Sustainability journeys – Marubeni Corporation

Headquartered in Tokyo, Marubeni Corporation is a conglomerate involved in the import/export and transaction of food materials, food products, textiles, materials, pulp and paper, chemicals, energy, metals and mineral resources and transportation machinery. The Company's activities extend to power projects and infrastructure, plants and industrial machinery, finance and real estate development and construction. Additionally, Marubeni conducts business investment, development and management on a global level.

We reached out to Haruki Fukuoka and Seiji Fujita to learn more about Marubeni's efforts towards sustainability. 

Haruki Fukuoka leads Marubeni's Akita Offshore Wind Farm project and is the Assistant Manager for Marubeni Offshore Wind Development Corporation's Japan Business Department. 

Seiji Fujita is President and CEO of Marnix Corporation, a subsidiary of Marubeni which offers broking insurance for its overseas projects and specialty risks, as well to other corporates.

What led Marubeni to set up the Akita Offshore Wind Farm?

The attractive wind conditions in Akita prefecture, and cooperation and support by local authorities, companies and residents influenced Marubeni's decision to develop the Akita Offshore Wind Farm.

How does the Akita Offshore Wind Farm contribute to Marubeni's sustainability efforts?

Marubeni, as part of its efforts towards enhancing sustainability, issued a 'Notification regarding business policies pertaining to sustainability' in September 2018. This is in relation to its Coal-Fired Power Generation Business and Renewable Energy Generation Business, and with the intent of addressing the issues around global climate change. 

The Akita Offshore Wind Farm is aligned with this policy and is part of Marubeni's continuing focus of expanding its business activities in the renewable energy power sector around the world.

What led you to partner with Swiss Re on Offshore Wind Farms?

Swiss Re proposed insurance quotations and provided meaningful capacity as a reinsurer. As the Akita Offshore Wind Farm is the first largest commercial offshore wind farm project in Japan, Marubeni and Marnix looked to structure the insurance coverage sustainably to support and enhance the development of this industry in Japan. Swiss Re's professional approach to this project involved seeking a thorough understanding of the risk involved and providing insights that aligned our terms and conditions with global standards.

What challenges did you encounter in relation to the Offshore Wind Farms, and how has Swiss Re helped you address those challenges?
We faced some challenges and there was uncertainty in how to deal with earthquake risks when using the quays and yards owned by the Japanese government. These quays and yards are used when assembling the wind turbines on shore, and as they are maintained for emergency response purposes, the company renting such facilities needs to restore them as soon as possible if they are damaged. 

As the first offshore wind project in Japan, it was unclear how such risk should be insured initially. This, along with the shortage of earthquake capacity which have been taken up by mainly construction policy, were additional challenges we encountered. Swiss Re's innovative parametric solution offered us insurance coverage triggered by earthquake events which observed JMA SHINDO level 6 near the site. JMA SHINDO 6 is the level exceeding a requirement in the structural design of the supporting frames needed for assembly. This solution fully met the insured's needs.

What value, benefit, and impact has Swiss Re given you and your company?

Swiss Re has shared insights and the latest advisories around offshore wind farm risks. This included advice and/or alert on the potential loss on overseas claims cases, which has been well received due to its practicality and timeliness. In addition, we have found Swiss Re's risk knowledge, experience and advice very useful in helping us manage the project risks and avoid potential losses. 

How do you see the Marubeni-Swiss Re partnership moving forward?

We believe that we will continue to develop the relationship so as to contribute to the development of this industry.