Hitachi Cuts Carbon by 74% Across Global Sites Amid AI’s Sustainability Demands

Hitachi is pursuing a steadier balance between rapid AI-driven growth and long-standing environmental commitments. As generative AI accelerates, the company reports meaningful progress in decarbonisation across its global operations while outlining a structured approach to address the energy intensity of AI workloads. Its 2024 Sustainability Report highlights a 74% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions at Hitachi’s factories and offices since 2010, underscoring a broader push toward decarbonisation and a circular economy. At the same time, Hitachi acknowledges that expanded AI use will inevitably increase demand for data centers and energy, prompting a deliberate assessment of AI deployment through sustainability metrics. The company is integrating advanced digital platforms, such as Lumada, to co-create solutions with customers and to monitor environmental and ethical implications of Gen AI across planetary boundaries, regulatory regimes, and societal dynamics.

Hitachi’s sustainability milestones and the broader context

Hitachi’s 2024 Sustainability Report documents a wide array of achievements that collectively signal a dominant trend: decoupling certain operational activities from carbon intensity while expanding the company’s footprint in digital and ecological stewardship. The report notes that Hitachi has achieved a 74% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions at its factories and offices since 2010. This figure is presented as a key indicator of progress toward the company’s longer-term climate goals and demonstrates how operational efficiencies, energy management, and process improvements translate into measurable emissions reductions across a multinational portfolio of sites.

The report also highlights that Hitachi’s operations have avoided 153 million tonnes of carbon emissions. This is framed as a significant environmental benefit, reflecting the cumulative impact of efficiency initiatives, decarbonisation measures, and circular economy practices implemented across Hitachi’s global operations. In addition to this high-level emissions performance, the sustainability data portal within the report enumerates several concrete indicators of performance: 198 new products identified as Eco-Design, 146 sites (representing 75% of the total) achieving zero waste to landfill, and a 30% reduction in water use per unit of production. Taken together, these metrics illustrate a broad-based approach to reducing environmental impact not only through lower emissions but also through better material use, resource conservation, and waste minimisation.

Lorena Dellagiovanna, Hitachi’s Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, has stated that the company has “successfully met most of our sustainability goals and KPIs” for fiscal 2023. This assertion points to a broad spectrum of progress in environmental initiatives, including decarbonisation and the circular economy. Dellagiovanna attributes this progress to internal initiatives, including targeted emissions reductions at Hitachi’s business sites. The overall narrative presented in the report emphasizes that sustainability achievements are not incidental but the product of deliberate policy choices, technical improvements, and a culture of continuous measurement and accountability. The emphasis on decarbonisation, resource efficiency, and circular economy strategies positions Hitachi as a company seeking to align rapid technology adoption with long-term environmental stewardship.

Beyond the headline figures, the sustainability narrative underscores the interconnectedness of decarbonisation with broader corporate performance. The emphasis on energy efficiency, process optimisation, and waste reduction is framed as essential to enabling Hitachi to sustain its business model while expanding its AI, digital solutions, and IoT-enabled offerings. The report’s emphasis on internal initiatives at the site level suggests that the company sees the bulk of emissions reductions as achievable through disciplined management of energy consumption, industrial processes, and supply chain collaboration. In this sense, Hitachi’s progress is portrayed as a foundation for its strategy to integrate AI and digital technologies into operations in a way that remains compatible with environmental commitments.

A closer look at the reported numbers reveals a multi-faceted approach to sustainability. The 198 Eco-Design products identified indicates a strong emphasis on product lifecycle considerations, including energy efficiency, end-of-life recyclability, and materials stewardship. The 146 sites achieving zero waste to landfill signifies widespread adoption of waste reduction and circular economy principles, extending across factory floors and office environments. The 30% reduction in water use per unit demonstrates attention to resource conservation, a critical factor in manufacturing-intensive operations. Taken together, these metrics reflect a comprehensive strategy that addresses emissions, material usage, wastewater, and waste—areas that are frequently the most challenging to improve in large, multi-country operations.

