Three Watch Factories Switching to Green Electricity

Three domestic factories in Iwate Prefecture (Morioka Seiko Instruments Inc., located in Shizukuishi-cho; Tono Seiki Co., Ltd. in Tono City; and Ninohe Tokei Kogyo Co., Ltd. in Ninohe City) that manufacture watches for Seiko Watch Corporation (SWC), an operating company of Seiko Holdings Corporation (Chairman & Group CEO, CCO: Shinji Hattori; head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan), have signed an electricity supply and demand contract for the use of renewable energy generated by the Tohoku Electric Power Group. As a result, 100% of the electricity used at SWC's watch factories in Japan will come from renewable energy sources.

The Seiko Holdings Group's “Initiatives for Climate Change and a Decarbonized Society” are among the Group’s key materiality issues for environmental responsibility. As a result, the Group is actively expanding the introduction of renewable energy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

As part of this effort, Morioka Seiko Instruments Inc., which manufactures luxury mechanical watches such as the Grand Seiko and Seiko Prospex lines, and Tono Seiki Co. Ltd. and Ninohe Tokei Kogyo Co., Ltd., which manufacture and assemble watch parts, signed a renewable energy supply contract in April 2022 with Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. The contract covers a plan, called “Yorisou (Stay close) Renewable-Energy Power,” in which Tohoku Electric agrees to supply electricity from seven hydroelectric power plants in northern Japan.

This plan’s long-term target is to achieve zero CO2 emissions from electricity production. By participating in this plan, Seiko aims to obtain 100% of the electricity used at its domestic factories from renewable energy sources, and thereby reduce its CO2 “footprint” by approximately 10,000 tons per year.

The Seiko Holdings Group will continue striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout its business operations, in part by increasing energy-saving activities in offices and manufacturing sites, and also improving the energy-saving performance of its products and services. The Group will strengthen its efforts to achieve a decarbonized society by actively introducing renewable energy in its operations.