The year 2018 will be a significant one for Panasonic Corp for two reasons: firstly, the company will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the electronics business and secondly, it will harvest the fruits of its Green Plan 2018, launched in October.
Company president Fumio Ohtsubo described Green Plan 2018 as an environmental initiative that will steer the company and accelerate its efforts towards fulfilling its goals in caring for the environment.
“Global environmental issues are clearly the biggest social issue the entire world faces. And Panasonic has been working hard to contribute to society as these issues are also our key priority.
“If Panasonic is unable to contribute to solving global environmental concerns, the very meaning of our existence would be in question. As such, Panasonic must be the forerunner in the industry and take a lead in the green revolution,” said Ohtsubo to visiting journalists in Japan recently.
To attain its vision as the number one green innovation company in the electronics industry by 2018, two specific areas have been identified, Green Life Innovation and Green Business Innovation. The Green Life Innovation plan helps realise a green lifestyle by introducing eco-friendly products to consumers while the Green Business Innovation points to Panasonic’s efforts in minimising environmental impacts of its operations and promoting its green business style to the wider community.
In going green, Panasonic intends to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, recycle resources, minimise water usage, reduce the risks posed by chemical substances, identify the impact on biodiversity and contribute to conservation at its factories.
Ohtsubo said by 2018, the company will increase the percentage of eco-conscious product sales to 30%.
Ohtsubo said as a responsible electronics company, the go-green initiative has to start from within its perimeters and this was already practised by employees at production centres.
“We have been working hard to reduce CO2 emission from our production line. But we would also like to extend our efforts to help CO2 reduction in people’s lifestyles as a lot of CO2 emissions happen when electronic products are used by consumers,” he said.
He said Panasonic shouldered the responsibility of delivering convenient, comfortable and enjoyable products to the world while at the same time, contribute to reducing CO2 emissions in households where their products were used.
He said the company targeted to reduce CO2 emissions in production activities and product usage by 120 million tonnes in 2018.
He said in trying to reduce CO2 emissions, the source of energy used in production processes play a key role. Panasonic has set its sights on fuel cells and solar cells as energy generators. Solar power generation systems generate electricity by converting sunlight and because it does not use fossil fuels, it does not emit CO2 in the electricity generation process.
Fuel cells, on the other hand, generate electricity using city gas (hydrogen) and air (oxygen). The heat that is generated at the same time is used for water and floor heating systems.
Mindful of the possible depletion of natural resources, the company recycles as much material as possible from its used products. This is done at the Panasonic Eco Technology Centre in Kato City in Hyogo Prefecture, Tokyo.
New uses
A visit to the Panasonic Eco Technology Centre is an eye opening experience as visitors can observe how old electrical products are recycled and their parts, reused.
This factory is more than just a recycling centre; it is also an educational facility for adults and children alike.
Set up in 2000 as the Matsushita Eco Technology Centre, the facility started off with the recycling of end-of-life home appliances such as televisions, air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators. Recycling for a better tomorrow is what this place is all about. Visitors can observe the many processes carried out to retrieve precious resources that can be recycled – from manual dismantling with workers using gloved hands to source out precious parts to automation using the latest technologies.
Common home electrical appliances are torn apart to yield reusable materials: panel glass and funnel glass from televisions; plastic and iron from washing machines and dryers; iron, copper and aluminium from air conditioners; and ozone-layer-depleting gases (chlorofluorocarbons) from refrigerators.
Take for example, a washing machine or clothes dryer. After it has been dismantled by hand, and the salt water inside (used for balancing) is drained, the process of crushing and sorting takes place. The recovery of iron and plastics is done by magnetic force, wind power and eddy currents. The plastic materials are then crushed finely for the resins to be extracted and recycled. The recovered plastics are used to make the bottom frames of new washing machines as well as outdoor tables and chairs. Iron and mixed metals from washing machines are also recycled for other purposes.
In air conditioners, metals such as iron, copper and aluminium are reused to make heat exchangers and casting components of compressors.
The centre has received numerous accolades for its work in reducing waste. In 2001, it received the Excellent Factory Prize by Nikkei Inc.
It’s expertise in handling recyclable items was obvious when it obtained a licence as an industrial waste disposal contractor in 2003. That same year, it received the Wastec 2003 award, followed by the President of Clean Japan Centre award in 2004.
In February 2008, it developed an organic material decomposition recycling technology based on catalytic reactions. Months later in October, Matsushita Eco Technology Centre changed its name to Panasonic Eco Technology Centre. That month, it recycled five million units of appliances in total and added another feather in the cap with the Resource Recycling Technology/System Prize and The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau Chief’s Prize.
