Panasonic launches pilot projects to collect and recycle used home appliances in Vietnam and the Philippines

Vietnam introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements for electrical and electronic products in January 2025, creating a need for systems that ensure the proper collection of used home appliances and facilitate resource circulation.

Through the project, PV will examine methods for collecting used air conditioners through the retailer's sales network and assess the operational and commercial feasibility of establishing a sustainable collection scheme.

Panasonic is considering dismantling the collected air conditioners in the future, sorting their components by material, and recovering them for use as recycled materials. Panasonic will also consider expanding the project to other home appliances and using the resulting recycled materials in its products manufactured in Vietnam.

In the Philippines, PMPC plans to collaborate with a major local home appliance retailer to launch a pilot project to collect used air conditioners in October 2026. The project will accept products from Panasonic and other manufacturers and aims to collect 500 to 1,000 units by the end of March 2027. The project will examine methods for collecting used air conditioners through the retailer's sales network, recycling the collected units, and assess the feasibility of using the resulting recycled materials in PMPC products. PMPC will also assess the feasibility of selling the collected air conditioners as refurbished products.

In Japan, Panasonic offers Panasonic Factory Refresh products, which are refurbished products inspected by Panasonic and sold with warranties. The company also collects and dismantles used home appliances for recycling, enabling iron, copper, plastics, and other materials to be recovered and reused. Drawing on the expertise it has developed through these initiatives in home appliance refurbishment and quality control, as well as in the collection and recycling of used home appliances, Panasonic will examine resource circulation systems suited to the respective market conditions in Vietnam and the Philippines.

The Panasonic Group has set forth its long-term environmental vision, "Panasonic GREEN IMPACT (PGI)," with the aim of achieving both a better life and a sustainable global environment for all. Under PGI, Panasonic Group strives towards achieving virtually net zero CO₂ emissions⁽*¹⁾ from its own operations by 2030, and will contribute to reducing more than 300 million tons of reduced and avoided CO₂ annually, which is equivalent to about 1 percent of total global emissions⁽*²⁾ by 2050. The group also works to realize a circular economy in its business activities, so that its resource efficiency further contributes to decarbonization and reduces the consumption of limited natural resources.

*1 Net zero factories that the Group is working to achieve refer to factories that emit substantially zero CO₂ by utilizing credits to offset CO₂ emissions derived from fossil fuels with combining the promotion of energy-saving technologies, productivity improvement, etc. and the promotion of the use of renewable energy.

*2 More than 300 million tons annually, equivalent to about 1 percent of total global emissions: Based on 2020 energy-derived CO₂ emissions (Source: IEA) with the CO₂ reduction contribution based on 2020 standards, which is the starting point for PGI.

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