The significance of Hitachi’s reported progress extends beyond the numerical figures. The company’s emphasis on decarbonisation and circular economy signals a belief that sustainability can be integrated into core business operations without compromising growth. In an environment where AI adoption is accelerating and energy demand is rising, Hitachi’s approach suggests that a combination of efficiency improvements, product redesign, and responsible governance can support a trajectory of growth that remains aligned with climate targets and resource stewardship. By detailing a broad set of achievements—across emissions, product design, waste, and water—the report paints a cohesive picture of a corporation pursuing sustainability as an integral part of its technology strategy rather than as a separate initiative.

The overarching narrative is one of progress achieved through deliberate internal strategy and disciplined execution. The emphasis on decarbonisation and the circular economy reflects Hitachi’s long-standing commitment to reducing environmental impact while continuing to pursue growth opportunities in data-centric and AI-enabled solutions. For stakeholders, the reported results offer a data-backed view of how large, globally distributed organizations can implement sustainability measures that span manufacturing sites, offices, product development, and supply chains. The 2024 report thus serves as a reference point for ongoing efforts to balance enterprise-scale digital transformation with robust environmental governance.

The Gen AI challenge: balancing rapid AI adoption with environmental commitments

Gen AI—generative artificial intelligence—has emerged as a transformative driver for productivity, efficiency, and innovation across a broad range of industries. By automating routine tasks, enabling more sophisticated data analysis, and freeing human resources to focus on higher-value activities, Gen AI has the potential to unlock substantial gains in performance and economic value. Yet this same technology imposes new stresses on energy systems and raises the bar for environmental management in a world where AI workloads are becoming increasingly data-intensive and computationally demanding.

Hitachi recognizes this duality. On the one hand, Gen AI promises to improve work efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and enabling people to concentrate on creative, strategic, and value-added activities. Lorena Dellagiovanna acknowledges this tension, noting that Gen AI can significantly improve work efficiency by shifting human attention toward tasks that require human judgment, creativity, and nuanced decision-making. On the other hand, expanding AI usage translates into higher demand for data centers and more energy consumption. The energy intensity of AI workloads—driven by the need to perform large-scale training, inference, and real-time analytics—creates a potential drag on environmental objectives if not managed carefully.

The sustainability challenge for Hitachi, and for the broader AI industry, is whether growth in AI-enabled capabilities can be decoupled from, or at least offset by, improvements in energy efficiency, smarter cooling, and more sustainable data-center design. Hitachi’s approach to Gen AI reflects a pragmatic recognition of this dual reality: AI can be a powerful enabler, but its deployment must be measured, transparent, and aligned with environmental commitments. As workloads expand, Hitachi argues that the incremental energy demand created by Gen AI must be offset by a combination of energy efficiency improvements, the use of low-carbon energy sources, and smarter infrastructure planning. The company’s stance is consistent with the broader industry imperative to pair AI-enabled productivity with sustainable energy management, both in terms of hardware and software optimization, and in terms of governance and accountability.

The Gen AI challenge is also about social and ethical considerations. The technology’s societal implications—ranging from potential workforce displacement to concerns about data privacy and algorithmic fairness—require companies to adopt comprehensive governance frameworks. Hitachi’s leadership underscores a broader expectation: that AI deployment be accompanied by thoughtful analysis of both positive and negative consequences. This means not only measuring direct environmental impacts but also considering the broader macroeconomic and social effects that arise from increased digitalisation, climate change, and demographic shifts as AI adoption expands. In Hitachi’s framing, Gen AI is not simply a technical upgrade; it is a catalyst for transformation that must be evaluated through the lens of planetary boundaries—an integrated, scientific framework for understanding safe operating limits for human activities across nine environmental systems, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution.

This perspective invites a more expansive set of considerations for AI deployment. Hitachi is keen to assess Gen AI impacts from multiple viewpoints—environmental, ethical, and societal—and to identify opportunities to create net-positive outcomes where possible. The company sees the planetary boundaries framework as a tool to guide decision-making, ensuring that AI’s benefits do not come at the expense of critical environmental thresholds. The aim is to map positive outcomes—such as productivity gains, improved resource use, and enhanced decision-making—against potential negative effects, including energy consumption, material throughput, and waste generation, and to design interventions that minimize adverse externalities.

