PGI in Action: Panasonic, Gen G Unite for a Greener Vietnam

According to the World Bank, Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. While the Vietnamese government is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, a Panasonic survey learned that 60% of young people are serious about global warming, and many are committed to changing their lifestyles to save the environment.

To counter such key environmental challenges in collaboration with local communities, Panasonic has been promoting green CSR activities in Vietnam for many years. Most recently, from December 2022 to February 2023, under Panasonic GREEN IMPACT (PGI), Panasonic Vietnam conducted its “Live Green and Wellness with Gen G” campaign to inspire young people and other members of the public to lead an environment-friendly and healthy lifestyle.

The Live Green and Wellness with Gen G campaign included a variety of online and offline activities aimed at promoting awareness, providing empowerment, and facilitating capacity building for Vietnamese youth in relation to the topics of the environment and climate change. 

The program invited young people to join in “Gen G”—the concept of a Leading Green Generation defined by energy, empowerment, knowledge, and skills. “Gen G has what it takes to become a driving force and inspiration for society. Although we focused on young people during the campaign, anyone can become a member of Gen G,” says Hiroyuki Kitano, Director of Panasonic Asia Pacific, who oversees this campaign in APAC region.

In the opening session, Mr. Yoichi Marukawa, General Director of Panasonic Vietnam, expressed the company’s commitment toward next 50 years: “With these programs, we hope to inspire and invite Vietnamese people, especially the younger generation, to engage in environment-friendly activities and to pursue a Wellness lifestyle. Together we can ‘Act to Impact’ and realize sustainable development of Vietnam while pursuing our Wellness VISION for individuals and society.”

“Gen G has what it takes to become 
a driving force and inspiration for society.”

To improve awareness and engagement, Panasonic communicated campaign activity across channels suitable for a Gen G audience—moving beyond digital platforms to include networks associated with universities, NGOs, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

“Three factors are key to implementing this initiative: governments, which determine the systems and rules; our Group, which is developing innovative new technologies; and consumers, who are demanding environmental awareness and behavioral change,” says Kitano. “I think it is very important for the government, a company like Panasonic, and consumers to connect and cooperate,” he says. 

“Young people in Vietnam are very smart, have access to a lot of information, and are concerned about environmental issues,” says Pham Thai An, Head of the Corporate Communication Department in Panasonic Vietnam who led this campaign on the ground. “Yet, passively received information often has little to no impact. So we sought to create opportunities for them to do actually something.”

To inspire young people about Gen G and encourage action on digital platforms, Panasonic leveraged real and virtual ambassadors to promote healthier lifestyles. The characteristics of this generation were modeled through a group of active Gen G Ambassadors, including Khanh Vy and Helly Tong—two dynamic young people well-known for their leadership roles in social-environmental activities.

“We sought to create opportunities 
for them to do actually something.”

They were joined by metaverse friend Hina Nguyen, who was eager to learn how to help build a better tomorrow. Built around these characters were a variety of stories and activities, including short but inspirational video clips describing the environmental journey of Hina and other Gen G Ambassadors and a seven-day best practices challenge that generated valuable opportunities for young people to take action on environment and wellness issues.

“The Live Green and Wellness with Gen G campaign was all about reaching out to consumers, explaining our carbon neutral strategy under PGI, and then spreading our message across the Vietnamese market to enhance awareness and understanding of what we are doing,” explains Kitano.

Throughout the campaign, Panasonic found opportunities to introduce participants to its sustainable initiatives, including visits to Panasonic plants to introduce energy efficiency and indoor air quality solutions as well as recycling initiatives.

One of the key components of the campaign was the “Gen G Ambassador program,” which complemented online initiatives—such as quizzes and social media campaigns—with an “Offline Youth Summit” that required a deeper commitment by participants and involved online and offline seminars, site tours at Panasonic factories, and submission of an actionable initiative.  

The program culminated in an opportunity for participants to submit initiatives for addressing issues relating to climate change and the environment. After registering their initial proposal, they received support from Panasonic and experts in different fields, and refined their projects with an eye on real life application of their solutions.

The Offline Youth Summit generated a total 69 proposals—exceeding the initial target of 50. Key themes included waste and waste treatment, green lifestyles, recycling, climate change communication, and measuring and reducing emissions. Twenty proposals were shortlisted, and the best eight proposals were then singled out for recognition.

One proposal submitted by a post-graduate university student in southern Vietnam was for transforming waste into sustainable feed for livestock farming. The initial proposal was theoretical, but through expert guidance and offline training, he expected to be able to commercialize the concept and make it a reality in the near future.

“The campaign has created a viral impact on the community, 
especially young people across Vietnam”

Tran Long Hai, the student responsible for this proposal echoed other participants, saying: “I think the campaign has created a viral impact on the community, especially young people across Vietnam. It’s created a space where we can share our initiatives and ideas and receive valuable feedback from advisors. I was able to improve my project in terms of impact and sustainability, making it more practical.”

Panasonic GREEN IMPACT (PGI) is the Panasonic Group’s commitment to realizing a better life and a more sustainable global environment. The core focus of PGI is reducing CO₂ emissions within its own value chain and across society, with targets of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 in Panasonic operating companies worldwide and reducing CO₂ emissions by 300 million tons throughout its value chain by 2050.

Panasonic believes that actions accumulate over time to generate measurable, positive IMPACT, and Group companies are implementing programs and initiatives to actively contribute to wellness and sustainable development of their local markets, as demonstrated by this campaign in Vietnam.  

 “The Gen G group will be the driving force promoting voluntary action toward 2050,” says Kitano as he reflects the campaign. “We want to continue to engage with Gen G and address environmental issues through lifestyle change. For the local community, we want to ensure that environmentally friendly behavior takes root and is thoroughly implemented. Finally, we want to create value through lifestyles and bonds that can be passed on to future generations.”