Hotlines

To foster a corporate culture that is open and transparent, Panasonic has six hotlines based at the head office: corporate whistleblower, fair trade, equal opportunities, fair business, global, and auditing or accounting issues. The Panasonic Code of Conduct and company regulations clearly state that individuals submitting reports and seeking consultations for legitimate purposes will not suffer any negative consequences. The first head office hotline was the equal opportunities hotline (originally the hotline for women), which began operations in 1999. Since then, our hotlines have received almost 1,000 reports of problems and requests for consultations, including more than 150 in fiscal 2009. In addition, business domain companies, affiliated companies and regional overseas headquarters operate their own hotlines as required. To promote fairness in business dealings, we also accept reports of problems from suppliers outside Panasonic. Operating this system of hotlines allows us to discover and resolve problems promptly.