Global Eco Projects

In November 2011, Panasonic Asia Pacific held the first regional ‘eco ideas’ Forum outside of Japan at the 2011 Singapore International Energy Week, an international event organized by the Energy Market Authority which Panasonic participated as a Platinum sponsor. The Forum focused on the challenges and opportunities of implementing energy management systems in a company and provided a platform for the different industries to deliberate and exchange ideas on how energy conservation program can positively impact the business bottom line. Apart from Panasonic’s presentation on our total energy solutions and energy conservation efforts in factories, the Forum also invited speakers from various government agencies, academia and industry experts to share best practices and current trends in the industries.

In the Asia Pacific region, environmental initiatives have been strengthened at our ‘eco ideas’ Factories in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. ‘eco ideas’ Factories are model factories that embody the environmental strategy of Panasonic and manufacture eco-friendly products with sustainable industry practices, and are utilized in outreach activities to raise the level of eco consciousness in the community.

Panasonic Appliances (Thailand) produces energy efficient refrigerators and washing machines that come with inverter and ECONAVI technology. In fiscal 2012, the company reassessed its production processes and managed to reduce its water consumption by 20% compared to fiscal 2011. To further green their manufacturing activities, the factory also looked at using raw materials with less environmental impact and reducing resource wastage.

Our major LCD television production site, Panasonic AVC Networks Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, has achieved energy conservation and high efficiency through the implementation of various energy saving, space saving and resource saving measures in their production processes. The factory also conducts regular energy conservation diagnosis to visualize the company’s energy consumption and implements measures to reduce CO₂ emissions in offices and distribution systems.

This ‘eco ideas’ Factory initiative will be expanded to other countries, such as Vietnam and India.

Panasonic announced Asia’s first total energy solutions project for public housing at Punggol Eco Town in Singapore in August 2011. This project is conducted jointly with three government bodies and will see Panasonic utilize and integrate its energy creation, storage and saving solutions at an existing public residential building to realize greener lifestyle. The test-bed project will be conducted over two years and aims to achieve zero emissions for common facilities and improve household energy management through visualization and Demand Response, which is the managing of consumers’ consumption of electricity in response to supply conditions.

Panasonic organizes a number of environmental education program in the Asia Pacific region. The Panasonic Kids School program in Malaysia, which started in July 2011, offers environmental lessons based on the global environmental education program created by Panasonic, factory tours at our ‘eco ideas’ Factory, and eco contests for the participating students of the program. The environmental lessons, held in August, were attended by 1,200 primary and junior high school students, with 200 students participating in the factory tour. In India, the environmental education program started in September 2011 and 100 schools across seven cities have enjoyed the environmental lessons to date, reaching out to 17,450 till date.

Panasonic group companies in Thailand hosted a pavilion at the Board of Investment (BOI) Fair, jointly organized by the Thai government and a number of corporations in January 2012. The pavilion presented our environmental vision and our efforts as a green innovation company in the Fair. The pavilion also exhibited our latest technologies and various businesses, including Panasonic’s history in Thailand. 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Panasonic’s business inauguration in Thailand and Panasonic took this opportunity to thank the country’s support of our business. The pavilion attracted many visitors, including several senior Thai officials.