Speakers Profile RE-Users Summit 2025Renewable Electricity Procurement Continues to Evolve

in Japanese

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  Eric Gibbs
  Senior Vice President, Global Strategy, Clean Energy Buyers Association（CEBA）

  Eric Gibbs is the Senior Vice President for Global Strategy at the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA). CEBA is a business trade association comprised of over 400 members, which combined have over $20 trillion in market capitalization and include the largest clean energy buyers in the world.  Eric leads CEBA’s global program portfolio, which includes several initiatives to advance policy and market reforms to accelerate clean energy investment, development, and procurement and drive power sector decarbonization in the Asia-Pacific region. 
  Prior to joining CEBA in 2023, Eric was the Chief Program Officer at CLASP, where he led the growth and development of an expansive global portfolio of energy policy programs throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Eric previously managed the development of rural energy access projects and electric cooperative distribution utilities in villages around the world with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Eric has an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from the University of New Hampshire.

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  Laura Thomas
  RE100 Policy Manager, Climate Group/RE100
  
  Laura Thomas is a RE100 Policy Manager at Climate Group. Within this, Laura both leads and supports on market-level renewable policy development and engagement with Japan, Indonesia, and Mexico as key markets within her portfolio. Before joining RE100 in 2022, Laura gained a MSc Climate Change: Environment, Science, and Policy from Kings College London, particularly focusing on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. 

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  Tetsuo Dotsu
  Senior Manager, Energy Device Business Division, Panasonic Energy

  Tetsuo Dotsu joined Panasonic in 1993. Since the importance of energy efficiency became widely recognized with the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol at COP3 in 1997, he has been driving energy conservation initiatives in Panasonic's manufacturing plants. He is currently responsible for implementing Panasonic's long-term environmental vision, Panasonic GREEN IMPACT. In particular, he is overseeing the use of renewable energy at battery manufacturing sites and promoting the adoption of solar power and other renewable energy sources at facilities in Japan and overseas to promote sustainable energy use worldwide.
   

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  Kojiro Fujisaki
  General Manager, Corporate Communication Department/Sustainability Promotion Office, Seiko Epson

  Kojiro Fujisaki joined Seiko Epson Corporation in 1995. He has worked in the international sales and marketing department and has a total of 15 years experience working in Europe. As General Manager of the Corporate Communication Department, he is responsible for promoting corporate communications, including environmental activities, on a global scale. In his role as General Manager of the Sustainability Promotion Office, he also leads company-wide sustainability initiatives.

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  Kouichirou Tokuda
  Chief Manager, Environmental Protection Promotion Group, Innovation Department, Railway Operation Headquarters, West Japan Railway

  Kouichiro Tokuda joined West Japan Railway Company in 1999 and has been responsible for the maintenance and construction of feeding systems. At the Railway Technical Research Institute, where he was seconded, he was in charge of developing a sustainable railway technology system. He was then assigned to the design, development and implementation of new  train protection systems and contributed to the introduction of the company's first on-board database mechanism. Since June 2024, in his role as Environment Officer, he has continued to use his extensive industry knowledge and technical skills to focus on the decarbonization of the railway business.

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  Akemi Shimizu
  Head of Corporate PPA Business Development, Shizen Energy

  Akemi Shimizu leads corporate PPA business development at Shizen Energy, where she is responsible for PPA strategy and execution in Japan and across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. She has played a key role in shaping the off-site and on-site PPA landscape, both domestically and internationally.
  Prior to her current role, she served as a Project Manager at juwi Shizen Energy (now Shizen Engineering), where she managed the construction and business development of utility-scale PV projects throughout Japan.

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  Yosuke Murai
  Executive Officer, Deputy General Manager, Sales Department, TESS Engineering

  Having joined TESS Engineering in 2001, Yosuke Murai has since played a central role in sales operations, delivering a wide range of decarbonization and energy-saving solutions, not limited to solar power systems, to energy-intensive clients such as factories and logistics warehouses. As Deputy General Manager of the Sales Department, he currently leads sales strategies, oversees operations, and works to strengthen internal structures and the organization as a whole.

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  Yusuke Toyoda
  CEO, Digital Grid

  Yusuke Toyoda completed his graduate studies in the engineering department at the University of Tokyo in 2012 before joining Goldman Sachs Securities. In the securities division, he was engaged in the composition and sale of financial products, and in the strategic investment development division, he mainly worked on the development and investment business of mega solar power projects. From 2016, he was engaged in investing equity across various sectors at the PE fund Integral. In 2018, he participated as a founding member of Digital Grid and in 2019 was appointed as the representative director and president of the company.

