– Article in partnership with Panasonic –
At CES 2022, Panasonic’s new president and CEO, Yuki Kusumi, outlined the company’s goal to reduce environmental and social impact while maintaining high operational efficiency. Let’s see his vision and the goals he is committed to achieving with Panasonic.
The new vision and core values of Kusumi
From as far back as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by Asian culture. Chief among my interests are Samurais – Japan’s military nobility, who emerged in the 12th century and developed a sophisticated code of honor, the Bushidō. As I came to discover, there are seven core values that guided their attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles: Honesty and Justice, Heroic Courage, Compassion, Kind Courtesy, Complete Sincerity, Honor, Duty, and Loyalty.
During CES 2022, I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by the new President and CEO of Panasonic, Yuki Kusumi. Throughout his press conference, three of the core values listed in the Bushidō came to mind. Namely, Makoto (誠) (“sincerity”), Chūgi (忠義) (“duty and loyalty”), and Gi (義) (“honesty and justice”).
As he shared his vision – an extension of the company’s Founder – to foster environmental sustainability, combat climate change, and “safeguard the planet for future generations”, Kusumi was quick to point out that every company is a public institution.
Now, you may be wondering, what is Panasonic’s actual commitment to the environment, and how does it connect with the country’s historical values?
Sincerity
During his speech, Kusumi was open and candid about the company’s significant greenhouse gas emissions. Panasonic’s global factories emit a combined 2.2 million tons of CO2 annually, and its products, which are used by more than one billion customers worldwide, contribute to another 108 million tons of CO2 in the atmosphere.
While the numbers are alarming, I have every reason to believe that Kusumi’s transparency will help to ensure that the company comes up with targeted solutions and that it upholds its long-term commitments.
The new green vision of Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic, can be recalled the Bushidō values of sincerity, duty, loyalty, honesty, and justice. Click To Tweet
Duty and Loyalty
Under Kusumi’s leadership, Panasonic has committed to making all of its factories carbon-neutral by 2030, irrespective of the associated costs. Pragmatically, he acknowledges that the company cannot simply halt production, but rather it must offset emissions by employing methods that absorb excess CO2.
“Yes, we have made a significant contribution [to greenhouse gas emissions]. But we aim to have an even greater positive impact,” Kusumi maintained.
Honesty and Justice
Despite the intense pressure to produce, particularly against the stark backdrop of our ongoing global pandemic, Panasonic is committed to restorative justice – to correcting past wrongs, mitigating harms, and doing better going forward.
Specifically, through new technologies and increased operational efficiency, Panasonic will decrease the power consumed by the devices it produces. The tech giant also plans to collaborate with stakeholders along its value chain to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
Although this may appear simple on the surface, offsetting the company’s emissions by 2030 and innovating the product line to drastically reduce energy consumption by 2050 will take tremendous efforts, broad-scale mobilization, and will carry considerable financial costs. Recall these two elements add up to more than 110 million tons of CO2 annually. More than a simple promise, this undertaking requires a clear, concerted vision of the company’s role within society.
For me, it’s clear that Panasonic is devoted to society, the environment, and the collective good; that is the sincere, loyal, and just commitment Yuki Kusumi has made to our future generations.
- Original article previously published here
