Mr. Takaaki Ito has experience on implementing decarbonization projects through the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) with partner countries, as well as promoting the transition to circular economy, by disseminating advanced technologies and environmental infrastructure. He has also worked on negotiations at the G7, G20 and UNFCCC on climate change and environment. He currently works on exchanging policies and good practices on decarbonization with cities globally as part of Green Hub in Asia initiative. He also works on facilitating GHG emission reductions in large facilities in City of Yokohama.

Preeti is the Group Head of Sustainability for Asahi, a global food & beverage company with over JPY 2.8 Trillion/USD 19.6 Billion in annual revenues, operating in more than 100 markets with a globally recognized portfolio of brands that includes premium beers such as Asahi Super Dry, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Kozel, Pilsner Urquell, and Grolsch.
She leads the development and implementation of the global sustainability
strategy across all the markets & brands globally.
She is currently a board member of United Nations Global Compact & the Co-chair of the World Federation of Advertisers’ Planet Pledge.
She serves as the technical expert advisor on climate change for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the European Commission.
Preeti has been redefining and integrating sustainability across the strategic pillars of planet, people, profit, portfolio, purpose in various geographies for major corporations, institutions and non-profits for more than 20 years.
Prior to Asahi, Preeti consulted on sustainability for corporations and
governments as a director at a Nobel Prize winning consultancy and also worked with climate NGOs.
An active thought leader, she has been recognized for her sustainability work and leadership through multiple sustainability awards.
Preeti previously served as the Board Member for the Climate Group’s RE100
and Galvanizing the Groundswell of Climate Actions.

Since joining NYK Line, have been engaged in corporate sales and vessel operations within the Energy and Automotive Division. My journey in addressing climate change began in the early 2010s when I focused on environmental regulatory compliance in the environmental group. In 2021, was reassigned to the Decarbonization Group, where I oversee our response to EU ETS and carbon intensity regulations of FuelEU Maritime in Europe. Additionally, responsible for GHG accounting and sustainability disclosures for the NYK Group.

After graduating from the Faculty of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, Mr. Ushikubo joined Mizuho in 1989 and subsequently spent much of his career engaged in various aspects of industry research, both in and outside Japan, including as the General Manager of the Industry Research Department (Mizuho Bank, Ltd.). He was appointed Head of the Research & Consulting Unit in April 2020, where he has been overseeing Mizuho’s research functions, which are responsible for analyzing economic and financial markets and industry trends, and the group’s consulting functions, which span a wide range of areas from business strategy to the environment and energy, digital innovation, and social security.
Mr. Ushikubo has focused on maximizing Mizuho’s value provision as a unified group by integrating advanced expertise from within and beyond the unit, and by collaborating with financial functions within the group, in response to global trends such as increased interest in sustainability and digital transformation, as well as changing customer needs.
While still maintaining his existing responsibilities, in September 2022 he was appointed to the position of Chief Sustainability Officer (Group CSuO), a position charged with promoting sustainability initiatives throughout the entire Mizuho group. In this role, Mr. Ushikubo’s responsibilities include consolidating knowledge and enhancing collaboration across the group with respect to sustainability initiatives, formulating group-wide policies on sustainability, and developing and promoting sustainable businesses that contribute to solving issues faced by customers.

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.

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.

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.