Hitachi’s approach to Gen AI: sustainability metrics and a co-creative framework

To address the Gen AI sustainability challenge, Hitachi is adopting a structured approach to deployment that places sustainability metrics at the center of decision-making. The company’s 2024 Sustainability Report articulates a plan to evaluate AI deployment not just on performance or ROI, but also on measurable environmental and social outcomes. This approach involves analyzing both the positive and negative impacts of Gen AI from diverse perspectives, including the environmental footprint of AI systems and the ethical implications of deploying powerful digital tools across different regions and industries.

This assessment framework is designed to integrate considerations of planetary boundaries and to incorporate cross-disciplinary insights from science, engineering, and governance. By examining the nine environmental systems—ranging from climate regulation to chemical pollution—Hitachi seeks to identify where AI initiatives could generate environmental risk, and to put in place safeguards, innovations, or optimised configurations to keep activities within the safe operating space. The objective is not to curb AI innovation but to ensure that its growth is compatible with a sustainable future, balancing efficiency gains with robust environmental stewardship.

Keiji Kojima, a former President and CEO of Hitachi, has highlighted the broader context of digitalisation in the Gen AI era. He emphasized that the “advent of generative AI” is driving a rapid uptick in digitalisation, underscoring the importance of identifying new growth opportunities unlocked by Gen AI. Kojima also pointed to the social issues that accompany such shifts, including climate change and demographic changes, suggesting that AI-enabled transformation must be managed in ways that address both economic opportunities and social challenges. This perspective reinforces Hitachi’s commitment to a governance-led approach to AI deployment, where strategic decisions are informed by a broader view of societal and environmental consequences.

In parallel with governance considerations, Hitachi is actively strengthening its problem-solving capabilities through Lumada, the company’s customer co-creation framework designed for developing digital solutions. Lumada integrates data analytics, IoT connectivity, and AI to deliver targeted, industry-specific outcomes. This platform is positioned as a vehicle for turning sustainability objectives into concrete, market-ready solutions that deliver measurable environmental benefits while enabling customers to realize digital transformation. The co-creation approach is intended to drive innovation in a manner that aligns with Hitachi’s sustainability goals, rather than pursuing AI-driven productivity in isolation from environmental considerations.

The company also recognises the evolving landscape of sustainability reporting standards and the need to comply with diverse regulatory regimes. Hitachi’s strategy includes staying ahead of changes in reporting requirements, ensuring that its practices and disclosures reflect current expectations across multiple jurisdictions. The objective is to provide transparent information about environmental performance, governance, and social impact while maintaining a strong focus on long-term value creation for stakeholders.

Lumada and the push toward co-created, sustainable digital solutions

Lumada represents Hitachi’s commitment to leveraging data, connectivity, and artificial intelligence to address industry-specific challenges. The platform is designed to support customer collaboration, enabling the development of digital solutions that are co-created with users and tailored to the unique needs of each industry. By combining data analytics with IoT connectivity and AI, Lumada aims to unlock insights that lead to improved energy efficiency, waste reduction, and resource optimisation, all of which contribute to Hitachi’s sustainability objectives.

Within the sustainability framework, Lumada serves several key roles. First, it acts as a diagnostic tool, aggregating and analysing vast quantities of operational data to identify inefficiencies, pinpoint energy-wasting processes, and forecast future resource needs. Second, it functions as a design and optimization tool, enabling the simulation and testing of alternative configurations for manufacturing processes, supply chains, and facility operations. Third, Lumada supports governance by providing traceability and transparency in environmental performance, which is essential for reporting, auditing, and regulatory compliance. By enabling rapid experimentation and deployment of improvements, Lumada contributes to Hitachi’s ability to scale eco-friendly innovations across its global footprint.

