Clean alternative for air and road travel

Central Japan Railway (JR Central) is the second largest railway operator in Japan. It was established in 1987, when the state-owned Japanese National Railway was divided into 6 regional railway companies. JR Central operates railway networks along the ancient Tokaido route between Tokyo and Kyoto. It generates 70% annual revenues from the Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed train line. This line connects Tokyo (the largest city of Japan) with Osaka (3rd largest city), passing through some of the country’s largest cities. It is by far the busiest railway line of Japan, used by 452,000 passengers on a daily basis, which equals to 165 million passengers per year.

Impact investment rationale

•     Active contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the transport industry; compared to an airplane on the same route, this train will use 88% less energy and produces 92% less carbon emissions per seat. For distances up to 1,000 km, travelling by high-speed train is both time and price competitive with airplanes, making this a truly sustainable solution.
•     JR Central is implementing the Low Carbon Society Phase II Plan, which aims to reduce the company’s energy consumption by 25% by the end of 2030 compared to the levels of 1995. Until 2010 the company implemented a voluntary plan which reduced its energy consumption by 15%.
•     JR Central is continuously improving safety, noise reduction, energy efficiency, and travel comfort, and at the same time increasing the maximum speed to shorten travel times.

JR Central contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

Sustainable Mobility and Infrastructure

Mobility and infrastructure cover a broad range of facilities, structures, systems and services that support the day-today operations of human society. The infrastructure sectors of transport, energy and water, telecommunication, waste and sanitation are among the most important elements of infrastructure. Sustainable infrastructure is designed, constructed and operated to optimise the environmental, social and economic impact.

We invest in companies that offer solutions for sustainable mobility and infrastructure such as urban mobility, sustainable buildings and electric vehicles.

Download our whitepaper to learn more about our seven transition themes.

For more information about the fund’s financial performance, please download the annual report. The new impact report Moving the Needle presents a more detailed overview of the fund’s impact.