A MESSAGE TO PEOPLE AND
A MESSAGE TO PEOPLE AND THE EARTH FROM SHARP ADVERTORIAL Extracts from “SHARP ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL REPORT 2008” & Cleverdis SPECIALreport 2008 TWO NEW VISIONS LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF SHARP’S FOUNDING According to reports from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the discussions at the G8 Heiligendamm Summit, a broad international consensus is emerging that dealing with global warming is a critical issue facing the world. Sakai Factory WORKING TOWARDS “CARBON NEUTRAL LIFE” Since the 19th century, the impact on the environment has grown as a result of increased economic and social activity. As an electronics manufacturer, Sharp has recognised and is now focusing on three main problems: global warming, pollution from toxic chemicals and depletion of resources. SHARP – ALMOST 50 YEARS’ SOLAR RESEARCH Sharp began R&D on solar cells in 1959. Today, they are the only company that has continuously developed and produced solar cells without any interruption to the present day. At present, Sharpmanufactured solar cells account for approximately one-fourth of the world total. Against this backdrop, the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol finally began this year. This pressing situation demands a drastic transformation in social structure – from a massconsumption society that since the Industrial Revolution has depended on fossil resources, to a sustainable low-carbon society focused on the use of renewable energies. In 2012, the final year of the first commitment period, Sharp will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. As the company prepares to mark this milestone at this critical turning point, Sharp has explored anew the role that it should play in the coming era and created two new corporate visions for the future. One is “Realize a truly ubiquitous society* 1 with the world’s No. 1 LCDs.” And, the other is “Contribute to the world through environment- and health-conscious business, focusing on energy-saving and energy-creating products.” * 1 A “ubiquitous society” is a concept of how, through the rapid development of IT infrastructure, networks will always be accessible to users; thus, the whole society will be connected. DIVERSE NEW APPLICATIONS Thin-film silicon solar cells can now be used as architectural materials! The new “see through” type will allow for innovative new applications like this to expand to windows and wall surfaces of homes and buildings. MAKE ENERGY… AND USE LESS ENERGY! Sharp is, of course, continuing its efforts to improve power consumption in TVs. Today, the amount of power consumed by the latest 52-inch LCD TV is less than the electricity consumed by a 32- inch CRT TV eight years ago. Compared to similar-sized 32-inch models, the latest 32-inch LCD TV consumes less than half the power per year than a CRT TV introduced in 2000. To obtain the full report in PDF format: www.sharp-world.com/corporate/eco/csr_report/index.html Kameyama Factory Hall 3.2 / Stand 101 26 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Wednesday, 3 rd September 2008
THE GREEN PAGE JOACHIM REINHART CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PANASONIC EUROPE With its Eco Ideas Declaration, Panasonic has put the environment at the heart of its business model. Panasonic Europe COO Joachim Reinhart tells IFA International about the greening of a giant Panasonic last year pledged to reduce CO2 emissions from its manufacturing operations worldwide by 2009. How has that been going? In October 2007, we l a u n c h e d the Panasonic Eco Ideas Declaration, reco - mmitting ourselves to reducing the environ - mental burden in all areas of our business activities. I’m happy to announce that our global CO 2 emissions between April 2007 and March 2008 totalled 3.97 million tons — a reduction of 10,000 tons year on year — even while increasing production. We also set up a committee consisting of environmental staff and related departments throughout the company, which will collaborate to ensure that we cut back emissions to approximately 3.6 million tons between April 2011 and March 2012. What about other factors, such as toxic waste? Toxic waste is one of many environmental issues we have been working on for many years, with the aim of reducing the impact from our factories. In 2001, we formulated the Green Plan 2010, which is a 10-year action plan defining specific targets and activities, including targets for the reduction of our use of hazardous substances. We consider toxic waste a major environmental issue and our factories strive to “Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the environmental impact of their products“ reduce their environmental impact to a minimum. Another important issue for us is recycling, which is, of course, a global concern of many stakeholders. Recycling is a major plank of the European Union’s WEEE initiative. What is Panasonic doing in this respect? I am happy to say that Panasonic strongly pro - motes product recycling worldwide. In Japan, we have created a network of recyclers to help us to cope with the recycling of home appliances. We established Ecology Net Company, which totally manages and operates the recycling scheme. We have also built a recycling factory in Japan to help us learn more about improving the recyclability of our products. In 2005, we transferred this know-how to Europe by establishing EcologyNet Europe, which is a total recycling-solution service provider for the manu - facturers and importers of electrical and elec tronics equip - ment. The company aims to contribute to the improvement of pollution pre - vention through waste redu ction and recy ment. How are products becoming more ecofriendly? Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the environmental impact of their products. Our ‘green products’ concept helps us to respond to this demand. It was introduced with the aim of enhancing the quality of people’s lives by improving our product functions, while reducing the environmental impact over their life cycles. At our environmental corner at the Panasonic booth, you can see some of these products, such as our energy-efficient camcorders and Blu-ray disc players. We are also demonstrating the environmental improvements that we have made in the last few years. Joachim Reinhart, COO Panasonic Europe IFA International • Wednesday, 3 rd September 2008 www.ifa-international.org 27
