Subaru Corporation

Subaru has a target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2016, however, this was not ambitious enough to align with the company’s 1.5°C pathway. Subaru is also aiming for a 90% reduction in scope 3 emissions intensity by 2050, but has not set any intermediary targets or provided the base year emissions intensity against which its progress towards the target can be assessed. The company should set more ambitious targets through the Science-Based Targets initiative, but has stated it does not intend to do so within the next two years in its 2021 CDP response.

Subaru increased its low-carbon vehicle share from 0% in 2018 to 0.3% in 2020, but this marginal increase was completely insufficient to meet its 1.5°C pathway. The company has committed to a 30% share of electric vehicles and hybrid electric (including mild hybrids) by 2030, but its 1.5°C pathway requires it reach a 64.5% low-carbon vehicle share by 2030. The company should set out a more ambitious target for low-carbon vehicle sales, as well as a clear plan and financial commitments to achieve this.

The credibility of Subaru’s statements on climate change are undermined by its continued membership and board roles on trade associations that have opposed climate policy. Subaru is on the board of the U.S.’s National Association of Manufacturers, which supported the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and supported the rollback of Obama-era climate policy. The company is also on the board of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association that states it is opposed to policies that ban gasoline and diesel vehicles. The company should establish a clear process to review and withdraw from associations that oppose climate policy.

Subaru is aiming to reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2016 and 100% by 2050. The company is also aiming for a 90% reduction in scope 3 emissions intensity by 2050 compared to 2010.

The company plans to increase the share of electric and hybrid electric vehicles to 30% by 2030. It has not set out how much of its planned capital expenditure will be dedicated to low-carbon technologies. Subaru has no other low-carbon business models or plans to develop them.

Just 0.3% of Subaru’s total vehicle sales were low-carbon vehicles in 2020. The company did not disclose what proportion of its research and development expenditure went to low-carbon technologies in the 2020-2021 financial year.

Subaru’s scope 3 emissions intensity remained at a similar level in 2015 at 115.2 gCO2/p.km in 2015 compared to 114.6 gCO2/p.km in 2020. The company saw no significant decrease in scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity over the same period.

The lack of short-term scope 3 emissions targets or clear financial commitments to low-carbon vehicles undermines the credibility of its emissions goals. The company continues to play a prominent role in trade associations that oppose climate policy.