of studies on developing methanation projects overseas – notably in Australia, South America, and Southeast Asia – for the commercialization of methanation technology.
About MHI
MHI Group is actively involved in programs targeting the realization of a carbon neutral society. Building a CO2 ecosystem is central to its energy transition initiatives. As a global leader in CCUS, the company aims to accelerate this ecosystem development by seeking widespread adoption of related hardware as well as the CO2NNEX digital platform.
About IBM Japan
Applying its experience in supporting numerous customers worldwide, IBM Japan accelerates the development of CO2NNEX by utilizing its blockchain technology enabling highly secure, transparent, and reliable data sharing; its hybrid cloud technology for building an agile and flexible IT environment linking a cloud and existing systems; and its AI technology enabling visualization, automation and optimization of a value chain.
About MHI Group
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.
The Value Research Center (VRC) has launched an integrated Value Model with ESG and Sustainability measures in a new white paper issued today. With the shift from short term, profit-focused thinking towards long-term, sustainable, value-focused thinking, businesses globally need to answer a fundamental question: “What value are you providing our collective future?”
A Value Model for Responsible Business: The new Value Research Center (VRC) white paper was officially released today. The VRC initiative is aimed at improving company performance and social impact.
The VRC at Doshisha University was established in November 2021 to create a Value Model that could guide any company to answer this question, so ensuring a more sustainable future. The VRC published its initial white paper, “Valuing Value”, in June 2021, integrating 357 impact measurements from 15 of the world’s top ESG and sustainability frameworks and developing a 7-stakeholder, 27-theme, 80-goal model to help businesses objectively and transparently measure and manage the value impacts that they have on their key stakeholders.
The VRC’s new white paper entitled “A Value Model for Responsible Business”, integrates an additional 346 impact measurements from 6 new frameworks into the initial model. These 6 frameworks include the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Prototype Climate-related disclosures; Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) guidance on metrics, targets and transition plans; Stockholm Resilience Center’s Planetary Boundaries; United Nations Development Program (UNDP) SDG Impact Standards for Enterprises; International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards; and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) climate disclosures.
The white paper is available for download: https://www.valueresearchcenter.com/2022whitepaper
Professor Philip Sugai, Director of the VRC, says “Our team analyzed hundreds of existing impact measurements and organized these into 27 common themes with 81 goals that any company, regardless of size, industry or location can use to measure, manage and use to consistently increase the value they create for stakeholders. Unlike existing ESG or sustainability reporting models, the VRC Value Model offers companies the ability to track their actual stakeholder impacts, using this data to create forward-looking strategies aimed at further increasing the value they create for and with these stakeholders.”
Masato Yamazaki, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and VRC operating council member, said “The Value Model that our VRC research team offers is a more advanced approach than any other sustainability model or approach in existence today, since it can automatically help identify the root causes of the problems companies face via well-developed assessment tools.”
“What is needed in sustainability efforts today goes beyond simple reporting,” says Dr. Kumar Iyer, Mentor for Value Creation and VRC operating council member. “The VRC Value Model is based on objective metrics and quantifiable indicators which can be independently verified. This is uniquely different from any other sustainability reporting approach as it is directly linked to creating social impact.
About the Value Research Center (VRC)
The Value Research Center (VRC) was officially established at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan in 2021. The VRC is mandated to research and develop an open, accessible and transparent system for assessing and reporting on value creation (destruction) impacts that organizations of every size have over seven stakeholder groups: (1) the organization itself, (2) shareholders or owners, (3) customers, (4) employees, (5) partners, (6) the society within which it operates, and (7) the planet.
The VRC ensures that all relevant stakeholders which businesses impact are covered by assessment, and regularly updated based on scientific data. As part of the Doshisha University network, we bear the reputation of our parent and its stature as a global organization affiliated with world leading Universities that we call partners. Learn about VRC and its research at https://www.valueresearchcenter.com, or email Prof Philip Sugai at info@valueresearchcen
The Value Research Center (VRC) has launched an integrated Value Model of ESG and Sustainability measures in a new white paper issued today. With the shift from short term, profit-focused thinking towards long-term, sustainable, value-focused thinking, businesses globally need to answer a fundamental question: “What value are you providing our collective future?”
