Jun 14, 2013

Feature Story

Panasonic Commemorates World Environment Day 2013 in the Middle East

Given the enormous imbalance in our lifestyles and the resulting devastating effects on the environment, this year's World Environment Day 2013 theme - Think.Eat.Save - encourages one to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices made and empowered one to make informed decisions.

Join Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) as they share their story on how Panasonic actively participated in this year's World Environment Day.

Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted. This food quickly turns into Methane gases that gradually depletes the ozone layer and as a result, adds to the global warming. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger.

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    Save to Share campaign by PMMAF as part of the celebrations for World Environment Day 2013

To align with UNEP, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) was a proud and actively participating member of the World Environment Day 2013. Utilizing this alliance towards reiterating its commitment as a company that cares for the environment and in order to understand and implement this wisdom within its business environment and among all its employees, the company and its affiliates across the region actively promoted World Environment Day 2013 with a host of activities.

To align with the global initiative "Think.Eat.Save", the company coined "Save to Share" as the theme to mark its presence this World Environment Day in the Middle East. Through this initiative, the company aimed to promote a principle demonstrating the importance of conserving food and contributing to the needy.

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    Mr Masao Motoki, Managing Director, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa speaking on the occasion of the World Environment Day 2013

"We have to leave behind a sustainable planet for our future generations, and drastic changes to our lifestyle must happen immediately if this is to be a reality. This year's World Environment theme is in line with this objective and we are extremely happy to join hands with the Dubai Municipality, ECAT*, Jafza* and Red Crescent. Our actions and the eco choices we make, have a direct impact on our planet. From using eco-friendly products to learning to conserve, is something we absolutely have to be conscious about. We are at a very crucial cross road and individuals, multinationals and governments must do more to save our planet", - said Mr.Masao Motoki, Managing Director, PMMAF.

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    Mr Anthony Peter, Director, Brand Communications Division, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa along with Mr Eng. Mohamed Al Noori, Director, Corporate Marketing & Relations, Dubai Municipality at the Panasonic World Environment Day Kiosk at Dubai Mall

To make an impact and express its undue commitment towards the society, the company kick- started its activities by joining hands with Dubai Municipality on a three day awareness campaign in Dubai Mall to measure the ecological foodprint of the UAE residents.

The survey conducted to raise awareness on World Environment Day looked at various aspects of an individual's lifestyle including their diet, mode of transportation, place of residence, the provisions for energy saving devices at home, utility consumption and waste management alike. Many of the participants were surprised at their findings, expressing their will to give more to environmental conservation.

Similarly, eco kiosks set up by the company in conjunction with Dubai Municipality and ECAT* enabled visitors to learn about conservation and also stressed on the importance of reducing the ecological foodprint without drastically altering lifestyles. The survey developed by Dubai Municipality was held from 3rd - 5th June 2013 and encouraged every UAE resident to participate actively. Eco Picture Diaries were also kept at the kiosks to educate people more on Panasonic's kids school activities while encouraging more kids to actively participate in the program. As a result more than 650 Eco Diaries were distributed as part of this initiative.

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    People visiting the Eco Kiosk to attend the survey and know more about the Eco Picture Diary competition by Panasonic
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    Kids letting their creativity flow with the Eco Diaries

Discouraging Food Wastage

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    Employees enjoying the pre-ordered luncheon on World Environment Day
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    The PMMAF members all donning green t-shirts; commemorating World Environment Day 2013

Moving forward further, in celebration of the day, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) and its affiliates held an eco-friendly luncheon on June 5th 2013, where all the Panasonic employees across the region enjoyed a pre-ordered lunch depending on their preference, however held with a motive to discourage food wastage.

Reiterating the commitment further, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa also tied up with Red Crescent - an esteemed NGO - and placed donation boxes in Panasonic offices locally, Jafza Offices and the Jafza food courts. This tie-up is aimed to encourage people to save food and donate the proceeds towards contributing to the well-being of the less privileged in Africa. PMMAF and staff has pledged to give USD 13,600 approx (AED 50,000) to Red Crescent as proceeds towards serving the needy.

World Environment Day Celebrated in Other Regions Within Middle East & Africa

Across the region, Panasonic is actively engaging in various initiatives that are in line with the World Environment Day celebrations. In Iran, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) sponsored the National Bicycle Team with the aim to encourage fuel saving and motivating people to use bicycles instead of cars to save more gasoline. Likewise, company's sole distributor in Oman - Omasco, were support sponsors of the Oman Green Awards - country's first Environmental Awards created to awaken the eco consciousness in every citizen and resident of Oman. The award ceremony was held on June 5th - further commemorating World Environment Day.

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    Panasonic's Oman Distributor - Omasco- participated as support sponsors for the Oman Green Awards and wins a felicitation trophy on the World Environment Day
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    PMMAF Iran office sponsored the National Bicycle team as part of the activities supporting the World Environment Day celebrations

*ECAT - Environmental Centre for Arab Towns
*Jafza - Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority

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