Can Smarter Data Infrastructure Help Cut Emissions? Hitachi Vantara Sets Its 2040 Goal

Hitachi Vantara, the data storage, infrastructure and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global value chain by fiscal year 2040 (FY2040). The company has also secured independent validation from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for its near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets, providing a framework for measuring progress against its climate goals.

The SBTi validation gives customers and partners greater visibility into the science underpinning Hitachi Vantara’s emissions targets and strengthens the accountability around its climate strategy. The development comes as the company focuses on helping organizations manage rapidly expanding data infrastructure requirements more efficiently, particularly as the growing adoption of AI increases demand for computing, storage and digital infrastructure.

The focus on emissions reduction also reflects the growing importance of energy efficiency across the data infrastructure ecosystem. A recent Congressional Research Service report noted that energy efficiency and conservation can help reduce electricity consumption and energy costs, while cooling systems can account for 38% to 40% of data center electricity use. With data and AI workloads continuing to expand, improving infrastructure efficiency can help organizations manage power and cooling requirements while advancing their broader emissions reduction and sustainability objectives.

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“Customers increasingly expect their technology suppliers to demonstrate that their climate commitments are credible and backed by action,” said Simon Ninan, senior vice president of business strategy, Hitachi Vantara. “Our commitment to achieve net zero by FY2040 sets a clear direction and holds us accountable to measurable progress. Independent validation of our science-based targets strengthens that commitment while building on the work already underway across our business to help customers improve efficiency, reduce power and cooling costs and make progress toward their own sustainability goals.”

Hitachi Vantara’s validated science-based targets establish near- and long-term milestones toward its FY2040 net-zero commitment. Under its near-term targets, the company has committed to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 98% by FY2030 from an FY2024 baseline year and reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions 51% per usable petabyte of storage capacity sold by FY2036. Under its long-term targets, the company has committed to reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions 97% per usable petabyte of storage capacity sold by FY2040, compared with the FY2024 baseline year.

The milestone builds on continued progress across Hitachi Vantara’s sustainability efforts. In FY2025, the company reduced Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 43%, largely driven by obtaining 50% of its energy from renewable sources. The company also expanded lifecycle sustainability initiatives across its Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One) data platform, including its block, file and object portfolios, while strengthening its greenhouse gas emissions governance, data quality and audit readiness. Hitachi Vantara is working to align its broader product portfolio with the Hitachi Eco-Design Management Guidelines.

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The company is also working to help customers improve the efficiency of their data infrastructure and reduce their environmental impact. VSP 360 Clear Sight, for example, gives customers greater visibility into energy use and carbon impact across their VSP environments and provides recommendations to improve operational efficiency. Recent customer results include:

• DestekBank reduced data center energy consumption by 25% and total cost of ownership by 20%.
• Malayala Manorama cut power and cooling costs by 70% and reduced data center rack space by 66%.
• Garanti BBVA estimates that its Hitachi Vantara storage systems consume approximately 30% less energy than competing systems.
• Aquiris deployed VSP One Block to support critical water treatment operations that process more than 110 million cubic meters of wastewater annually and collect more than 1 million data points per day, while helping reduce power usage and lower its carbon footprint.

“Our commitment to achieving net zero by FY2040 reflects both ambition and accountability,” said Courtney Hadden, sustainability director at Hitachi Vantara. “Sustainability is most effective when it is embedded into decision-making across the organization, supported by strong governance and informed by reliable data. Independent validation of our targets reinforces that approach, providing a clear, science-based framework to measure our progress and hold ourselves accountable over the long term.”

Together, these efforts reinforce Hitachi Vantara’s commitment to helping customers build more efficient, resilient and sustainable digital infrastructure while advancing measurable progress toward a lower-carbon future.