RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS & SUSTAINABLE LIVING


Manufacturers are having to review their processes during all stages of bringing a product to market, including: uThe design phase – covering procurement when choosing materials, where they are sourced and their future impact;


A


uProduction – from energy use, as well as the potential environmental impact of product operations (during manufacture and when in use by customers);


uPackaging and logistics – covering the entire chain from when products are packaged and dispatched to distributors, contractors and end users;


With pressure building from global legislaon, regulaons and end users being ever more environmentally aware, manufactures are having to consider the environment in all their processes, from concept through to endoflife


decommissioning and recycling. Panasonic is commied to achieving stringent eco performance, but this benefits business too, as Tony Nielsen, UK markeng manager explains


uAnd of course, WEEE legislation, ensures end-of-life must be considered – materials, composite parts, including the energy used to manufacture, during its life and how each component can be recycled and reused. All the above need be considered in addition to how the products will be interoperable with the latest technologies and other systems currently present.


One of the key benefits of manufacturers being more sustainable is that research has shown they are often more efficient, competitive and profitable in the long-term. In a research project conducted by McKinsey that involved 40 companies to help understand sustainability and “to capture value from sustainability”, the study revealed that companies with high ratings in environmental, social, and governance factors outperformed the market in medium and long-range terms. [*2]


Panasonic is one such manufacturer with a strong commitment to the environment and ensuring a sustainable approach to all products manufactured. In fact, the company has, for many years set itself apart from its competitors and is well known for having strong environmental policies in place and being at the forefront of many such initiatives.


In June 2017, during World Environment Day, Panasonic announced its new Environment Vision for 2050. The Panasonic Environment Vision 2050 was created to help work towards “the creation of more efficient utilisation of energy which exceeds the amount of energy used, aiming for a society with clean energy and a more comfortable lifestyle… through these efforts, Panasonic will endeavour to make the ‘energy created’ exceed the ‘energy used’ towards the year 2050.”


Back in 2001, Panasonic established a high-tech recycling centre called PETEC (Panasonic Eco Technology Centre) in Japan. The centre recycles a variety of electrical products (both Panasonic and non-Panasonic brands) such as TV’s, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioning units. Today PETEC recycles around 700,000 products a year. The materials recycled are used to make new products and its experience is helping to develop better recycling technologies for the future.


Responsible recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment, or WEEE, for short – has become a major environmental goal for many across the globe. So much so, that in 2003, the EU put laws in place to ensure such products are recycled and not sent straight to landfill sites. The UK introduced Regulations in terms of responsible recycling of electrical products in 2006 and began operating under this law from July 2007.


Under the above laws in the UK, producers of electrical equipment are required to collect and recycle their share of products when the consumer discards them. In 2004 a group of responsible manufacturers of electrical and electronic goods, including Panasonic, set up REPIC to ensure that at the end-of-life products were being recycled responsibly, this was even before the law was introduced which required them to do this. The site also shows end users where their nearest recycling centre is. [*]


In 2010, Panasonic set out its Green Procurement Standards and formed a ‘Green Plan 2018’ which states the company's preference to procure from suppliers who are proactive in reducing their environmental impacts. In collaboration and to accelerate green initiatives with their various stakeholders including suppliers and logistics partners, Panasonic is addressing global environmental issues across the boundaries of the company, including CO2 emissions reduction, resource recycling, water and biodiversity conservation, and mitigation of the effect of chemical substances on human beings and environment.[*1]


Benefits to sustainable manufacturing


Tony Nielsen of Panasonic highlights some of the key benefits of being a sustainable manufacturer:


Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


s a leading global manufacturer, Panasonic is at the forefront of Green Factories (GF) activities in its efforts to cut down the environmental load caused by manufacturing.


BSEE A sustainable approach to product lifecycle


More efficient, competitive and profitable – in a recent report conducted by NAM [*3] 58 per cent of consumers are now considering the environmental impact before purchasing.


Improve brand image and attract new customers Take advantage of tax incentives and a variety of tax credit rebates


Many government and public-sector contracts consider environmental impacts


Can increase workforce morale and innovations – by tasking engineers to be more sustainable and efficient, can lead to innovative solutions


The future


With manufacturers consuming more than 30 per cent of the world’s energy consumption and society taking note, manufacturers need to play a lead role in helping to reduce harmful emissions.


Over the next few years we will see increased pressure on manufacturers to be innovative in their processes throughout the product lifecycle. Consumers are already pushing back on the use of more natural and sustainable packaging of products and are increasingly demanding more energy efficient and cost saving devices. Manufacturers such as Panasonic are continually advancing and invest heavily in R&D and smart technology to help monitor energy usage and efficiency.


Panasonic is well known for being at the forefront of environmental manufacturing procedures and during 2019 have taken measures to strengthen their environmental aims and improve their processes in energy efficiency further by developing a BA (Before/After) chart search system to share and spread knowhow across the world on the Internet. With the system, each factory can register and share their best practices concerning managing CO2, waste, chemical substances, water, etc. Furthermore, Panasonic has created “Energy-Saving Potential Diagnosis Sheets” which is a tool with which users can evaluate visualised energy-efficient structures and extract its effective measures which are constantly reviewed and updated.[*4]


In addition, Panasonic share information on global activities for reducing environmental loads, relevant laws and regulations, and social trends through the Manufacturing Environmental Information Sharing Group.[*5]


www.aircon.panasonic.co.uk Sources:


*http://www.responsible-recycling.co.uk/about-repic/ our-partners/


*1https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/ management/procurement/green.html


https://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/


customer-care-column/101816-five-benefits-sustainability- and-green-manufacturing.html


*2https://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/03/ 6-benefits-of-becoming-a-sustainable-business/


*3 http://www.nam.org/Newsroom/ Facts-About-Manufacturing/


*4https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/ sustainability/eco/gp_gf.html


*5https://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/what/ shared-environmental-information-system-1/ shared-environmental-information-system


BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER NOVEMBER 2019 29


uOver the next few years we will see increased pressure on manufacturers to be innovave in their processes throughout the product lifecycle


‘


Over the next


few years we will see increased pressure on manufacturers to be innovave in their processes throughout the product lifecycle


’


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51