Our Commitments and Engagements

Ever since the founding of Panasonic, we have maintained a strong commitment to contributing to society through our business activities, based on the firm belief that a company is a public entity of society.

We strive to achieve these goals through many initiatives. Our Code of Conduct presents practical guidelines for our employees' day-to-day activities, and our stakeholder engagement practices further our mission to grow our business while benefiting society.

Our Code of Conduct

The Panasonic Code of Conduct provides practical guidance for our employees' day-to-day activities and embodies our management philosophy. Published in 22 languages, our Code of Conduct applies to all Directors, Executive Officers, and employees of Panasonic, and all domain companies and controlled subsidiaries. Each domain and Group company appoints a Director or an Executive Officer to ensure compliance with our Code of Conduct and carry out relevant education and training.

To view our Code of Conduct, visit:

Stakeholder Engagement

We believe that to run a successful company in a 21st century business environment, we need to include stakeholder expectations in our decision-making process.

We talk with stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, suppliers, governments and industry associations, NPO/NGOs, and local communities, in an effort to be more accountable and incorporate their opinions into our business activities.

Our commitment to stakeholder engagement is a vital part of achieving our business objective to expand our global reach.

The training courses we regularly provide for managing directors and managers in some regions contain a session on stakeholder engagement. For example, in Europe, we hold periodic meetings with regional management to share cases of engagement with NPO/ NGOs and others.

The table on the following page provides a sample list of our stakeholder engagements, communication methods used, and insights or outcomes gained.

Eco Stakeholder Round Table at Panasonic Convention 2012, Hamburg

Stakeholder	Communication Method	Insights and Outcomes
Customers	We conduct a global brand survey to share customer feedback horizontally between Panasonic Group companies and business domains. This global survey contains a set of questions that are relevant to the entire company, as well as a set of questions that are relevant to each market and product. We also employ our Voice of Customer (VOC) activity to hear our customers' views and opinions about our products and services. This feedback is delivered directly to our product planning process.	The ability to standardize and share customer feedback between Panasonic Group companies and business domains has been useful in helping us to bridge any gaps in global customer satisfaction.
Employees	We conduct an employee satisfaction survey annually to listen to and understand the needs and concerns of our employees. We also employ an "employee suggestion system" that receives more than a million suggestions annually from our employees worldwide on how they can contribute to making operational improvements through their daily jobs.	Overall employee satisfaction in Panasonic remains high despite tough global economic times, but employees feel that active communication with overseas employees has room to improve.
Investors	We communicate with our corporate investors regularly to provide them with updates of our financial and business performance. Every year, we ask 800 to 900 investors around the world to rate their willingness to invest in us-survey results are incorporated into our daily investor relations activities.	In November 2011, we communicated to investors about our growth strategies and outlook for our LED lighting business, one of our key business categories for energy savings initiatives. In addition, in May 2012, we held "Panasonic IR Day" and presidents of newly reorganized (as of January 2012) groups, which included 9 business domains and 1 business sector, explained their business strategies to securities analysts and mass media.
Suppliers	We hold seminars and lectures for our suppliers all over the world, including in Asian countries, as well as in China, on our procurement standards and expectations. We revised our Green Procurement Standard, giving priority to strengthen initiatives to reduce the environmental impacts of our entire supply chain with the cooperation of our suppliers. Through our ECO-VC (value creation) Activity, a program we began in FY 2010, we cooperate with our suppliers to develop proposals to streamline costs while also taking into account energy and resource conservation, procurement of recycled materials, and other environmental considerations.	Increasing societal expectations for supply chain responsibility will require a renewed focus on collaborating with suppliers to improve social and environmental standards throughout the entire supply chain.
Governments and Industry Associations	We participate in industry activities, including meetings and committees on environmental issues and activities of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, in various capacities. Information collected through these meetings and activities are fed back to the management every month. We host foreign governments who are interested in learning about technologies and innovations that may improve the lives of their citizens.	Our engagement with a Ugandan government delegation on the topic of clean energy led to the product development of our new solar LED lantern, which provides affordable, renewable lighting.
NPO/NGOs	We respond to inquiries to NPO/NGOs that have contacted us, so that we can understand their ongoing requests and expectations of us. We are collaborating with NGOs, as well as international organizations and industry groups to address matters related to "conflict minerals." (See page 59 for a full description of our approach to conflict minerals.)	Our participation in the OECD pilot program on conflict minerals has provided us with guidance and access to key stakeholder advice on how to develop an effective path forward.
Local Communities	We engage with local communities to understand local social, environmental, and educational needs, and to implement programs.	Understanding local community needs has helped us to prioritize our social investment contributions more effectively.

Global Advisors' Conference

The Brazil subcommittee of the Global Advisors' Conference held a two-day local meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 12 and 13, 2011. Panasonic Global Advisor Mr. Luiz Fernando Furlan, the former Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade of Brazil, and subcommittee members joined the conference.

Advisor Furlan delivered the keynote speech on economic trends in Brazil. In his speech, Mr. Furlan strongly asserted that "due to economic instability in Europe, Brazil is forecasted to experience a slowdown of its economic growth. However, the middle-income group is on the rise, and actual demand is increasing. In anticipation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, active investment in infrastructure is being planned. Therefore, we can expect to realize growth of our comprehensive solutions business and electronics products business for commercial items and systems. To create business opportunities, we must take actions expeditiously."

He also commented that Rio+20, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, will be a great opportunity for Panasonic, as a Green Innovation Company, to make an appeal to the government and relevant authorities. The outcomes of these Global Advisors' Conference and subcommittee meetings arereflected in our global strategy, as well as in our regional strategies and actions.

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