Panasonic scores 5 out of 18 at Rank a Brand: Empowering you to support socially responsible business

Panasonic Info

Brand Owner: Panasonic Corporation
Head Office: Osaka, Japan
Sector: Electronics & ICT Hardware
Categories: Televisions, TV's, Audio, Video, (Mobile) Phones, Cameras, Camcorders, Home Appliances
Free Tags: Refrigerator

Rank a Brand score:

5 out of 18

Widget

EMAIL BRAND

Panasonic Logo

Find out how green, fair and transparent your favorite brands are.

Compare Other brands

BRAND NAME Brand_name_botline

PERFORMANCE Brand_name_botline

Last Updated: 18 November 2009
Last Verified: 26 February 2010

Panasonic Score Report

Questions about Carbon Emissions

4 out of 5


1. Does the brand (company) clearly support global mandatory cuts of carbon emissions of at least 50% by 2050 or 30% by industrialized countries by 2020?	Panasonic states that it generally supports these directions of target setting.	SOURCE
2. Does the brand (company) disclose its carbon footprint produced by its own operations and in the supply / production chain?	Yes, the company owns factories and annually publishes the footprint for 'own operations', so at least a part of the production chain is covered. See p.89.	SOURCE
3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce its ‘own operations’ carbon footprint by at least 20% by the year 2012?	No such target, see p.90, Panasonic expects to increase footprint for 2010.	SOURCE
4. Has the brand (company) already reduced its 'own operations' carbon footprint by at least 10% in the last 5 years?	As a result of reduction measures and partly less production, reduction for 2009 relative to 2005 was 16%.	SOURCE
5. Do all new products of the brand meet the latest Energy Star requirements (where applicable)?	As it seems, 100% of the Panasonic products meet and exceed the Energy Star requirements.	SOURCE

Questions about Environmental Policy

1 out of 7


1. Has the brand (company) eliminated PVC and BFRs in all new products? If not, does the brand give a timeline for achieving this by 2012?	Panasonic has a clear timeline to phase out PVC (2011) and already has various models PVC and BFR free, but on BFR's no total phase out found.	SOURCE
2. Has the brand (company) already eliminated PVC and BFRs in all new products?	No, not achieved yet. See also former remark.	SOURCE
3. Has the brand (company) already eliminated at least 2 of the 3 groups of suspect chemicals (beryllium, antimony and phthalates) in all of its new products? If not, does it give a timeline for achieving this by 2012?	No timeline to phase out these substances are found on Panasonic website.	SOURCE
4. Has the brand (company) already eliminated at least 2 of the 3 groups of suspect chemicals (beryllium, antimony and phthalates)in all of its new products?	No timeline to phase out these substances are found on Panasonic website.	SOURCE
5. Does the brand (company) support the principle of Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR), meaning that brands are responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their own products, including take back and recycling?	Although support and policy are rather weak, at least Panasonic 'recognizes' the IPR as a useful mechanism.	SOURCE
6. Does the brand (company) provide free and easy take back and recycling services for its discarded products in many of the countries where its products are sold?	Voluntary take-back programmes are not worldwide and do not cover all Panasonic’s product groups.	SOURCE
7. Does the brand (company) source at least 5% of its plastics from recycled plastic streams and does it give a clear timeline to increase this percentage to at least 25% by 2025?	Panasonic only gives results (18,7% recylcing rate) for washing machines and refrigerators, so not for the total, and no target for increasing use of recycled plastics.	SOURCE

Questions about Labour Conditions/Human Rights

0 out of 6


1. Does the brand (company) have a supplier Code of Conduct (CoC) which includes the following standards: No forced or slave labour, no child labour, no discrimination of any kind and a safe and hygienic workplace?	Panasonic owns a part of the production chain, but gives no clear breakdown. See link: No supplier Code of Conduct was found.	SOURCE
2. Does this CoC include at least two of the following workers rights: 1. to have a formally registered employment relationship 2. to have a maximum working week of 48 hours with voluntary paid overtime of 12 hours maximum 3. to have a sufficient living wage?	See link. No supplier Code of Conduct was found.	SOURCE
3. Does this CoC include the right for workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; and in those situations where these rights are restricted under law, the right to facilitate parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining?	See link. No supplier Code of Conduct was found.	SOURCE
4. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume?	Not found on the Panasonic website.	SOURCE
5. Is the brand (company) a member of a collective initiative that aims to improve labour conditions, or does the brand (company) purchase its supplies from accredited factories with improved labour conditions?	CSR report 2009 p.11 mentions the joint initiatives EICC and GeSi, but Panasonic was not found to be a member.	SOURCE
6. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labour conditions policy?	No such information found on Panasonic website.	SOURCE