Promoting CSR Management

Our mid-term management plan, the GP3 Plan, was implemented in fiscal 2008 with the core goal of winning the right to challenge global excellence by achieving a manufacturing-oriented company. However, while environmental problems on a global scale were becoming more serious, the "eco ideas strategy" was introduced in October 2007, and we adopted two vital goals of "steady growth with profitability" and "reducing the environmental burden in every operation". One of the concrete targets of this goal was to reduce CO2 emissions by 300,000 tons below the fiscal 2007 level from its manufacturing operations, and every division is working toward this goal.

In implementing CSR management, Panasonic continued to use the framework introduced in fiscal 2008, which is shown on the right. The basic management philosophy of the "company as a public entity of society" is unchanging, but the method of implementing this concept must change with the changes in society and the environment.

To respond to the social and environmental issues in different locations around the world and fulfill our corporate social responsibility, it is necessary to have an open dialogue with the stakeholders in each area. In Europe, we have had discussions with many different stakeholders about the environment, labor, and other fields, and in April 2008, we joined CSR Europe, a business network that promotes CSR in Europe. We continue to promote discussion with our stakeholders.

There is a growing interest in CSR among investors as evidenced by the emergence of socially responsible investment (SRI). Panasonic is also responding to the concerns of investors by providing them with information and actively engaging them in dialogue. As a result, Panasonic continues to appear on the world's SRI indexes, including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI), FTSE4Good, and ETHIBEL Investment Register. Then, in January 2008 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Panasonic was selected as one of the "Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World".

As a manufacturer doing business globally, Panasonic has a responsibility for its broad supply chain as well. Panasonic has taken the lead in fulfilling its social responsibility in the areas of the environment and human rights, among others, and is helping to create a healthy society with the cooperation of our business partners and suppliers. As a part of these efforts, Panasonic began to identify its important CSR issues with cooperation from our business partners.

There is only so much one company can do to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. In fiscal 2009, we increased the dialogue with our stakeholders worldwide and are planning new initiatives that go beyond the boundaries of countries and companies. As part of Panasonic's CSR initiatives, the company will take the important CSR issues ferreted out in 2008, and address them on a broader range of business domains while enlisting the cooperation of companies on Panasonic's supply chain. It is also important to take the efforts to resolve the issues of sustainability and integrate them with marketing and business activities. We would like to take the successful environmental contributions integrated with marketing in Japan and expand them to a wider range of activities and regions.