The platform’s co-creation model also helps Hitachi build more resilient and sustainable partnerships with customers. By engaging clients in joint development efforts, Hitachi can align sustainability metrics with business objectives, integrative energy management, and circular economy strategies. The synergy produced through Lumada-based collaborations allows Hitachi to translate sustainability insights into concrete, scalable solutions—ranging from energy-efficient manufacturing processes to optimized asset utilization and smarter lifecycle management of products. In this sense, Lumada is not only a technology stack but also a governance and collaboration framework that accelerates the adoption of sustainable digital solutions across industries.

Hitachi’s Lumada-based approach reinforces the company’s broader philosophy: sustainability is not a single program or a one-off target, but a holistic capability embedded in the way Hitachi designs, builds, and operates its products and services. By embedding sustainability metrics into AI deployment decisions and by enabling customers to co-create sustainable digital solutions, Hitachi seeks to ensure that Gen AI advances do not come at the cost of environmental health or social well-being. This aligns with a growing corporate expectation that technology firms should integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into core technology strategies, rather than treating them as separate add-ons.

Hitachi Energy and the transition to cleaner grids with HVDC

A critical component of Hitachi’s broader sustainability story lies in Hitachi Energy, the company’s power transmission and distribution arm. Hitachi Energy has been central to the group’s progress in clean technology advancement, particularly through high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology deployment. HVDC enables more efficient long-distance electricity transmission, reducing losses compared with alternating current (AC) systems. This capability is especially important for integrating renewable energy sources—such as offshore wind, large-scale solar, and other intermittent resources—into consumption centres and grids that would otherwise suffer from high loss and inefficiency over long distances.

The HVDC portfolio within Hitachi Energy has grown to a capacity of 150 gigawatts of grid-connected HVDC systems. This figure reflects a substantial ability to connect remote renewable generation with urban demand hubs, supporting the transition to low-carbon electricity and helping to stabilize grids that increasingly rely on variable energy sources. The scale is notable: 150 GW of HVDC capacity corresponds to a substantial portion of a major national electricity demand profile, illustrating the potential impact of HVDC on decarbonisation at the system level.

Hitachi Energy has also expanded its workforce and invested significantly in manufacturing, engineering, and research and development since 2020. The company has recruited more than 8,000 employees worldwide and invested about US$3 billion in capabilities to deliver HVDC solutions, manufacturing capacity, and innovation. This expansion supports the growing global demand for grid infrastructure as countries strive to transition to renewable energy and to strengthen the resilience and reliability of power networks in the face of climate-related challenges and energy security concerns.

The HVDC effort contributes to Hitachi’s climate objectives by enabling greater integration of clean energy resources and reducing the need for fossil-fuel-based peaking plants or curtailment in renewable-rich regions. By improving the efficiency and feasibility of long-distance transmission, HVDC supports decarbonisation efforts at scale and across diverse geographies. The company notes that the broader goal is to move toward lower material consumption, water use, and overall resource intensity, reflecting a commitment to improved efficiency across the value chain. Hitachi Energy’s work in HVDC is presented as a core element of Hitachi’s strategy to deliver clean technology solutions that meet growing energy demands while reducing carbon emissions.

Within this context, Hitachi emphasizes the principle of shifting toward more sustainable resource use. The company states that it is moving toward “using fewer raw materials, water, and other resources more efficiently and sustainably.” This statement frames HVDC and related grid technologies as a critical route to decarbonising electrical systems globally, enabling a broader transition to renewable energy and reducing the ecological footprint of power delivery.

The HVDC advancement aligns with Hitachi’s broader commitments to climate neutrality and sustainable growth. By delivering high-efficiency, scalable technologies that facilitate renewable integration, Hitachi Energy demonstrates how hardware-level innovations can contribute to macro-level environmental goals. The integration of HVDC with digital solutions—such as monitoring, optimization, and predictive maintenance enabled by Lumada—further enhances the potential benefits by ensuring that grid assets operate at peak efficiency and with minimal waste throughout their lifecycle.

The HVDC story also underscores Hitachi’s approach to workforce development and industrial competitiveness. The recruitment drive and substantial investment signal a long-term bets on high-value manufacturing, engineering capability, and research excellence that support not only environmental outcomes but also economic resilience and technological leadership. This combination—clean technology deployment, scalable grid solutions, and robust human capital investment—forms a central pillar of Hitachi’s strategy for advancing a low-carbon economy while sustaining growth and innovation.

