Management of Chemical Substances at Factories

We have continued to promote cutbacks in the use, release, and transfer of chemical substances at our factories since fiscal 2000. Compared with the level of fiscal 1999, we reduced the amount of chemical substances used by 81% and also reduced the release and transfer of chemical substances by 60% in fiscal 2006. Particular attention was placed on substances that have a large amount of release and transfer since then, and as a result we reduced the amounts of key reduction-target substances by 46% in fiscal 2011 compared with fiscal 2006.

Reflecting international trends in chemical substance management, our reduction measures have focused increasingly on particularly hazardous substances from fiscal 2011. Under our Chemical Substances Management Rank Guidelines Ver. 4 for factories, we have focused our management on select chemical substances that are hazardous to human health and the environment. Moreover, we classified chemical substances based on their hazardousness and created a unique indicator, “Human Environmental Impact,”^*1 by specifying a “hazardousness factor” for each substance.

Based on data collected in fiscal 2011, we identified the targets of reducing the Human Environmental Impact by 2.5% in fiscal 2012, 5% in fiscal 2013, and 15% in fiscal 2019. In fiscal 2012, we improved the efficiency of removal/deodorization equipment, improved yields, promoted recycling, introduced substances with low solvents and hazards, and improved processes including reviewing the amount of substances used or the number of times for washing. These efforts enabled us to reduce the Human Environmental Impact by 5.3%.

• *1 Human Environmental Impact = Hazardous factor x Release and transfer amount.^*2
• *2 Release amount: Includes emission to air, public water areas, and soil.
  Transfer amount: Includes transfer as waste and discharge into the sewage system. Recycling that is free of charge or recycling where Panasonic pays a fee for treatment under the Waste Management Law is included in “Transfer.” (Different from the transferred amount reported under the PRTR Law.)

Governing laws and regulations (Japan):
-Regulations on the management of chemical substances (PRTR Act, etc.)
-Regulations on environmental conservation (environmental criteria under the Basic Environment Act, etc.)
-Regulations on occupational health and safety (Industrial Safety and Health Act)
-International treaties (Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, etc.)
Hazards to be included in the assessment target
-Hazards to human health:
Carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, reproductive toxicity, and acute toxicity
-Hazards to the environment:
Substances that might cause ecological toxicity, ozone layer depletion, global warming, or generate photochemical oxidants

• *8 Release/transfer of substances in the Management Rank per basic unit of consolidated sales＝release/transfer of substances in the Management Rank/consolidated sales