December 02, 2025
【Sustainable Japan Grand Prize】Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.
President and Representative Director, Group CEO
The Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group operates a diverse range of businesses, including urban transportation centered on Hankyu Railway and Hanshin Electric Railway, real estate (residential, office, commercial facilities, hotels), entertainment such as the Hanshin Tigers baseball team and the Takarazuka Revue, as well as information and communications, travel and international logistics. Our mission is to support and enrich people’s lives creating communities where people want to live and visit.
For over a century, we have built initiatives that we are committed to passing on to future generations. Guided by our 2020 Sustainability Declaration, we have set goals in decarbonization, biodiversity and resource circulation. We are enhancing transportation networks and developing environmentally friendly facilities to contribute to carbon neutrality and nature-rich urban development. Notable achievements include the 2010 opening of Settsu-shi Station, Japan’s first carbon-neutral station, and the launch in 2020 of the SDGs Train, operated with 100% renewable energy. In April 2025, we became the first railway operator in Kansai to achieve carbon-neutral operation across our entire network.
We are also advancing renewable energy initiatives, including installing solar panels on our facilities and utilizing corporate power purchase agreements at railways, the Takarazuka Grand Theater and Hanshin Koshien Stadium. Other projects include the Hanshin Tigers’ Zero Carbon Baseball Park, the first baseball stadium in Japan to receive ZEB (zero-energy building) certification, and the development of Grand Green Osaka.
We will continue to pursue sustainable, environmentally conscious urban development while enhancing our corporate value.
Reason for the award:
For over a century, Hankyu Hanshin Holdings has built communities where people aspire to live, expanding from its railway business into real estate, entertainment and culture. Since 2009, the group has further underlined its role as a member of local society through the Mirai no Yume Machi Project, a wide-ranging social contribution initiative that fosters growth together with communities.
Guided by its Sustainability Declaration, the company has set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets and promoted decarbonization through a shift to rail transportation and the development of environmentally conscious facilities. Landmark achievements include Japan’s first carbon-neutral station in the city of Settsu, the SDGs Train powered entirely by renewable energy, and Kansai’s first rail network to achieve full carbon neutrality. Beyond transportation, it has introduced innovative projects such as the Zero Carbon Baseball Park for the Hanshin Tigers’ farm team and the upcoming Grand Green Osaka, an urban development that integrates expansive green spaces into the city center.
By linking transportation, real estate and cultural activities into a unified vision, Hankyu Hanshin has created a forward-looking model that balances corporate value with sustainable growth. Its pioneering initiatives exemplify how companies can partner with communities to build resilient and environmentally responsible urban futures.
