After assuming several senior executive positions in Europe and Japan at Ricoh, Sergio Shigeo Kato was appointed General Manager of the Sustainability Management Division in 2015, where he was responsible for developing Ricoh Group‘s decarbonization declaration, driving Ricoh to become the first company in Japan to join RE100, and integrate SDGs values into business, leading the company to adopt ESG-oriented management. Since then, he has collaborated with companies across industries in Japan to resolve social issues related to climate change. He held roles as Co-Chair of the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP), Board Member of the World Environment Center (WEC) and Board Member of Global Compact Network Japan (GCNJ). He also served as member of the Advisory Panel of Experts on Climate Change established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Together with Takejiro Sueyoshi, he advocated for creating a network of non-state actors in Japan, and contributed to the establishment of Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) in July 2018.

He is an internationally recognized scientist on global sustainability issues and led the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework for human development in the current era of rapid global change. Professor Rockström is a leading scientist on global water resources, with more than 25 years experience in applied water research in tropical regions, and more than 150 research publications in fields ranging from applied land and water management to global sustainability. He is i.a. chair of the Earth Commission, a member of the leadership council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and elected member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Naoko Ishii has dedicated her career to safeguarding the global commons – our stable and resilient earth system, that serves as the bedrock of human prosperity and yet is under threat by the current economic system. In her efforts to bring about a transformation in this system, she became an inaugurating director for the Center of Global Commons at the University of Tokyo in 2020 with aim at building a multi-stakeholder coalition in Japan and forge partnerships with international allies for systemic change. Before U-Tokyo, she serves as CEO and Chairperson for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) from 2012 to 2020. She brings her expertise to global discourse by joining the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW), and Planetary Guardians, among others. Her earlier roles include Deputy Vice Minister of Finance in Japan, senior positions at the World Bank and IMF.

Chris Wheat has more than two decades of experience in environmental policy and politics, the private sector, and academia. As Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Policy Advisor for the City of Chicago, Wheat led the city’s environmental agenda and secured a Mayoral Executive Order committing Chicago to reduce its emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. He served as the Executive Director of the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and advised mayors and city officials on their climate strategies at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Most recently, Wheat served as Managing Director of Policy & Government Affairs at Sustainable Cities Fund.

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Chris holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Chicago Booth, where he also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Strategy. He resides in Chicago with his wife and two children.

Matt Webb is the Associate Director for Global Clean Power Diplomacy team leading E3G’s work on energy transition diplomacy.

Matt’s work focusses on driving high ambition outcomes on the diplomacy of delivery of multilateral and bilateral commitments to accelerate the global energy transition. His team provides support for high-profile international initiatives focused on accelerating the Energy Transition internationally, including the Powering Past Coal Alliance, Energy Transition Council and Clean Energy Transition Partnership.

Matt has worked at a number of UK Government departments on a wide range of energy and climate policies since 2003, including: Department for Energy and Climate Change, on energy efficiency, heat policy and 2050 Pathways analysis; Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in support of the demonstration of Carbon Capture and Storage; Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, implementing the Near Zero Emissions Coal collaboration on CCS with China, and the Department for Transport, working on cleaner fuels and vehicles and the environmental impact of aviation.

Most recently, he was Deputy Director in the International Climate Change division of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, and provided leadership oversight to a number of international initiatives aimed at driving action on the global energy transition, including the Green Grids Initiative and the Power Breakthrough.

Matt has a degree in Chemistry from Oxford University a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Cambridge.

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.

Yuriko Iwasaki is Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Unilever Japan. She leads corporate communications, corporate affairs and stakeholder engagement, supporting Unilever’s sustainability and business agenda in Japan. Prior to joining Unilever in 2023, she held communications and marketing leadership roles at IKEA Japan. She holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Tsukuba.

Kenta Oshima joined Kirin Brewery Company in 2003. He has built experience across the value chain, working in both beer production and raw material procurement.
He was later seconded to a bourbon distillery in the United States, where he led initiatives to improve production efficiency, enhance quality management, and strengthen brand value.
After earning his MBA, he returned to headquarters and engaged in the development of CSV (Creating Shared Value) strategy, ESG initiatives and CSV governance. He also worked in the pharmaceutical business, promoting sustainability and advancing non-financial disclosure.
He has been in his current position since 2025.

Ken Tanaka works for WWF Japan and serves as the secretariat of the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) that is co-organized with CDP Japan and Renewable Energy Institute. Before joining WWF-Japan, he worked the Fukuoka Prefectural Government and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in environmental conservation, especially in waste management and recycling including the work supporting the Japanese companies to develop overseas recycling businesses. After that, he worked as a science communicator at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, and he was actively involved in a diverse of projects cooperating with overseas museums, businesses, research institutions etc. He holds a Master of Science in chemistry from Kyushu University.

Kei Takeuchi joined Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd. in April 1989 and spent many years engaged in sales activities, proposing effective land utilization solutions to landowners. After serving as Branch Manager and General Manager of the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Sales Division, he was appointed Director in June 2014 and has held his current position since April 2023.Building on the Group’s core rental housing business, which provides homes and supports people’s lifestyles, he has been leading sustainability management across the Daito Trust Group. His initiatives include promoting the adoption of ZEH and LCCM rental apartment buildings, as well as advancing the Group’s distinctive approach to community development, which seeks to achieve both a decarbonized society and solutions to local community challenges.

Since joining CDP in 2020, Emi Matsukawa has led the expansion of CDP’s Supply Chain Membership program in Japan and headed the Sales & Marketing function. She currently serves as Market Director, CDP Japan, where she leads market strategy and business development in Japan. A frequent speaker at industry events, she has also served as an expert committee member for Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. She holds a degree in Russian Studies from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

LinkedIn: Emi Matsukawa

After graduating from University of Tokyo, Takejiro Sueyoshi joined the Mitsubishi Bank (MUFG Bank, Ltd.) in 1967 and worked for the bank until 1998. During his years with Nikko Asset Management as Deputy President, he was appointed as a member of the UNEP FI Steering Committee. In addition to the involvement in the UNEP FI activities in the Asia Pacific Region, he is giving many educational speeches about environmental problems and CSR/SRI in seminars, university classes and TV programs. Former member of the Council for Japan’s Prime Minister on Climate Change Policy and a Trustee member of Carbon Disclosure Project. Currently Vice-Chair of Executive Board of Renewable Energy Institute and Chairperson of WWF Japan.
His publications include “Ondanka Kogi　(A lecture on Global Warming)” (Toyo Keizai), “Yugai Rensa (Chain of Harmfulness)” (Gentousha), “Green New Deal” (Editor,Kankyou Shinbun), “Saishin CSR Jijyo( The Newest Book on CSR)”(Hokuseido)

Tomomi Hirakami joined Renewable Energy Institute in 2023. Previously, she worked for Sumitomo Corporation, where she was involved in the OCTG trading business and worked with Japanese steelmakers and global energy companies. She was also in charge of ESG and CO2 emission measurement.
At Renewable Energy Institute, she supports companies, local governments and NGOs to drive their engagement in climate change actions, as part of the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) secretariat.