Online Environmental Forum Organized by Hitachi R＆D Group

Transitions to Sustainable Futures

7 June 2021

Time : 10:00 - 11:30 Tuesday, June 22 - Japan Standard Time (JST) UTC+0900*Equal to: 02:00 - 03:30 Tuesday, June 22 - British Summer Time (BST) UTC+0100

21:00 - 22:30 Monday, June 21 - Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) UTC-0400

Form：An online forum（a Zoom webinar）
Anyone can join this online forum for free of charge if you register athttps://va.apollon.nta.co.jp/hitachi_rd_transitions/joho?MODE=top&language=1
Japanese-English simultaneous interpretation will be provided in this forum.
Please register early as the number of attendants is limited.
The registration will be closed at 23:59, Sunday, June 20 (JST).

The current global crises – climate change, biodiversity loss, and the pandemic – are posing a fundamental
challenge for humanity. We need to shift away from our nature-declining “business as usual” and reorient
ourselves towards building sustainable socio-technical systems. Drawing on the concept of sustainability
transitions, this forum invites experts in policies, design, and engineering to discuss the meaning of climate
challenges for Japan and innovative approaches into the anticipated systemic transformations.

Yukari Takamura

Professor,
Institute for Future Initiatives,
The University of Tokyo

Terry Irwin

Director,
Transition Design Institute,Carnegie Mellon University

Yosuke Ushigome
Director /Creative Technologist,
Takram London

Tomoko Suzuki

Corporate Chief Researcher /Environment Project Leader,
R&D Group, Hitachi

1. Opening
2. Transitions to Sustainable Futures

Yosuke Ushigome
Koji Sasaki
Chief Researcher at Hitachi R&D Group

3. Discussion and Q&A session

Yukari Takamura
Terry Irwin
Tomoko Suzuki

Speakers

Yukari Takamura

Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo
She specializes in global environmental, climate and energy laws and governance. She hasserved as member of various governmental advisory bodies in Japan, including Science
Council of Japan, Central Environmental Council, and Procurement Price Calculation
Committee for Feed-in Tariff Scheme for Renewable Energy. She also serves the expert
meeting established under the Prime Minister to develop Japan’s long-term strategy fordecarbonization. She has numerous publications on environmental and climate laws andgovernance.

Terry Irwin

Director, Transition Design Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Terry Irwin is Director of the Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University andfrom 2009 until 2019 she was the Head of School. Terry has been teaching at the University
level since 1986. Her research is in Transition Design, a new area of design study, practiceand research that argues for societal transition toward more sustainable futures. Terry, alongwith Gideon Kossoff and Cameron Tonkinwise developed Transition Design and integrated
into programs and curricula at the School of Design in 2014.

Yosuke Ushigome

Director, Creative Technologist, Takram London
His primary interests are centered around emerging technologies. He probes future visions
that promise, reveal cultural and political mechanisms behind them, and illustrate the insights
through making physical and digital prototypes. By doing so, he aims to facilitate in-depth
understanding of the implication of emerging technologies and encourage better-informed
decision-making on our future. He received an MA in Design Interactions from the Royal
College of Art.

Tomoko Suzuki

Corporate Chief Researcher / Environment Project Leader, R＆D Group, Hitachi
Since she joined Hitachi Research Laboratory in 1992, she has been in charge of researchon environmentally friendly systems such as a hydrogen production system, a waste power
generation system, and a ballast water purification system. In 2018, she launched researchon business engineering describing business scenarios to expand Hitachi’s business
opportunities for customer co-creations starting from their issues. Currently, she is leading
the Environment Project whose missions are to build an R&D strategy focusing on solutions
for societal issues and commercializing environmental businesses.

Transitions to Sustainable Futures
Website URL
https://sustainability-transitions.com/en