Management of Chemical Substances in Products

Last Update: Aug 5, 2011

Identifying chemical substances in products

Participating in cross-industry initiatives

To contribute to the achievement of the global goals set at the WSSD, it is important for us to disclose and communicate information about the chemical substances used in our products across the supply chain, for which we must promote cross-industrial initiatives to establish and disseminate an effective system. Panasonic is a member of the Joint Article Management Promotion consortium (JAMP) together with about 370 major companies from various industries, such as chemical, component, and equipment manufacturers. We are proactively formulating, utilizing, and disseminating chemical substance management standards and systems through this organization.

JAMP

Partnering with suppliers to identify chemical substances in products

We have been utilizing our chemical substance management system called “GP-Web” since fiscal 2005. Through GP-Web, parts manufacturers have been providing information about the use of chemical substances in their products supplied to Panasonic. In July 2009, we revised the system referring to proposals made at the JAMP and started information communication based on common standards across the supply chain, including upstream manufacturers and our customers.

In addition, an e-learning site is open in Japanese, English, and Chinese for the purpose of efficiently requesting upstream suppliers, including both those who directly deal with us and those who do not, to provide us with necessary information. We now have about 10,000 registered users of this system. Users will learn Panasonic’s ideas on chemical management and how we communicate the information about the use of chemical substances in our products through JAMP’s system. To deepen our suppliers’ understanding, we offered eight explanatory meetings in five cities in China in which 1,973 individuals from 1,148 Chinese supplier companies attended in December 2010. In March 2011, we offered another session in China to provide training on practical operation using PCs. This training session was attended by 341 individuals from 238 Chinese supplier companies.

Explanatory meeting for Chinese suppliers to deepen their understanding on the handling of chemical substance information

Assessing the environmental impact of chemical substances

Panasonic began measuring chemical substances released into the environment from home appliances to assess their environmental impact, in cooperation with the Itsubo Laboratory, Tokyo City University. In fiscal 2011, based on the results of environmental impact assessments made on phosphorus flame retardants used in printed boards, we selected a flame retardant to reduce releases from discarded products, and developed basic technologies for the preparation of printed circuit boards with due consideration for their impact on biodiversity. Also, as part of measures to prepare information for the safe use of products in which substances of very high concern (SVHCs) are contained above specified levels, which is required under the EU REACH regulation, we have created a safety assessment document regarding the ceramic fibers used in some models of microwave ovens for professional use. We have concluded that the amount of the ceramic fibers released from the models is limited, and will therefore have minimal impact on human health.

Reducing the use of PVC resin

With regard to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin, there are concerns about the generation of hazardous substances through the inappropriate disposal of waste resin. Panasonic has been striving to reduce the use of PVC resin in the internal wiring of its products newly released in Japan from April 2009, and on a global basis from April 2011, in consideration of the difficulty of sorting PVC resin from end-of-life products.

In fiscal 2011, we reduced the use of PVC resin in the internal wiring of products newly released in Japan by 524 tons. Moreover, for TVs and other AVC products released in Europe, we replaced PVC resin with a substitute to an amount of 753 tons one year earlier than planned. For new products to be shipped in and after April 2011, we have decided to use a substitute for PVC resin mainly for AVC products. For home appliances, however, such replacement might cause quality problems and we need to make further technological examinations.