A Value Model for Responsible Business: The new Value Research Center (VRC) white paper was officially released today. The VRC initiative is aimed at improving company performance and social impact.
VRC at Doshisha University was established in November 2021 to develop a Value Model that could guide any company to answer this question, so ensuring a more sustainable future. The VRC published its initial white paper, “Valuing Value”, in June 2021, integrating 357 impact measurements from 15 of the world’s top ESG and sustainability frameworks and developing a 7-stakeholder, 27-theme, 80-goal model to help businesses objectively and transparently measure and manage the value impacts that they have on their key stakeholders.
The VRC’s new white paper entitled “A Value Model for Responsible Business”, integrates an additional 346 impact measurements from 6 new frameworks into the initial model. These 6 frameworks include the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Prototype Climate-related disclosures; Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) guidance on metrics, targets and transition plans; Stockholm Resilience Center’s Planetary Boundaries; United Nations Development Program (UNDP) SDG Impact Standards for Enterprises; International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards; and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) climate disclosures.
Professor Philip Sugai, Director of the VRC, says “Our team analyzed hundreds of existing impact measurements and organized these into 27 common themes, with 81 goals that any company, regardless of size, industry or location can use to measure, manage and use to consistently increase the value they create for stakeholders. Unlike existing ESG or sustainability reporting models, the VRC Value Model offers companies the ability to track their actual stakeholder impacts, using this data to create forward-looking strategies aimed at further increasing the value they create for and with these stakeholders.”
Masato Yamazaki, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and VRC operating council member, said “The Value Model that our VRC research team offers is a more advanced approach than any other sustainability model or approach in existence today, since it can automatically help identify the root causes of the problems companies face via well-developed assessment tools.”
“What is needed in sustainability efforts today goes beyond simple reporting,” says Dr. Kumar Iyer, Mentor for Value Creation and VRC operating council member. “The VRC Value Model is based on objective metrics and quantifiable indicators which can be independently verified. This is uniquely different from any other sustainability reporting approach as it is directly linked to creating social impact.”
The white paper is available at the VRC website: https://www.valueresearchcenter.com/2022whitepaper
About the Value Research Center (VRC)
The Value Research Center (VRC) was officially established at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan in 2021. The VRC is mandated to research and develop an open, accessible and transparent system for measuring, assessing and reporting on value creation (destruction) impacts that organizations of every size have on seven stakeholder groups including (1) the organization itself, (2) shareholders or owners, (3) customers, (4) employees, (5) partners, (6) the society within which it operates, and (7) the planet.
Unlike other ESG or sustainability frameworks, we are not only a reporting standard. We ensure all relevant stakeholders which businesses impact are covered by assessment, and updated based on scientific data. As part of the Doshisha University network, we bear the reputation of our parent and its stature as a global organization affiliated with world leading Universities that we call partners. Learn about VRC and its research at https://www.valueresearchcenter.com, or email Prof Philip Sugai at info@valueresearchcenter.com.
* Webinar, March 25 – IAFOR in discussion with VRC Director Philip Sugai Dr. Joseph Haldane, Chairman & CEO of the International Academic Forum (IAFOR) will discuss the contents of this new white paper with VRC Director Prof. Philip Sugai in a Webinar on Friday, March 25, 5:00 – 6:00 pm JST, in collaboration with the new ESG-IREC Research Center at Osaka University. This webinar will be free to attend, and reservations can be made at: https://tinyurl.com/IRC-VRC-20220325
About the IAFOR Research Center (IRC) The IRC aims to provide a research centre to nurture various international and interdisciplinary research policies that use the extensive networks of both Osaka University and IAFOR. https://iafor.org/.
About the ESG-IREC Research Center The Osaka University Graduate School of International Public Policy – ESG Integration Research and Education Center (ESG-IREC) conducts research on practically implemented “ESG integration” models in corporate business activities for the creation of a more sustainable future. https://www.osipp.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/.
The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), an independent, nonprofit research organization dedicated to advancing patient-centric value assessment, has elected eight new members to its Board of Directors and named its Executive Committee for 2022.