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  Hirokazu Kato
  Senior Manager, Procurement - Strategic Sourcing, Indirect Material & Services, Kao Corporation

  Hirokazu Kato, who previously worked for a company specializing in the engineering of petroleum plants, joined Kao Corporation in 2014, where he was responsible for the procurement of construction materials and equipment for chemical plants in Japan and overseas in the procurement department. He has since been involved in the development and implementation of the procurement strategy for energy and decarbonisation initiatives.

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  Megumi Matsumoto
  General Manager, Sustainability Promotion Department, Tokyu Land Corporation

  After joining Tokyu Land Corporation, since 2010 Megumi Matsumoto has been responsible for promoting a wide range of activities such as formulating the group-wide sustainability strategies and environmental initiatives, as well as conducting ESG assessments. Since 2013, she has concurrently held a position at Tokyu Fudosan Holdings and has frequently spoken at universities and seminars. She is a licensed first-class architect and a certified CASBEE building assessor. 

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  Taichi Nakao
  Manager, Power & Energy Procurement Department, Panasonic Operational Excellence

  Joined Panasonic in 1997. In 2005, he was part of an internal project for Panasonic's entry into the retail electricity business. Since then he has been primarily in charge of supplying electricity to the Group's operating sites and for reducing electricity procurement costs. He was then responsible for driving the company's mission to strengthen renewable energy procurement to achieve the Group's 2021 goal of achieving net zero CO2 emissions at its own facilities by 2030, and to advance Panasonic GREEN IMPACT (achieving an annual CO2 reduction impact of 300 million tonnes by 2050). As the company is both a consumer and supplier of electricity, he has been responsible for the procurement and promotion of electricity from renewable sources and centralized contracts for non-fossil certificates.

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  Yuichi Ogata
  Managing Director, Investment and Business Development Office, Sustainable Business Division, MUFG Bank

  Since 2008, Yuichi Ogata has been responsible for environmental and energy-related business projects, including renewable energy financing, business support and the development of environmental loan products using government interest subsidies. In his current role, he has led ESG and transition dialogues with clients and government agencies to promote sustainable finance. His current focus is on Green Transformation (GX), renewable energy investments and business development. He has also helped establish a renewable energy fund GP and subsidiary, and managed regional revitalisation projects in Hokkaido and other locations.

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  Teruyuki Ohno
  Executive Director, Renewable Energy Institute

  Teruyuki Ohno joined Renewable Energy Institute in 2013. He has actively participated in the policy formation of Japan’s climate change measures as a member of national and local governments' committees. Before joining the Institute, he was Director General of the Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government for three years, covering a broad range of environmental issues including energy, climate change, waste management, pollution control, natural environment, and sustainable development. His notable achievements include the “No Dirty Diesel Vehicle Strategy in Tokyo” which reduced the air pollution and PM emissions, and implementation of Japan’s first Cap-and-Trade Program in Tokyo in 2008, involving the industries and successfully building a grand consensus. His active leadership in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency led to the formation of the foundation of Tokyo’s energy policy. He is also a Board Member of WWF Japan. He received the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award from the California Air Resources Board in 2014. His publications include "Energy Strategies of Municipality Governments" (Iwanami, 2013, Japanese) among others.

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  Masaya Ishida
  Director, Renewable Energy Institute

  Masaya Ishida joined Renewable Energy Institute in 2017 to lead research on the deployment of renewable energy for business activities. Since April 2018, he has been responsible for the activities of Renewable Energy Users Network (RE-Users), a network of corporate energy users aiming to accelerate the procurement of renewable energy, and the publication of the "Renewable Electricity Procurement Guidebook" and the "Corporate PPA Guidebook." He has been a member of the Technical Advisory Group at RE100 since September 2021.
  Prior to joining the Institute, he was Executive Producer at “Smart Japan,” a leading online media in Japan focusing on renewable energy deployment and electric power market reformation. He has held senior positions at several technology information media and internet businesses, including “EE Times Japan” and “Nikkei Computer.” He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Information Engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

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  Kae Takase
  Senior Manager, Climate Change

  Kae Takase joined Renewable Energy Institute in 2023. Previously she was Associate Director at CDP Worldwide-Japan, where she was responsible for helping Japanese companies and investors to set science-based targets (SBT), procure renewable electricity (RE100), and disclose TCFD-aligned sustainability information. She worked as a modelling analyst at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, and Center for Low Carbon Society Strategy under the Japan Science and Technology Agency, built and ran Integrated Assessment Model for Climate Change, Computable General Equilibrium Model, Econometric Model, Energy System Model, bottom-up model for the energy system. She also initiated and conducted pilot projects for 'Pay as You Save' scheme for solar power and other energy efficiency improvement measures in several municipalities.
  She graduated from Keio University (B.A., M.A.) and the University of Tokyo (PhD). She has also spent a year in Yongin University in South Korea to devote herself to taekwondo and take a break from research.

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