A Journey of Change: How Fujitsu Uses PACT to Partner with Suppliers and Drive Value Chain Decarbonization 

In 2023, Fujitsu began implementing the PACT methodology to standardize product-level carbon data and accelerate Scope 3 decarbonization across its global supply chain.

Background 

Since its founding in Japan in 1935, Fujitsu has demonstrated its technological expertise and a commitment to innovation. Driven by a strong social responsibility, in 2023 the company accelerated its environmental goals, aiming for zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global value chain by 2040 – a bold leap forward from its 2050 target. Recognizing the importance of accurate, standardized product-level data, in 2023 Fujitsu began implementing the PACT methodology and technical specifications to address Scope 3 emissions and drive meaningful change. 

Establishing a Vision and Clear Goals: driven by ambitious goals, Fujitsu adopted a top-down approach to supplier engagement, led by the CEO and the Chief Sustainability and Supply Chain Officer, who asked the critical questions: “How can Fujitsu achieve its mission of making the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation?” 

This proactive mindset highlights the importance of developing efficient, digitally-enabled solutions and fostering collaborative emission reductions with suppliers. Fujitsu’s extensive experience with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and a Design for Environment program for its own products since 2000, has facilitated a strategic top-level approach to supplier cooperation. 

Recognizing the log-life cycle of their products, Fujitsu’s leadership has invested in research and development (R&D) and supplier engagement to collect standardized, accurate, and granular data for their products. 
 

Taking Action

60+ suppliers involved. 50+ Fujitsu team members in charge of PCF calculation and exchange (across teams and departments). 4+ continents engaged through the program (Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania). 

Validating Fujitsu’s PCF Approach through Successful Laptop Pilot: before engaging a broader range of suppliers, Fujitsu conducted a pilot project to assess the effectiveness of PACT within Fujitsu’s SaaS solution (that would become PACT-conformant in May 2023). In 2022, the company gathered the entire upstream supply chain required to produce one of their laptop screens. 

This critical step allowed Fujitsu to confirm that PACT could work effectively in a controlled environment. The success of this pilot provided valuable insights and confidence, paving the way for scaling the implementation with additional suppliers and ensuring a solid foundation for their decarbonization efforts. 

Sustainability as a Company-wide Priority: Fujitsu’s leadership recognized that sustainability must be a company-wide priority, promoting collaboration across departments to set targets and track progress. 

In Dec 2023, the Sustainability Management Committee included representatives from several departments, each offering unique insights to address challenges and develop solutions. Key divisions involved include sustainability (corporate strategy), environment management (validating PCF calculation methods), procurement division (supplier engagement), IT division (system design & IT infrastructure) and business division (sales and development solutions). 

The Committee unanimously agreed to expand the challenge on Sustainable Supply Chain as the first objective of Fujitsu’s supply chain strategy toward reaching net zero by 2040. This involves collecting data from a broader range of suppliers using Fujitsu’s SaaS solutions. This initiative was recognized internally as an advanced and compelling example of collaboration between the corporate and business divisions, where they proactively leveraged their own offerings to lead efforts toward reduction. 

Today, over 50 Fujitsu employees are involved in implementing the company’s PCF and supplier engagement strategy in alignment with PACT. 

To effectively reduce Scope 3 emissions, it’s crucial to have a vision and decarbonize using primary data. While progress is being made in product carbon footprint (PCF) replacement, engaging upstream suppliers is vital. Collaboration through integrated systems is essential, even in the face of challenges. Embrace the journey early; meaningful change takes commitment and cooperation.

— Tomoko Konishi-Nagano, Senior Manager, Fujitsu 

Implementation

Learning from Peers and Industry Collaboration: collaboration with peers and other ecosystem players is crucial to Fujitsu’s sustainability goals. In 2021, Fujitsu joined the Green x Digital Consortium, a coalition of Japanese businesses focused on accelerating decarbonization. As the Co-Lead of this Consortium and the Lead of the Data Format and Exchange of Data Visualization Project, Fujitsu actively shared knowledge and facilitated information exchange between the Green x Digital Consortium and PACT. 

As a result, the Green x Digital Consortium adopted the PACT’s Methodology and Technical Specifications, adapting it to the local context. This led to over 130 businesses understanding and prioritizing PCFs in their strategies. This demonstrates how collaboration and shared learning can transform sustainability journeys across industries. 