Regulatory environments and sustainability reporting

In addition to product and technology innovations, Hitachi’s sustainability strategy engages with evolving regulatory expectations around corporate responsibility and transparency. The company recognises the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires detailed environmental and social disclosures for large companies operating within EU markets. The CSRD is part of a broader trend toward more standardized and comprehensive sustainability reporting that seeks to improve comparability and accountability across multinational organisations. By aligning with CSRD expectations, Hitachi aims to provide stakeholders with clearer, consistent information about its environmental, social, and governance performance.

Hitachi also notes the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) as a key actor in shaping global baseline standards for sustainability reporting. ISSB standards are designed to create consistency across different regulatory frameworks and markets, enabling investors and other stakeholders to compare sustainability performance across organisations with greater ease. Hitachi’s ongoing efforts to adapt to evolving reporting requirements reflect the company’s commitment to transparent and comprehensive disclosures that support prudent decision-making by customers, partners, investors, and employees. The emphasis on regulatory alignment underscores Hitachi’s belief that responsible governance and robust data about environmental impact are essential for long-term value creation.

The company’s approach to reporting is embedded in its operational and governance structures. By designing internal processes that capture, verify, and report sustainability metrics in accordance with emerging standards, Hitachi seeks to build trust with stakeholders and to support strategic decision-making that prioritises environmental stewardship alongside financial performance. The combination of internal KPI tracking, external reporting, and alignment with global frameworks helps ensure that sustainability considerations are integrated into business planning, product development, and investment decisions.

The path to carbon neutrality and the broader corporate strategy

Hitachi has reaffirmed clear targets for carbon neutrality, both within its business operations and along its value chain. The company has set a near-term target of achieving carbon neutrality for its core business by 2030 and progressing toward value-chain carbon neutrality by 2050. These targets reflect a structured, long-horizon approach to decarbonisation that spans manufacturing, product design, supply chain management, and service delivery. The targets are consistent with Hitachi’s broader objective of aligning growth with environmental stewardship, recognising that the energy and material intensity of modern digital and AI-enabled operations must be managed across the entire corporate ecosystem.

Realising these ambitions involves a combination of strategic levers. Efficiency improvements across manufacturing facilities and offices reduce direct emissions, while product design and lifecycle thinking help reduce embedded emissions and resource consumption. The company’s emphasis on decarbonisation initiatives, circular economy practices, and sustainable product design indicates a recognition that environmental performance must be embedded in every stage of the product life cycle, from development through end-of-life disposal or recycling. In addition, Hitachi’s Lumada platform and its data-driven insights play a critical role in optimising operations, supporting predictive maintenance, and enabling smarter resource planning. These capabilities are essential for maintaining progress toward the 2030 and 2050 carbon goals, especially as AI deployments and digital transformation continue to scale.

Hitachi’s sustainability strategy also emphasizes the importance of partnerships and ecosystem engagement. The company views its initiatives as part of a broader transition to a low-carbon economy that requires collaboration with customers, suppliers, and public entities. Through co-creation platforms, data-sharing practices, and joint innovation programs, Hitachi aims to drive systemic improvements that extend beyond its own operations, contributing to climate resilience and sustainable development across industries. The integration of environmental objectives with technological leadership reflects a holistic view of corporate strategy, in which sustainability is a fundamental driver of competitiveness, resilience, and long-term value creation.

The 2024 Sustainability Report’s compilation of results—74% CO2 reduction since 2010, 153 million tonnes of avoided emissions, 198 Eco-Design products identified, 146 sites achieving zero waste to landfill, and 30% water use reduction per unit—serves as a benchmark for progress. It also provides a framework for ongoing improvement as Hitachi continues to navigate the complexities of Gen AI adoption and the energy implications of AI-driven digital transformation. The company’s approach is grounded in a combination of quantified performance, governance structures, and forward-looking investments in sustainable technology and human capital. This alignment between environmental objectives and business strategy positions Hitachi to pursue transformative opportunities in AI and digital innovation while advancing its climate and resource stewardship commitments.

