Lenovo Helps Japanese Pharmaceutical Firm To Advance Sustainability Targets With Lenovo CO2 Offset Services

For Japanese pharmaceutical wholesaler TS Alfresa Corporation, sustainability has become an essential part of its mission. In alignment with the goals of parent organization Alfresa Holdings to cut CO₂emissions to almost zero by fiscal year 2050, the company is working on tailored sustainability initiatives.

TS Alfresa, headquartered in bustling Hiroshima City, supports medical infrastructure across a region of around seven million people. The company employs approximately 1,100 staff, delivering everything from prescription pharmaceuticals and medical equipment to testing reagents.

Recent efforts to improve sustainability included switching its large delivery fleet over to electric vehicles as part of efforts to reduce CO₂emissions by 30% by the end of fiscal year 2030. However, that alone was not enough. Leaders at the company realized that modernizing its IT estate presented a significant opportunity to advance its sustainability goals.

Mr. Shinji Sawai, Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Administration Division at TS Alfresa, says: “We have a goal to address social and environmental issues, from waste to the supply chain, in the medical and healthcare industry to help contribute to a more sustainable society. With our technology estate a big part of our environmental footprint, we needed a partner that could offer a smart, trusted IT solution to reduce the impact.”

Remote working boost

With hundreds of laptops and desktops due for refresh, TS Alfresa saw an opportunity to modernize its device fleet and equip employees with the tools needed for hybrid work. As remote working increased, teams required devices capable of reliably running both Zoom video conferencing software and other collaboration tools. As employee workloads and mobility needs evolved, the company sought devices that could better support productivity on the move.

TS Alfresa selected Lenovo for its strong sustainability expertise and the compelling combination of performance and value offered by Lenovo ThinkPad and Lenovo ThinkCentre devices.

The company worked with Lenovo to introduce 620 Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 4 AMD laptops, 505 Lenovo ThinkPad L15 Gen 4 AMD laptops, and 15 Lenovo ThinkCentre M75q Tiny Gen 2 PCs. Powered by AMD Ryzen processors, the devices deliver strong performance at a lower cost, with the Lenovo ThinkPad L Series featuring AMD Ryzen 5 PRO processors ideal for video conferencing and live collaboration. Remote workers also benefit from Dolby Audio for clearer video calls, and integrated fingerprint scanners that help secure access while on the move.

Kenichi Nakata, Manager of the IT Planning Department at TS Alfresa Corporation, commented, “The high-quality design of the Lenovo devices was one of the reasons behind our choice. Lenovo ThinkPad laptops are sleek and user-friendly, which has a positive impact on employee engagement. We also appreciated Lenovo’s extensive support services. We think these are unmatched by other companies, including the breadth of warranty coverage for repairs and laptop battery replacement service.”

A simpler path to support sustainability initiatives

To support TS Alfresa’s sustainability goals, Lenovo CO₂ Offset Services were used to help address the estimated carbon footprint associated with the company’s device fleet. Lenovo calculates estimated CO₂emissions across the whole device lifecycle – from manufacturing, shipping, and packaging to energy use and end-of-life recycling.

Lenovo then purchases carbon credits through its partner ClimeCo, supporting verifiable environmental initiatives such as forest conservation and renewable energy initiatives.

“CIOs are increasingly focused on delivering business performance and sustainability progress in parallel,” said John Stamer, Vice President and General Manager, Global Product and Sustainability Services at Lenovo. “To achieve this, they need IT solutions that are designed for impact and help turn sustainability commitments into tangible results. For companies with ambitious sustainability goals, Lenovo CO₂ Offset Services provide a simple and transparent way for organizations to invest in verified climate action projects associated with the estimated carbon footprint of their IT hardware.”

Supporting broader sustainability efforts

Mr. Shinji Sawai said that the offset services would help TS Alfresa Corporation contribute to the wider group’s sustainability goals: “Our parent company holds a bi-yearly meeting where each group company shares their efforts and results in reducing CO₂ emissions.”

The deployment of 1,140 devices was paired with Lenovo CO₂ Offset Services covering approximately 144 tons of estimated CO₂ emission associated with the devices over a defined period. This amount is equivalent to emissions from driving 366,705 miles in an average gasoline-powered vehicle or charging more than 11 million smartphones*. This represents nearly a quarter of TS Alfresa’s 2024 fiscal year target of 606 tons.

Over the course of the devices’ four-year lifecycles, the company expects Lenovo CO₂ Offset Services to cover an estimated total of 577.5 tons of CO₂emissions through investments in verified climate action projects.

“To make our environmental efforts visible and help raise employee awareness, we have branded our new devices with bright green CO₂ offset labels and provided them with documentation to explain the initiative,” said Eiji Kono, General Manager of IT Planning, TS Alfresa.

With the group focusing on long-term sustainability goals, the project was viewed by executives as an important contribution to the organization’s broader environmental strategy. “This large-scale carbon offsetting initiative is of great significance to the environmental strategy of the entire group,” said Mr. Shinji Sawai, Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Administration Division, TS Alfresa.

*CO₂ equivalent to 114 tons worth of emissions, calculated with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator February 2026. https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results