Our Unchanging Management Philosophy and CSR

Our mission at Panasonic is to contribute to the advance of world culture by working to improve society through the products we produce and sell. Panasonic's Basic Management Objective clearly expresses the purpose of our business activities as well as the purpose of our existence. Since the company's founding in 1918, this management philosophy has formed the foundation of all our business activities. As the key element of this philosophy, we have the basic concept of the "company as a public entity of society." All the management resources of a company–including the people, money, and commodities–all come from society.

Basic Management Objective

While the company engages in business activities using the resources entrusted by society, it also develops along with society, and so the company's activities must be transparent, fair, and just.The entire Panasonic Group takes care to ensure that our management and business activities are appropriate for "a public entity of society," and we will continue to implement this management philosophy through manufacturing as our primary business. This is also the very essence of the Panasonic Group's CSR. As we stand at historical turning points in many areas today–society, economy, global environment–the Panasonic Group will continue to promote CSR management globally and to contribute to the future of society and the world by proposing the lifestyles of tomorrow.

Konosuke Matsushita,
founder of Panasonic Corporation

"There is much discussion today regarding ’social responsibility,’ but while the meaning of that concept can be wide-ranging depending on social conditions at a particular time, the fundamental social responsibility of a corporation, in any era, should be to improve society through its business activities. It is extremely important to manage all business activities based on this sense of mission."

-Konosuke Matsushita, Founder of Panasonic Corporation, My Management Philosophy (issued in June 1978)

Panasonic's CSR Policy

We (Panasonic Corporation and its subsidiaries) follow our management philosophy of the company as a public entity of society as we work towards maintaining a harmonious balance among our customers, society, and the global environment and contribute to the achievement of a sustainable society.
As a global company with operations reaching into every corner of the globe, we respect human rights, comply with laws and regulations and do our best to understand, acknowledge and respect the diverse cultures, religions and mindsets of people in the different countries and regions where we conduct business and act with integrity.
In addition to listening to stakeholders' opinions, we conduct our business activities transparently in order to be accountable. In short, we must continue to be fair, truthful, honest and swift in taking action.

Panasonic's 100^th Anniversary Vision and CSR

In order to realize our 100^th anniversary vision, which is to become the No. 1 Green Innovation Company in the Electronics Industry, we will conduct our business activities under the idea of "Eco & Smart Solutions" through accumulating customer value creation.
In order to truly "serve our customers first," it is also essential to carry out our business activities in a fair and honest manner, and the resulting profit is our reward for serving our customers.
Customers would not feel comfortable if they purchase products or services from a company that disregards CSR. In other words, it would be quite impossible for such a company to fulfill its mission of serving customers. Ensuring CSR and making a profit are not conflicting concepts. They both go hand in hand in serving customers.

We highlight important aspects of our global CSR approach as "Priorities".

Our Priorities

In fiscal 2012, we continued to make progress on our "paradigm shift for growth," promoting such efforts as expanding our global business in emerging countries and shifting from a "Japan-oriented" to a "globallyoriented"company. By deepening our understanding of CSR risks and opportunities and intensifying our ability to meet the expectations of our stakeholders, our CSR priorities serve to support our core business objectives.

In this context, we highlight important aspects of our global CSR approach that will require new thinking, capabilities, and collaborations in the months and years ahead. Emphasis on these areas will serve as a foundation for us at Panasonic to fulfill our responsibilities as a global enterprise.

Ethics and Integrity

As we continue to shift the balance of our business to global markets, understanding local differences in ethics and integrity risks will be important to our success. One of the ways in which we address this issue is by increasing the uptake of our code of conduct infrastructure in all locations where we do business.

Product Development

Understanding the sustainability needs of our local customers is a key factor in developing innovations that will drive our business growth, particularly in our emerging markets. We continue to meet the demands of our local customers and strengthen our development, manufacturing, and sales activities.

Diversity

To become a successful global enterprise, we must have a global workforce. In order for our talent to be reflective of our customers and stakeholders, we carry out a number of important initiatives to improve the diversity of our employees, who understand not only the global aspects of our business, but also local needs and expectations.

Human Rights

With the introduction of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in March 2011, new importance is being placed on how companies "respect" human rights in the conduct of their business and operations. As we continue to expand our locallyoriented product development, manufacturing, and sales activities globally, we must strengthen our efforts to assess, manage, and integrate human rights issues- from labor rights to health and safety to product safety and use-into our day-to-day decision-making process.

Supply Chain

Responsible supply chain management is growing in importance among our stakeholders, making it all the more important that we integrate CSR into our procurement process. As we further expand our global operations and presence, we will face myriad challenges in maintaining the levels of social and environmental responsibility that will ensure our successful and sustainable growth.

Corporate CSR Meeting

Chaired by the president and attended by related directors and executive officers, this meeting is held once a year to discuss global trends in CSR, review our dialogues with stakeholders and evaluate initiatives that would enhance our approach. In fiscal 2012, the meeting convened to focus on the topic of conflict minerals in our supply chain that our stakeholders, including our major customers, are highly interested in. We also discussed the establishment of a management system and how we can collaborate with stakeholders to address this issue.

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