SUNDAY BRUNCH

SUNDAY BRUNCH
Corporate greening
Japanese electrical giant positions itself and products to aid efforts against global warming

Published on December 16, 2007


Over the past two years, Akira Nakamura, a general manager at Osaka-based Matsushita Electric Industrial, has championed a wide range of ecologically friendly ideas around the world for the Japanese electrical-appliance giant's Panasonic brand.

In October this year the firm, with fiscal 2007 sales of ฅ9.1 trillion (Bt2.7 trillion), pledged to reduce its annual carbon monoxide (CO2) emissions by 300,000 tonnes, from 3.98 million tonnes last year to 3.68 million tonnes in 2009, by improving productivity at manufacturing centres worldwide. It also increased efforts to conserve resources and reduce waste.

"Our philosophy is to contribute as a socially responsible entity to help achieve more sustainable development. Hence, our vision for the 21st century is to help realise the so-called 'ubiquitous digital network society' and coexist with the global environment," Nakamura said.

"As reported by the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change], human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions are the main cause of global warming. The percentage of consumers who take the environment into consideration at the time of purchasing electrical products has risen significantly, from 77.3 per cent in 2004 to 79.7 per cent in 2005 and 85.9 per cent in 2006."

Nakamura, who joined the 89-year-old Matsushita group in 1973 after graduating from Yamaguchi University's faculty of economics, said the company's eco-ideas were aimed at its own manufacturing activities and products and at "everybody, everywhere". Its use of energy-conserving equipment on the one hand and production innovations on the other have reduced CO2 emissions from manufacturing by 60 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.

The firm also has adopted "green logistics" by cutting down transportation distances to the market and has integrated its manufacturing sites to reduce space so that there are lower CO2 emissions. Energy conservation at offices and more use of information technology have also helped reduced emissions.

Nakamura, who was previously a board member of Matsushita Electronic Components, said the firm had also stopped using lead-based solder in manufacturing as lead is toxic, and had also introduced lead-free display devices to replace cathode-ray tubes.

As for consumer products, the company has introduced a new model of washing machine that uses 70 per cent less power and cuts water consumption by 89 litres by using a tilted drum and an energy-saving heat-pump drying system. A new fluorescent lamp that lasts 10 times longer and uses 80 per cent less electricity is also now on the market.

Panasonic has also tapped into the market for eco-friendly houses, in which a futuristic lifestyle that highlights energy conservation, creativity and ease of use is based on the concept of living in harmony with the global environment. Incorporating the latest technology in home electronics, fuel-cell co-generation using natural gas, solar and wind energy, as well as a wide range of sensors, the house of the future for a family of four will use 40 per cent less energy compared to the average level in 1990.

The eco-friendly house also features a smart entry and security system in which a sensor installed near the entrance detects every single visitor and signals the door to open automatically when a family member carrying a mobile phone with the right RFID tag embedded approaches.

The house also has an iris-recognition system as an additional security feature, since people's eyes have unique pigment patterns that are difficult to falsify.

Nakamura said Matsushita has also supported the expansion of eco-friendly activities worldwide, such as Love-the-Earth citizens' campaigns, in which households are encouraged to keep eco-account books, use reusable bags and volunteer for environmental-protection activities.

Panasonic has committed to spend ฅ45 billion over the next three years on research and development to pursue its eco-friendly objectives. Nakamura is confident that the need to save the earth from the worsening effects of climate change caused by humans will continue to be a major global effort for years to come, making it good business sense for the brand to tap further into the market of environment-conscious consumers.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun