Factory Energy Conservation

In its medium-term management plan, Panasonic has set out a policy of reducing its total CO₂ emissions even if the production amount increases and is committed to reducing its global CO₂ emissions by 300,000 tons from fiscal 2007 levels in fiscal 2010. While we achieved our target one year earlier than planned in fiscal 2009, we will further accelerate initiatives to strengthen our energy-saving manufacturing structures.

We established the Corporate CO₂ Emissions Reduction Promoting Committee, which manages progress toward the achievement of the target on a monthly basis. Specifically, we are promoting the following measures through this committee: (1) visualization of energy consumption by promoting the METAGEJI^* initiative; (2) energy conservation diagnoses by an expert team; (3) innovation of production processes; and (4) group-wide sharing of reduction examples.

• * Visualizing energy consumption and implementing measurable reduction initiatives by introducing measurement instruments such as meters and gauges

In April 2008, we established the Corporate CO₂ Emissions Reduction Promoting Committee, which is chaired by the Directors responsible for the environment and comprises those Directors in charge of manufacturing at business domain companies. This committee checks the monthly progress made in the reduction of CO₂ emissions, examines related problems, and ensures the implementation of necessary measures. In addition, each business domain company has a similar committee to share information promptly among their factories across the world and implement the necessary measures.

• Methodology for calculating CO₂ emissions
  · The factors related to fuels are based on the Guideline for Caluculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions (version 2.2) published by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.
  · The factors for electricity purchased in Japan (kg-CO₂/kWh) are set at 0.376 for fiscal 2001, 0.425 for fiscal 2006 and 2007, and at 0.410 for fiscal 2008 onwards. The total CO₂ emissions are 3.93 million tons (fiscal 2007), 4.12 million tons (fiscal 2008), and 3.62 million tons (fiscal 2009) if the factors for electricity purchased in Japan are set at 0.410 (fiscal 2007), 0.453 (fiscal 2008 and 2009) based on the actual results.
  · The GHG protocol’ CO₂ emissions factors for each country are used for electricity purchased outside Japan.
• * CO₂ emission per basic unit = CO₂ emissions/(consolidated sales/Bank of Japan’s corporate goods price index [electrical machinery and equipment])