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Panasonic Corporation which was formerly known as the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. was founded by Konosuke Matsushita in 1918. Initially it started as lightbulb socket manufacturer, but now it has become a major Japanese multinational electronics company, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. Panasonic was the world's largest maker of consumer electronics, in the late 20th century, but now it offers a wide range of products and services, including rechargeable batteries, automotive and avionic systems, as well as home renovation and construction.
Panasonic has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices and also in addition it has a secondary listing on the Nagoya Stock Exchange.
Panasonic has offered a wide range of products and services, which include air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, compressors, lighting, televisions, personal computers, mobile phones, audio equipment, cameras, broadcasting equipment, projectors, automotive electronics, aircraft in-flight entertainment systems, semiconductors, lithium batteries, electrical components, optical devices, bicycles, electronic materials and photovoltaic modules. It also manufacture ventilation appliances such as electric fans under KDK and rebranded as Panasonic.
Panasonic also distinctly ranked in joint 11th place (out of 16) in Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics, which is known for ranking electronics manufacturers on policies and practices which will reduce their impact on the climate, producing greener products and make their operations more sustainable. The company is one of the top scorers on the Products criteria, and has been appreciated for its initiative on good product life cycles and the number of products which are free from polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC). It has also scored the maximum points for the energy efficiency of its products with 100 percent of its TVs meeting the latest Energy Star standards and exceeding the standby power requirement.
However, Panasonic's score is degraded by its low score on the Energy criteria, with the Guide stating it must focus on planned reductions of greenhouse gases (GHG), set targets to reduce GHG emissions by at least 30% by 2015 and increase renewable energy use by 2020.
The Guardian reported in an article in 2014, that Panasonic will compensate its expatriate workers in China a "hazard pay" as compensation for the chronic air pollution they are subjected to as they work.
So Panasonic is kind of green company. Although it really has to work to make it a successful green company.
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