Iris Ohyama and ByWill Form Business Alliance for Sustainable Regional Economic Development

Iris Ohyama Inc. (Headquarters: Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture; President: Akihiro Ohyama; hereinafter "Iris Ohyama") and ByWill Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Yuichiro Shimomura; hereinafter "ByWill") have entered into a business alliance aimed at converting environmental value into J-Credits (*1) and supporting CO2 reduction investments, effective today. In addition to the recent surge in energy prices, the tightening supply and demand for LED lighting transitions due to the 2027 ban on the manufacture and import/export of fluorescent lamps, and the acceleration of decarbonization toward carbon neutrality, have made energy conservation and power usage optimization an urgent priority for companies and local governments. Many local governments, in particular, face the need to update aging public facilities, but struggle to secure funding for decarbonization-related investments—such as LED lighting upgrades—due to rising material costs and tight fiscal conditions. Consequently, there is a demand for concrete GX (Green Transformation) role models that turn environmental measures into new regional revenue sources and economic cycles rather than costs or burdens. Iris Ohyama entered the LED lighting business for corporate clients in 2010. Following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the company has developed diversified businesses with "Japan Solutions"—aimed at solving social issues in Japan—as its core management pillar. In its energy-saving solutions business, aiming to contribute to 7% (*2) of the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target, the company provides a wide range of solutions to address diversifying social issues. These include not only LED lighting but also "LiCONEX," a wireless control system that enhances lighting power efficiency; "Energy Saver," which optimizes air conditioning operation to reduce power consumption; and "ENEverse," an EMS solution that visualizes and optimizes energy use for various facilities. Meanwhile, ByWill provides one-stop support for the creation and sale of environmental values such as J-Credits (*1) for numerous local governments and companies, including partnerships with over 78 financial institutions nationwide. Its program-type project, "Kiraki Lab (*3)," aggregates CO2 emission reductions achieved through the installation of LED lighting equipment and handles everything from J-Credit (*1) certification to sales. Leveraging its extensive experience and know-how, the company provides comprehensive support, from complex application procedures that are often a hurdle for businesses and local governments to the secure trading of generated J-Credits (*1). Through this alliance, the two companies will provide concrete and sustainable GX solutions that solve the challenges of promoting decarbonization and securing financial resources faced by local governments by creating new value. By integrating Iris Ohyama's LED lighting technology with ByWill's know-how in environmental value creation, they will build a mechanism that transforms LED lighting upgrades from mere equipment replacement into environmental assets, circulating them as environmental value used for the decarbonization management of domestic companies via J-Credits (*1). This allows local governments to establish revenue models based on environmental value, reinvesting the proceeds into further environmental measures, thereby fostering a virtuous cycle of decarbonization and investment that promotes sustainable regional economic development. Iris Ohyama and ByWill will continue to propose solutions that contribute to solving social issues through the development of new products and measures that support power saving and energy conservation. ■ Overview of the Collaboration Scheme ＜Target＞ Local governments nationwide that install LED lighting, primarily from Iris Ohyama. ＜Roles＞