Panasonic - The Environmental Brand
Based on our Global Environmental Policy and our Green Plan 2010, we have also laid down specific key policy points for Europe.
In all its endeavours, Panasonic takes responsibility for preserving the natural environment to sustain life for future generations
We see ourselves at the forefront regarding global environmental activities. We have increased the efficiency in the way we use ecological resources by strengthening our environmental efforts in product design, manufacturing, use and recycling. As we continuously introduce environmentally friendly products and technologies, we are challenging the industry to do likewise. By doing so we win our customers’ confidence and enhance their quality of life. Our life-cycle approach over the 4 key stages is reflected and further illustrated across these pages.
Design Stage
Continuously seeking to develop environmentally friendly products, also called "Green Products". Our goal is to help build a sustainable society by accelerating the spread of products with higher environmental performance. Since we started the development of our Green Products Plan in 1997, we have worked to minimize the input of energy and resources and the output of waste and emissions throughout the products' life cycles. We constantly increase the ratio of Green Products across our entire product range. Our product development is based on criteria like universal design, which means easy-to-use for everyone, and minimization of environmental impact.
Manufacturing Stage
Achieving "Clean Factories" that satisfy environmental impact reduction along with business performance.
Panasonic has taken intensive steps in Europe and elsewhere to build and equip factories which will have a minimal effect upon the environment. We strive to create "true zero emission" factories in all aspects - not only in waste, but also in Green House Gases (GHG), use of chemical substances, and water during the production processes.
Use Stage
Providing products for an efficient use of energy and resources during their usage.
Panasonic's concept of Green Products was introduced with the aim of enhancing the quality of people's lives by improving our product functions, while at the same time reducing our products’ environmental impact over their life cycles. Particular focus is on preventing global warming, seeking effective utilization of resources and minimizing pollution risks involved in the use of chemicals.
Recycling Stage
Continuously improving the recycling rate of used consumer electronics and seeking development for better, easy-to-recycle product design.
We have entered an era where materials from end-of-life consumer electronics should be reused for new products as often as possible. Panasonic takes its recycling responsibility very seriously. We go well beyond simple environmental compliance, and have been engaged in voluntary recycling activities across a variety of products and in a variety of countries for over ten years. We intensively strive to find solutions how to best extract useful materials and components from used consumer electronics and how to design easy-to-recycle products.