(Head Office: Hakata-ku, Fukuoka; Representative Director: Shunsuke Managi; hereinafter "aiESG"), a provider of cloud-based supply chain ESG analysis at the product and service level, has been selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to conduct a feasibility study to demonstrate the feasibility of routine use of data from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite "Daichi" series of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The aiESG is responsible for the project, which will be carried out in collaboration with Yamaha Motor Co. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Takaaki Maruyama, CEO; hereinafter "iForest") and the Natural Capital Credit Consortium (Shunsuke Managi, Chairman; hereinafter "NCCC") to conduct a feasibility study on "creation of voluntary forest credits". This project aims to improve the reliability and efficiency of carbon credit creation by precisely measuring the amount of CO2 absorption by forests.

Project Summary

This project aims to obtain forest biomass by combining SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite (*1) archive data from ALOS-2 "Daichi-2" and ALOS-4 "Daichi-4" and primary data from LiDAR measurements (*2).amountThe MRV system quantifies the amount of data collected and the amount of change in that data. It aims to streamline the MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) process in terms of both accuracy and cost by complementing the extensive and continuous observations that are difficult to perform with conventional optical imagery and manual ground surveying.

As global warming countermeasures become an urgent issue, forests play an important role as CO2 sinks. However, accurately and efficiently measuring the CO2 absorption of vast forests and utilizing them as carbon credits has been hampered by high costs and measurement accuracy. This project will address these issues and support the creation of more reliable carbon credits.

*1 SAR satellite: Synthetic Aperture Radarlong vowel mark (usually only used in katakana)Satellite, a satellite that irradiates microwaves (radio waves) onto the earth's surface independent of sunlight and captures the reflected waves to produce images of the earth's surface information
*2 LiDAR measurement (Light Detection And Ranging measurement): A technology that irradiates a laser beam and precisely measures the distance to an object, its shape, position, etc. based on the properties of the reflected light.

Background and Objectives

Japan is a country rich in forest resources, boasting the third highest forest coverage among OECD member countries, and its utilization can make a significant contribution to global warming countermeasures. However, the current situation with forest-related J-credits is that it is difficult to cover the costs of forest management with revenues, making it difficult to establish it as a business.

This demonstration is expected to increase the amount of certified carbon credits by combining precise satellite data with LiDAR measurements, resulting in more accurate measurement of CO2 absorption by forests. This will increase the economic rationale for forest management, and high-quality credits may also lead to improved liquidity and higher prices in the market.

In addition, SAR satellites can continuously observe wide-area forests regardless of weather conditions and day/night, even in areas that are difficult to observe with optical data or in areas shaded by tree canopy, thus overcoming conventional problems and significantly reducing MRV costs and increasing credit reliability through improved data granularity.

aiESG, as a start-up from Kyushu University and academia, has a proven track record of receiving carbon credit certification for the calculation of GHG absorption and has its own calculation method. As the person in charge of the entire project, aiESG will be responsible for promoting this demonstration experiment and will aim to commercialize the project for the private sector and local governments.

About aiESG

"aiESG" is a start-up company from Kyushu University that aims to realize a sustainable society through product and service level ESG analysis. Based on the results of many years of international and academic ESG research, including UN report representatives, we provide an ESG assessment platform "aiESG" that traces back the entire supply chain. We also provide support services on all aspects of ESG.
Click here to visit our corporate website　https://aiesg.co.jp/)

Company Profile

Company name: aiESG Inc.
Head Office: NMF Hakata Ekimae Bldg. 2F, 1-15-20 Hakata Ekimae, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka
Representative Director : Shunsuke Managi
Chief Executive Officer : Daikichi Seki
Business : ESG analysis business at the product/service level
HP :https://aiesg.co.jp/
Establishment : July 2022

For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact:
Public Relations, aiESG, Inc. e-mail: pr@aiesg.co.jp