Panasonic Takes Part in COP29 Discussions and Exhibition to share the Group’s Contribution to a Decarbonized, Circular Economy-Based Society

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29, hereafter COP29) was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11–24, 2024. At the forum, participants agreed on new goals for climate financing (funds to support preventative measures in developing countries) through 2035. COP29 also saw the Panasonic Group exhibiting at the Japan Pavilion for a sixth consecutive year (since 2018), as well as participation by the Group in a seminar discussing its contributions to realizing a decarbonized society and circular economy (CE). As outlined in its long-term environmental vision, Panasonic GREEN IMPACT (PGI), the Panasonic Group promotes business activities with the aim of achieving both “a better life” and “a sustainable global environment.” At COP29, Panasonic shared the specific initiatives that it is undertaking to solve environmental issues.

The Ministry of the Environment opened the Japan Pavillion at COP29 under the theme of “Solutions to the World.” Eleven companies exhibited technologies, products, and services that support Japan’s long-term goal of reaching “Net-Zero Emissions (virtually no greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050” and support the global community’s adaptation to climate change and decarbonization.

The Panasonic Group introduced its efforts to cover 100% of the energy consumed in business activities with renewable energy by optimally combining pure hydrogen fuel cells, solar cells, and lithium-ion batteries. The Group detailed its efforts at its factory in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, where a testing facility has been in operation since April 2022. There, a demonstration under way since July this year is being conducted in an effort to use the heat generated by pure hydrogen fuel cell generators as a heat source for absorption chillers (air conditioning equipment). Panasonic’s aim with the demonstration is to improve energy efficiency through combining heat and electric power supply, thereby reducing power consumption in cooling and heating equipment. The Group also introduced a new project that is being installed at a factory in the U.K. to control the coordination of the pure hydrogen fuel cells, solar cells, and lithium-ion batteries.*

* Following COP29, Panasonic issued a press release announcing the completion of the installation. (Panasonic Installs an In-house Hydrogen-based Renewable Energy Power Generation System in Its UK Factory)

Through the global expansion of these demonstration projects, Panasonic aims to convey the steps it is taking to achieve optimal solutions that take into account region-specific conditions. The Group also expressed its intention to collaborate with local partners to improve the resilience of energy sources in the event of disaster through a decentralized energy package that promotes local production for local consumption, contributes to the stable supply of carbon-neutral energy to society, and provides energy to a wide range of customers.

CO₂ emissions reductions achieved in society by introducing more energy efficient products and services is known as avoided emissions. Going beyond the scope of a single company, the Panasonic Group is working to expand awareness of the value of avoided emissions in environmental initiatives, and to achieve an international standard for accurately measuring their contribution. To raise awareness, Panasonic was instrumental in having the topic included in the outcome document for the G7 Hiroshima Summit (G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment) in May 2023. The issue was also discussed at a COP28 Japan Pavilion seminar, where Panasonic Group CEO Yuki Kusumi took the stage to explain its significance. To contribute to the international standardization of avoided emissions, Panasonic is also participating in domestic and international standardization organizations and business alliances, focusing efforts on discussing standards and creating case studies for avoided emissions. Since fiscal 2023, the Group has also been publishing figures on its contribution to avoided emissions and the calculation methods for the Group’s representative business areas in its Sustainability Data Book*. As a result of these activities, avoided emissions are gradually becoming an indicator for evaluating the contribution of a company towards the realization of a decarbonized society.

* The 2024 edition of the Sustainability Data Book covers six business areas: hot-water and heating systems with heat pumps, replacement with energy-saving products, home delivery communication boxes, cylindrical lithium-ion batteries for in-vehicle use, vacuum insulated glass (VIG), and heat exchange systems during ventilation.

As part of these activities, Hirotoshi Uehara, Executive Officer in charge of Quality & Environment at Panasonic Operational Excellence Co., Ltd., participated in the COP29 seminar “Standardizing Avoided Emissions in the Industrial and Financial Sectors,” which was hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) at the Japan Pavilion on November 16. Uehara participated as a representative of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which is working to promote the standardization of avoided emissions. During the seminar, Uehara introduced the significance and progress made toward standardizing avoided emissions while exchanging views with experts from Japan and overseas.

Among other notable moments during the seminar, Uehara introduced the Panasonic Group’s efforts to standardize IEC 63372, the proposed international standard for calculating avoided emissions, in collaboration with other companies, including Schneider Electric, which serves as the chair of the standard (IEC 63372). Panasonic is also collaborating with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to ensure consistency with the avoided emission standards that these organizations are promoting. Uehara indicated that IEC 63372 could be published as early as the first half of 2025. “The entire electrical and electronics industry, including the software industry, will be able to accurately disclose the amount of their avoided emissions to society,” said Uehara. 

On top of this, Uehara expressed his expectation that the standardization of avoided emissions would enable organizations such as financial institutions and governments to properly evaluate the solutions of companies that contribute to decarbonization, and that such information could be used to provide incentives and make investment decisions. Uehara also emphasized the significance of standardizing avoided emissions for all industries, not just the electrical and electronics industries, to reach the goal adopted at COP21 in 2015 of “keeping global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.”

Against the backdrop of the growing impact of global warming and resource depletion on the environment, the Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Principles (CEREP) were introduced and adopted at the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in April 2023 to encourage companies to engage in the circular economy (CE) and collaborate with governments and financial institutions on this initiative. The WBCSD is also developing a Global Circularity Protocol (GCP), a set of indicators and targets for companies to evaluate and promote their CE efforts.

Amid the growing awareness of the importance of CE and the establishment of standards, the Ministry of the Environment hosted a panel discussion at COP29 on the theme “Forming Global Standards through CEREP and the GCP.” Uehara also took part in this seminar and exchanged views with experts from Japan and overseas.

For many years, the Panasonic Group has worked tirelessly to balance the efficient use of resources with customer value. In November 2023, it also disseminated the Circular Economy Group Policy to establish a foundation for business operations that contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by linking increased resource efficiency to decarbonization and reduced resource consumption. Uehara highlighted the following actions that Panasonic is taking to achieve both “a better life” and “a sustainable global environment,” based on the concept that customers should be able to use good products for a long time:

1. Reduce the input of new resources: designing products that are easy to repair, standardizing modules, using recycled materials, etc.
2. Transform business models to enable long-term use: facilitating maintenance and updates using IoT, introducing a subscription business, etc.
3. Create a recycling system: Reusing parts and modules, utilizing the know-how of recycling plants operating in Japan to improve recycling methods, etc.

The Panasonic Group, as a member of the WBCSD, has also actively participated in the development of the GCP. Despite these activities, barriers to realizing a CE society are continuing to arise. Regarding the above, Uehara pointed out that the challenges include “setting common goals with a scientific basis similar to carbon neutrality,” “building a circularity system that is economically rational,” “developing evaluation indicators to accelerate CE innovations,” “securing the understanding of capital markets,” and “encouraging consumers to change their behavior.” Uehara emphasized that the Panasonic Group will continue to actively participate in GCP development efforts to resolve these issues and contribute to an accelerated transition to a CE-based society.

The Panasonic Group’s purpose is “to progress toward realizing an ideal society offering material and spiritual affluence.” Solving global environmental problems is at the center of achieving this goal. The Group will continue to promote Panasonic GREEN IMPACT and work closely with the public and global partners to realize a decarbonized, CE-based society.