Data centers, energy efficiency, and the AI-driven future

The energy footprint of data centers and AI workloads is a focal concern within Hitachi’s sustainability narrative. As Gen AI adoption expands, the demand for computational resources grows, potentially increasing electricity consumption and associated emissions. Hitachi’s response to this challenge balances the expansion of AI capabilities with a commitment to energy efficiency, resource conservation, and the deployment of low-carbon energy sources wherever feasible. The 2024 Sustainability Report frames this as a coordinated effort to improve data center design, optimize cooling technologies, and reduce the overall carbon intensity of digital infrastructure.

This focus on energy efficiency complements Hitachi’s broader decarbonisation strategy. It involves evaluating power usage effectiveness, heat reuse, advanced cooling techniques, and the use of energy-efficient hardware and software architectures. The company’s governance framework seeks to ensure that AI deployment is accompanied by rigorous energy metrics, enabling transparent tracking of consumption, emissions, and cost implications. The emphasis on efficiency does not diminish the potential benefits of Gen AI; rather, it aims to ensure that the energy cost of AI is managed and reduced over time through design improvements, smarter orchestration of workloads, and more efficient data center operations.

As Hitachi continues to expand its AI-enabled offerings, it will be important to monitor how the company translates efficiency gains into scalable results across different geographies and regulatory contexts. The emphasis on planetary boundaries and multi-stakeholder governance will continue to shape how Hitachi calibrates AI deployment against environmental risk, social impact, and ethical considerations. The ultimate objective is to achieve a sustainable growth trajectory that leverages AI’s productivity gains while minimising energy intensity and environmental footprint.

Conclusion

Hitachi’s 2024 Sustainability Report presents a comprehensive account of progress toward decarbonisation and resource stewardship amid rising AI adoption. The company’s 74% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions at factories and offices since 2010, along with 153 million tonnes of avoided emissions, underscores the scale of its environmental achievements. The reporting also highlights robust outcomes in design, waste reduction, and water efficiency, with 198 Eco-Design products identified, 146 sites achieving zero waste to landfill, and a 30% reduction in water use per unit. These metrics reflect a holistic approach to sustainability that integrates decarbonisation with circular economy practices, resource efficiency, and responsible governance.

At the same time, Hitachi recognises the energy challenges associated with Gen AI and the concomitant growth of data centers. The company’s leadership emphasises the importance of evaluating AI deployment through sustainability metrics, examining both positive and negative impacts across environmental and ethical dimensions, and applying the planetary boundaries framework to guide decision-making. The Lumada platform serves as a cornerstone of Hitachi’s co-creation approach, enabling data-driven insights, IoT connectivity, and AI collaboration with customers to deliver industry-specific, sustainable digital solutions.

Hitachi Energy’s HVDC technology further strengthens the group’s decarbonisation narrative by enabling efficient long-distance transmission and facilitating the integration of renewable energy into grids. The HVDC portfolio, totaling 150 gigawatts, represents a strategic capability to reduce power losses and support low-carbon energy systems globally. The expansion of Hitachi Energy—more than 8,000 employees and US$3 billion invested since 2020—reflects a long-term commitment to scaling clean energy infrastructure, strengthening grid resilience, and advancing sustainable growth.

Regulatory evolution, including CSRD and ISSB standards, will continue to shape reporting practices and governance expectations. Hitachi’s engagement with these standards signals a commitment to ongoing transparency and accountability, ensuring that environmental performance and social impact are clearly communicated to stakeholders. As Hitachi pursues carbon neutrality across its business by 2030 and across its value chain by 2050, the company’s integrated strategy—combining decarbonisation, circular economy, technology leadership, and responsible AI governance—aims to deliver sustainable value in a world increasingly shaped by digital transformation and climate pressure. The path forward will require sustained investment, rigorous measurement, and collaborative innovation, but Hitachi’s approach provides a coherent framework for aligning AI-driven growth with durable environmental stewardship and social responsibility.