Panasonic Sponsors Sustainable Brands 2010 Conference in Monterey, California

MONTEREY, Calif., June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Panasonic Corporation of North America announced today that it will be a Premium Sponsor of this week's Sustainable Brands 2010 Conference as part of the company's ongoing commitment to minimizing the company's environmental footprint while improving quality of life.  At this 4th annual conference, which focuses on building business and brand value by innovating for sustainability, Panasonic will highlight its plans to become the leading green innovations company in the global electronics industry by 2018.

Globally, parent company Panasonic Corporation has already exceeded the earlier goal (set in 2006) to reduce CO2 emissions by 300,000 tons by the year 2010.  Having achieved a reduction of more than 500,000 tons, CO2 emissions are now at pre-2000 levels. Now, moving to build on this and other sustainability achievements, Panasonic will invest $1 billion over the next three years in research and development to better meet the growing needs and demands of a green economy.

Panasonic has also continued to make great strides in developing energy-efficient products, for example, with the development of new plasma display panels (PDP) that achieve quadruple luminance efficiency when compared to models from two years ago.  Therefore, the 2010 PDP line can produce the same screen brightness as standard Panasonic models while consuming only a fraction of the electric power of those earlier models.  Panasonic's 42-inch class Plasma television models consume only 90-99 watts – less than a typical 100-watt light bulb.  Also, Panasonic's new 37-inch class LCD HDTV, using LED backlighting, draws only 73 watts.  On average, 2010 VIERA Plasma HDTVs use 40% less power than comparable 2009 models, which is achieved through the use of improved Plasma panel cell structures, discharge drives, short-stroke phosphors and other design advances.

"We are pleased to sponsor Sustainable Brands again, as an opportunity to share our environmental and energy vision with others, and we commend Project Kaisei for its ongoing efforts to keep our oceans pristine for generations to come," said Peter Fannon, Vice President, Corporate and Government Affairs, Panasonic Corporation of North America.  "Panasonic shares this goal, and is working to achieve it through our own Eco Ideas initiatives, to encourage our workplace communities and young leaders to devise solutions to help protect and preserve the natural environment."

Based in Secaucus, New Jersey, Panasonic Corporation of North America developed the annual "Creative Design Challenge", the premiere science and technology competition for New Jersey students, to encourage New Jersey's brightest high school minds to create a design for a remote-controlled robotic recycling device to help sort through debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Panasonic's own eco initiatives also include the company's nationwide recycling program, which already provides more than 600 free drop-off sites across the country—already in every state--making it convenient for consumers to properly recycle their Panasonic consumer electronics products. The company's new goal is to grow the drop-off network to include at least 800 drop-off sites by next year, with more sites to come.

Also, in 2007, Panasonic co-founded the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company LLC ("MRM") to build on the company's long-standing voluntary recycling program and extend its coverage to the recycling all of its consumer electronics products.  Since then some 30 million pounds of electronics have been responsibly recycled.  In 2009 alone, 13 million TVs were recycled through the program and this number is expected to grow this year. In November 2009, MRM won the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Plug-in to eCycling TV Recycling Challenge for its commitment to providing convenient and innovative recycling methods to dispose of end-of-life TVs. MRM was awarded the honor over other programs on the basis of its partnerships, innovation, longevity, consumer outreach, accessibility, pounds of TVs collected and ability to ensure that responsible recycling practices are followed. In making the award, the EPA cited MRM's "wide reach" and "different approaches to collecting TVs, including working with charities and self-storage units."  

Since Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita first emphasized the importance of "environmentally conscious development" more than 40 years ago, Panasonic has actively focused on improving its overall eco performance and worked to achieve high 'green' standards in its products. Visitors to Sustainable Brands 2010 will see examples of Panasonic's global 'eco ideas' environmental activities and learn more about the company's commitment to responsible environmental stewardship – in the U.S. and around the world.  

About Panasonic

Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America markets a broad line of digital and other electronics products for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC) of Osaka, Japan, and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Information about Panasonic and its products is available at www.panasonic.com. Panasonic is pledged to practice prudent, sustainable use of the earth's natural resources and protect our environment through the company's Eco Ideas programs. Information about Panasonic products is available at www.panasonic.com. Additional company information for journalists is available at www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

SOURCE Panasonic