“Value assessment has the potential to positively impact so many sectors of the healthcare ecosystem,” said Jennifer Bright, IVI executive director. “Our new directors come from different corners of healthcare and research and will bring important perspectives to the table. I look forward to their contributions moving forward.” The newly elected board members, whose terms began January 1, include:
· John Banta, MBA, President, Managing Director, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners · Kirsten Beronio, JD, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, National Association of Behavioral Healthcare · Harold Carter, PharmD, Vice President, Strategy & Contracting, Express Scripts · Chuck Cutler, MD, MS, President, Cutler Healthcare · Mark Cziraky, PharmD, President and Co-Founder, HealthCore · Nelly Ganesan, MPH, Executive Director of Community Engagement and Health Equity, JPMorgan Chase & Co. – Morgan Health · Vipan C. Sood, MBA, RPh, MRPharmS, Vice President, Health Economics & Outcomes Research, AbbVie · Ashley Valentine, MRes, Co-Founder & President, Sick Cells
Board member Alan Balch, PhD, CEO of Patient Advocate Foundation and National Patient Advocate Foundation, was elected to a second Board term. The newly elected Board joins existing directors Greg Daniel, PhD, Eli Lilly and Company; Patty Fritz, MA, UCB, Inc.; Andrea Maresca, Health Management Associates; Mike Thompson, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions; and Neil Weissman, MedStar Health Research Institute.
The Board also elected the 2022 Executive Committee, which includes: · Gregory Daniel, IVI Board President · Michael Thompson, IVI President-Elect · Patty Fritz, IVI Board Secretary/Treasurer · Alan Balch, IVI Past-President
“I am proud to be a part of an organization that is focused on truly advancing the science of value assessment. The newly elected Board of Directors represents many perspectives, but we’re united in our common mission to identify opportunities for change in how we measure and advance value in health care for patients, in ways that emphasize patients’ experiences and priorities,” said Greg Daniel.
This marks IVI’s first election since becoming a non-profit 501c3 organization in 2019 and highlights the organization’s commitment to a thoughtful and change-focused dialogue about how to improve the science and practice of value assessment.
About IVI: IVI is an independent, nonprofit research organization that puts patients at the center of value assessment to advance the science, practice and use of all health technology assessments. Patient-centricity, transparency, and open-source modeling are hallmarks of IVI’s value assessment approach. IVI conducts and funds research to improve scientific methods for value assessment; utilizes its transparent open-source modeling so value assessments improve more equitable resource allocation; and convenes decision makers across the healthcare spectrum to improve how assessments are used in the real world.
Innovation and Value Initiative Eric Hoffman 202-285-0810 http://www.thevalueinitiative.org/
The Government today (April 11) said that the preparation work for implementing the consumption voucher scheme (the Scheme) is in full swing, and a number of Stored Value Facility (SVF) operators have been selected to assist in implementing the Scheme.
The Financial Secretary announced in the 2021-22 Budget that electronic consumption vouchers with a total value of $5,000 will be disbursed in instalments to each eligible Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrival aged 18 or above, so as to stimulate people’s consumption sentiment and boost local consumption, with a view to accelerating economic recovery.
The selected SVFs include AlipayHK, Octopus, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK. The Government is discussing with the operators on the detailed arrangements, including system design, detailed procedures, etc., and will announce the details of the Scheme as soon as possible. The target is to commence registration in this summer vacation.
“When identifying the SVF operators, the Government has taken into consideration a basket of factors, including the popularity, ease of use, and coverage of merchants of the SVFs, the operator’s relevant experience and supporting facilities, the preparation time required, etc. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has also been consulted. We believe that the general public can select a suitable SVF from the above list in light of their own needs to receive and use the consumption vouchers,” the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan said.
The respective SVFs currently cover a network of some 30 000 to 100 000 merchants in the local retail, food and beverage, and service industries. To encourage more local merchants to participate in the Scheme, the Government has discussed with the SVF operators arrangements to facilitate and support local merchants in using electronic payment system. The operators have agreed to waive, as far as practicable, relevant fees for the installation and usage of payment devices by local merchants (in particular small and medium enterprises) and the administrative fees for processing payments made with the consumption vouchers. Interested merchants may refer to the announcements of the operators and directly enquire with them.
“The SVF operators, taking into account their operational model and commercial arrangements, will give back the additional income generated from the consumption vouchers to merchants or consumers by various means. They will also organise different promotional events to encourage consumption,” Mr Chan said.
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