Solutions for Local and Social Challenges

Lifestyle Research Centers(as ofJune,2012)

From energy-saving TVs in India to water-saving washing machines in China, we are creating locally-oriented products, designed with the local customers' needs in mind. One important way that we strengthen our locallyoriented product planning and development capabilities is through our global network of lifestyle analysis. These centers, based in key emerging markets including India, China, and Indonesia, assess customers' rapidly changing lifestyle requirements and trends in those markets. These centers collaborate with our Global Consumer Research Center in Japan, which responds to the requirements of each country, achieves further efficiencies, and enhances our capability to develop and design products- all while creating new markets.

Rendering of new factory under construction in
Jhajjar, Haryana State, India

We are strengthening our emphasis on developing and manufacturing products and solutions locally, establishing new factories in our leading emerging markets. For instance, our new manufacturing plant in India (still under construction) by Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd. (PI) is located in Jhajjar in the state of Haryana, and will start production partially in December 2012. This plant will cover 307,000 m2 and will have a production capacity of one million air conditioners, 400 thousand washing machines, and 25 thousand welding machines, with plans to expand to additional products in the future.

The Jhajjar factory will enable us to manufacture products locally, and it will also be an environmentally friendly model factory in the Group. We designed the plant to include water and sewage treatment, rain water harvesting facilities, and a recycling center. The plant will also reduce energy consumption through lighting initiatives. This includes the use of a transparent roof, which uses sunlight, as well as LED lamps and solar panels.

In addition to effective energy and water efficiency use, the Jhajjar factory will also start a waste recycling process at the time of its launch, and will be ISO 14001 certified within one year of its operation.

Investing in the social welfare of the surrounding community is also of high importance to us. Panasonic India has therefore made discussions with the state government of Haryana to include, for example, a training facility on-site using our high technologies that will be open to both employees and people living in the surrounding areas of the factory.

Our new plant in Extrema, the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, established by Panasonic do Brasil Limitada, will have a maximum annual manufacturing capacity of 500 thousand refrigerators and 200 thousand washing machines. The Extrema plant is also being developed as a "regional collaboration" initiative with engineers of Panasonic's subsidiary in Taiwan and engineers in Japan. By forming this link between Brazil, Taiwan, and Japan, the Extrema plant will be able to share, as well as obtain new technologies and best-practice development and production methods to reinforce its local manufacturing capabilities of refrigerators and washing machines.

Both plants also represent an opportunity for Panasonic to provide employment opportunities, as well as bring forth indirect economic benefits to local communities and businesses.

HOSPI can get on and off automatically by using
the elevator operation program

We position our healthcare business to be one of the nextgeneration core businesses, and our activities, products, and solutions today all share the fundamental goal of providing accessible, affordable healthcare for people everywhere.

We focus on the "robotization" of in-hospital work to reduce medical-related workloads. We developed the In-hospital Delivery Robot, or HOSPI, to deliver patient medication in a safe, timely, and accurate manner, which is one of the tasks in a hospital. By taking on the task of delivering medication, especially at night, when there are not enough nurses, pharmacists, and doctors, HOSPI enables hospital staff to focus more on providing quality care. We are using this technology at Matsushita Memorial Hospital in Osaka, Japan, and plan to launch this technology in other locations hereafter.

Life Innovation Container installed as a
tsunami surveillance system

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, rebuilding a safe and reliable power and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure has become a major local challenge in Minamisanriku Town, a coastal town greatly affected by the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami. NTT DOCOMO, INC., Japan's largest mobile communications operators, has been a leader in the reconstruction efforts, leveraging its mobile communication technologies and forming key partnerships to bring about a swift recovery.

One of those key partnerships has been with Panasonic. Our Life Innovation Container attracted NTT DOCOMO, INC. with its unique features of independent power supply solution with solar generation. To meet the local needs in Minamisanriku Town, we delivered a smaller, modified version of our Life Innovation Container, enabling NTT DOCOMO, INC. to provide its end users with a portable system of wireless communication, sea and river tide level monitoring capabilities, LED-based street lighting, and a self-sufficient back-up power supply. As part of a five-year field demonstration experiment, NTT DOCOMO, INC., with the support of Panasonic's Life Innovation Container, aims to test this solution and develop a model case for collaborative, total support ICT systems that meet local needs and standards while establishing a more robust foundation for minimizing the adverse impacts of future unexpected disasters in Minamisanriku Town and elsewhere.