Our commitment to global sustainability

We are committed to the highest standards of global environmental sustainability in order to achieve A Better Life, A Better World. In 2017, the Panasonic Corporation formulated the Panasonic Environmental Vision 2050, to determine our own initiatives in responding to the expectations and requests from our stakeholders. According to the Environmental Vision 2050, Panasonic Industry Europe is working towards the creation and more efficient utilization of energy, which exceeds the amount of energy used, aiming for a society with a more sustainable lifestyle. We are developing technologies for improving energy-saving performances of products and innovate manufacturing processes to reduce the amount of energy consumption. Moreover, we are expanding energy-creation and storage businesses in order to contribute to new social systems such as a hydrogen society, to increase the use of clean energy.

To promote the effective utilization of resources, Panasonic Industry Europe aims for the sustainable use of resources through product recycling. Our factories in Japan and Belgium are the first two Panasonic factories that have successfully become CO2 emission free. This was achieved by installing renewable energy power generation systems, such as the photovoltaic power generation system and wind power generation system, procuring 100% renewable electricity, and utilizing carbon credits to offset CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.

At our headquarters in Ottobrunn, Germany, we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to reduce our daily environmental impact by applying modern technological solutions. As of September 2020, Panasonic Industry Europe is taking another step towards Panasonic Environmental Vision 2050, by installing 580 photovoltaic modules of the type “HIT N325” on the headquarters roof. From October 2020, these solar panels will produce 100% of the energy consumed by our activities in Ottobrunn, Germany.

• Installation of measurement pots and power meters
• Tracking of energy consumption and identification of improvement potentials
• Pursuing to reduce carbon footprint

Panasonic Industry Europe has been strongly committed to ethical conduct as described in the philosophy of our founder, Konosuke Matsushita, making human rights and safety an integral part of Panasonic's tradition.

Our "Code of Conduct" first established in 1992, embodies Panasonic Basic Business Philosophy in the form of clear, practical guidelines. The purpose is to globally share among all employees and business partners the Company's basic approach to responding to social demands regarding corporate social responsibilities (CSR).

To make this business ethics tradition clear to everyone, both inside and outside the PIEU group, we publish our compliance program activities on a regular basis. This is done to clarify the structure of our ethical environment in order to enable its preservation and dissemination on a company-wide basis.

Active participation in relevant industrial associations and local authorities boards is an essential part of our compliance policy. In the respective committees, relevant legal information is shared and exchanged but also industrial intentions and opinions are shared with legislative bodies.

PRODUCT COMPLIANCE

The Panasonic Group is well aware of the various restrictions imposed by European, national and international legislation. The main concern in Europe is currently compliance with the directives and regulations listed below. The list does not claim to be comprehensive.

• ELV (Directive 2000/53/EC)
• RoHS (Directive 2011/65/EC, 2015/863/EC)
• WEEE (Directive 2012/19/EU)
• REACH (Regulation 1907/2006/EC)

• POP (Regulation 2019/1021/EC)

In addition to legislative requirements, Panasonic Group has set its own, more stringent targets for products and procurement. Within our green procurement activity, we require and support our own factories and suppliers to establish an environmental management system and to expedite resource recycling, water & biodiversity conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We also request our suppliers to comply with ''Panasonic Chemical Substance Management Rank Guideline for Products'', which limits the use of certain chemical substances, ensuring compliance with applicable legislations, and reduces their environmental impact. For more details and information, please visit our Green Procurement page.

REACH Declaration following Article 33 for Panasonic Industry Europe products.

Product Specific RoHS and REACH Declarations.

Recycling Quota of Industrial Batteries 2023.

The ELV Directive (End of Life Vehicles) aims to reduce waste arising from vehicles, by making dismantling and recycling more environmentally friendly and by increasing reuse, recycling and recovery of ELVs and their components.

In accordance with the ELV Directive, all automotive components sold by Panasonic Industry Europe GmbH and Panasonic Electric Works AG do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium above the maximum concentration values allowed, unless explicitly noted and exempted by ELV Directive Annex II.

Panasonic voluntarily set corporate-wide internal limits, stricter than those imposed by the European RoHS directive. Our chemical management system requires declarations from our suppliers, as well as analytical proof on a regular basis, either by the supplier or ourselves. Based on these results we ensure that all our products conform to the RoHS Directive and Panasonics internal standards.

The RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive is enforced uniformly in each EU member state and currently restricts the use of 10 hazardous substances in various types of electronic and electrical equipment* (EEE).

The 10 restricted RoHS substances and the maximum concentration values tolerated by weight in homogeneous material are:

1. Lead (0,1%)
2. Mercury (0,1%)
3. Cadmium (0,01%)
4. Hexavalent chromium (0,1%)
5. Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) (0,1%)
6. Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) (0,1%)
7. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) (0,1%)
8. Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) (0,1%)
9. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) (0,1%)
10. Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) (0,1%)

These 10 RoHS substances are by company guideline forbidden within the whole Panasonic Group. Panasonic Industry and Panasonic Electric Works are taking continuous actions in assuring RoHS compliance through well-established environmental processes and survey of chemicals content by analysis (Green Procurement).

* See Annex I – Product Categories of EEE covered by RoHS Directive for details.

Annex I – Product Categories of EEE covered by RoHS Directive (2011/65/EC, 2015/863/EC)

1. Large household appliances
2. Small household appliances
3. Computing and communications equipment
4. Consumer electronics
5. Lighting
6. Power tools
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment
8. Medical devices and equipment**
9. Monitoring and control equipment**
10. Automatic dispensers 
11. Other EEE not covered by any of the categories above.

** Compliance deadline for Category 8 & 9 products for RoHS (2015/863/EC) phthalates restrictions is July 22, 2021

The WEEE (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by

• preventing electrical and electronic equipment being disposed of as waste
• minimizing the proliferation of hazardous substances such as mercury, and
• promoting the environmentally sound recovery, recycling and re-use of such waste.

Since 15 August 2018, the Directive has an ‘open scope’, that means that any electrical and electronic equipment that falls under the definition of EEE in Article 3(1)(a) is in scope of the Directive and shall be classified within the 6 categories set out in its Annex III.

The WEEE Directive applies the concept of (extended) producer responsibility, making producers responsible for their products at the end of the products’ lifetime, i.e. when they become waste.

Panasonic, as electronics producer, is

• ensuring the registration and regular reporting to the national recycling schemes of the EEEs put on the market,
• financing the effective and environmentally sound collection and recycling of these EEEs, when they become WEEE.

ANNEX III

CATEGORIES OF EEE COVERED BY DIRECTIVE 2012/19/EU

1. Temperature exchange equipment
2. Screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens having a surface greater than 100 cm 2
3. Lamps
4. Large equipment (any external dimension more than 50 cm) including, but not limited to:
   Household appliances; IT and telecommunication equipment; consumer equipment; luminaires; equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers; equipment for the generation of electric currents. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3.
5. Small equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm) including, but not limited to:
   Household appliances; consumer equipment; luminaires; equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers; equipment for the generation of electric currents. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3 and 6.
6. Small IT and telecommunication equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm).

EN L 197/58 Official Journal of the European Union 24.7.2012

PIEU has implemented effective processes to allow accurate product classification, labelling and availability of recycling data.

Panasonic Sustainability Report

Standards for calculating Environmental Performance Indicators 2020

Sustainablity Assurance Report 2020