Proposing Green Lifestyles

Panasonic is committed to realizing green lifestyles to enrich people’s lives worldwide. Among changes to be made on a global scale in the future, the rapid increase in CO₂ emissions is a major issue in particular. According to reports made by the International Energy Agency (IEA), it would greatly contribute to CO₂ emissions reduction for people to make more efficient use of energy in their lives. Based on the recognition that people have various lifestyles, challenges, and values, Panasonic will realize better living with a sense of security, comfort and joy in a sustainable way by making lifestyle proposals from the viewpoint of customers.

In the following pages, we will classify the countries in the world into three categories and propose green lifestyles suitable for each category (which were announced at the Panasonic ‘eco idea’ Forum held in October 2010). The first category is “emerging countries,” such as India where per-capita CO₂ emissions are as low as about 1.4 tons^*1 at present, rapid increase in emissions is anticipated. For countries belonging to this category, we propose an “Eco-balanced Growth” Model.

The second category is “developing countries,” particularly “unelectrified areas.” For these countries, we propose a “Living Infrastructure Development” Model in a manner that is friendly to both the environment and society, mainly by using renewable energy sources.

The third category is “developed countries,” where CO₂ emissions will slightly decrease on a long-term basis. Nonetheless, in developed countries such as Japan, where per-capita CO₂ emissions are as high as about 10 tons,^*1 drastic measures must be taken to substantially curtail CO₂ emissions toward the internationally agreed goal of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050. For these countries, we propose a “Lifestyle Co-creation” Model through cooperation with consumers and local communities.

• *1 According to data provided by the World Bank (2006).