Gaining Internal Buy-In from Team Members: with clear top-down action from senior leadership, the procurement team initially expressed hesitation about the extensive resources required to engage suppliers and collect Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data. Their concerns were rooted in the perceived challenges of strengthening collaboration with suppliers to support Fujitsu’s value chain decarbonization goals. This caution also reflected their long-standing experience in supplier relationships and a realistic understanding of the complexities involved in such dialogue. However, it was precisely this ongoing, persistent collaboration over the years that laid the foundation for the success of the current supplier engagement initiative. 

Support from cross-functional teams and knowledge sharing among procurement colleagues reinforced the importance of expanding Fujitsu’s Scope 3 decarbonization efforts across the supply chain, leveraging their software solutions. This collaborative approach not only enhances Fujitsu’s SaaS but also promotes best practices and drives broader societal impact. Recognizing their key role in this effort, the procurement team developed a strategic action plan to actively engage suppliers. 

Engaging with Suppliers for PCF Calculation: once the strategy was in place, and internal teams were aware of it, Fujitsu made a significant investment in its supplier engagement program. They directly engaged with 60 suppliers to request product carbon footprint (PCF) data based on PACT. 

The company organized approximately 80 individual follow-up meetings, conducted hands-on training sessions, and created instructional videos, ensuring suppliers fully understood the process and could confidently implement it. 

Upgrading PACT-conformant ESG Management Platform: through its engagement with suppliers, Fujitsu identified significant knowledge gaps, prompting enhancements to its software solution to support both product-based and organization-based carbon footprint calculations. 

In November 2024, Fujitsu’s ESG Management Platform—formerly known as Fujitsu Track and Trust—achieved PACT conformance. This milestone aligned Fujitsu’s Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) approach with the PACT Network (Technical Specification) and the Green x Digital Consortium Visualization Working Group. The PACT methodology and network are designed around supplier needs and reflect the organization-based calculation approach commonly used by Japanese companies. 

This alignment enables Fujitsu to communicate consistently with suppliers worldwide using the same technical language, allowing for seamless data linkage of carbon emissions along its value chains. It also promotes collaboration across regions, including Europe, the United States, Taiwan, and Australia. 

Impact

1/3 of Fujitsu Suppliers Share Product or Organization-level Carbon Footprints: Fujitsu expanded its supplier engagement initiatives from a single product category (laptops) to over 60 suppliers across multiple categories and four continents. This expansion exemplifies the power of starting early and incrementally scaling efforts for greater impact. 

As a result, one-third of Fujitsu’s suppliers are now successfully sharing product or organization-level carbon footprints, demonstrating the effectiveness of collaborative engagement in driving sustainability across the supply chain. 

Lessons Learned 

Communicating Internally & Externally about the Importance of PCFs: Fujitsu’s leadership recognized the significance of the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) initiative and the importance of supplier engagement, officially announcing their commitment during COP29. They also participated in several sessions to share the challenges encountered and the outcomes achieved. 

The Sustainability Management Committee emphasized that effectively communicating these efforts—both internally across the organization and externally—is crucial to maintaining momentum and support. By showcasing the value of these initiatives, which are advancing a sustainable supply chain through Fujitsu’s Uvance solutions and contributing to a net-zero future, the Committee reinforced the importance of continued commitment to sustainability. Their message demonstrated how clear, consistent communication can inspire collaboration and strengthen the company’s overall commitment to environmental responsibility. 

Looking Ahead

Expanding the Sphere of Influence: Fujitsu is adopting an ecosystem approach to amplify its impact by fostering collaboration among the private sector, industry initiatives, and government entities across Japan and the Asia Pacific. 

Fujitsu believes it can contribute in various meaningful ways to the GX-ETS (Green Transformation Emissions Trading Scheme), which was introduced in 2023 as a voluntary baseline-and-credit system in Japan and is set to become mandatory in 2026. The company is actively exploring practical opportunities to support this transition, including close collaboration with government bodies. 

Additionally, Fujitsu maintains strong communication and cooperation with the Information Industry Research Institute (III) and BCSD Taiwan, further reinforcing its commitment to sustainable initiatives. 

Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, Fujitsu aims to enhance its sustainability efforts with three goals: 1) verification of data to ensure accurate and reliable PCFs; 2) expand the number of suppliers sharing PCF data via their PACT-conformant solution; 3) combine PCF with internal data, then calculate the business impact and future simulations using AI. 

Additional Context 

Content adapted from the PACT Case Study “A Journey of Change: How Fujitsu uses PACT to partner with suppliers and drive value chain decarbonization,” published on carbon-transparency.org. The original case study is organized as a 10-milestone journey; the content below has been reorganized into the Member Positioning structure without altering the substance of the milestones. 

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