Building the Bridge Between Global Standards and Regional Energy Markets
Hourly Matching is becoming a central concept in the next generation of clean electricity procurement. Global initiatives such as the GHG Protocol, EnergyTag, the UN 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, SBTi, and The Climate Group are moving toward higher temporal granularity, greater transparency, and more credible accounting for carbon-free electricity.
For Asia, this transition carries particular significance.
Many Asian power markets are still developing the institutional, digital, and market infrastructure required for granular electricity accounting. Renewable electricity certificates, Guarantees of Origin, Granular Certificates, and hourly electricity data are not yet consistently available across the region. At the same time, electricity demand is rising rapidly due to data centers, industrial electrification, EVs, batteries, hydrogen, and advanced manufacturing.
This creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
Hourly Matching can help Asia move beyond annual renewable procurement and build a more transparent, flexible, and investment-ready clean electricity system. By matching electricity consumption with renewable or carbon-free generation on an hourly basis, companies, utilities, investors, and policymakers can better understand where flexibility, storage, demand response, grid investment, and new clean power supply are needed.
In Japan and across Asia, the issue is not only how to comply with emerging global standards. It is also how to translate those standards into practical implementation pathways that reflect regional power systems, market rules, certificate schemes, and industrial realities.
For export-oriented economies, this is increasingly linked to international competitiveness. Global supply chains in sectors such as steel, automotive, semiconductors, batteries, chemicals, and data centers are beginning to require more credible evidence of clean electricity use. As product carbon footprint methodologies, Scope 2 accounting rules, and EU-related policy frameworks evolve, companies in Asia will need to demonstrate not only how much renewable electricity they procure, but when and where that electricity is generated.
The Role of HMJ
The Hourly Matching Promotion Council, Japan (HMJ) was established as a non-profit platform to accelerate the adoption of Hourly Matching in Japan and the wider Asian region.
HMJ serves as a bridge between global initiatives and regional implementation. We engage with international organizations, standard-setting bodies, corporations, investors, technology providers, and energy market participants to support the development of practical, credible, and regionally appropriate Hourly Matching practices.
Our work focuses on three areas.
First, HMJ monitors and analyzes international developments related to Hourly Matching, 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy, Granular Certificates, Scope 2 accounting, and corporate clean electricity procurement. This includes close attention to initiatives such as the GHG Protocol, EnergyTag, the UN 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, SBTi, The Climate Group, and related policy discussions in Europe, North America, and Asia.
Second, HMJ provides a knowledge platform for Japan and Asia. Through articles, briefings, case studies, and market updates, we aim to make global developments understandable and actionable for regional stakeholders.
Third, HMJ supports practical implementation. Companies need to understand their hourly electricity consumption, assess their current matching performance, identify gaps, and evaluate options such as PPAs, onsite generation, battery storage, demand flexibility, diversified renewable portfolios, and emerging certificate solutions. HMJ facilitates this process from a vendor-neutral perspective.
Hourly Matching is not only an accounting refinement. It is a framework for connecting clean electricity procurement with real power system transformation.
Asia will play a major role in the next phase of global decarbonization. HMJ seeks to contribute to that transition by connecting international standards with practical deployment across Japan and Asia, and by fostering dialogue among policymakers, corporations, investors, and experts working toward more credible carbon-free electricity systems.