Laguna Niguel, Calif. — Panasonic said Monday it is sponsoring, participating in and supporting an international exchange of the latest ideas on sustainability through a dialog among the environmental community and enterprise leaders at Fortune Brainstorm Green 2013 running through May 1, here.
Panasonic executives — including Joseph M. Taylor, chairman and CEO, Panasonic North America; Jim Doyle, president of Panasonic Eco Solutions North America; and Paul Margis, CEO of Panasonic Avionics — will participate in sessions with other industry leaders to discuss the future of transportation, sustainable and green building practices and how sustainability drives innovation, the company said.
The intent is for businesses to share ideas and collaborate on approaches to improving corporate sustainability, energy, smart cities and promoting investment in future economies.
“Panasonic has long seen sustainability practices as central to our business strategy, and we have worked to embed them in our global business operations since the 1970s, detailing our environmental performance as a key part of our disclosures in the company’s annual report,” Taylor said. “Sustainability, especially as it relates to renewable energy, is also an increasingly important element in the company’s business transformation here in North America, and I expect that trend to continue.
“Our energy solution strategy is to provide integrated solutions to create, store, save and manage energy,” he continued. “We have a very broad range of technology from solar panels to lighting controls to high-capacity energy storage batteries, to apply to solutions for our enterprise customers.”
At last year’s Fortune Brainstorm Green, the company announced the establishment of Panasonic Eco Solutions North America, a unit that focuses on the design, implementation and financing of renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects in the U.S. and Canada.
Panasonic Eco Solutions has also created a strategic relationship with Coronal Management for the formation of a new company to provide financing for distributed generation solar systems.
Since its establishment one year ago, Panasonic Eco Solutions North America has undertaken solar-energy generation projects for the Conrad G. Hilton Foundation, leading retail property owner and developer Macerich Company, the University of Colorado at Boulder and others.
Panasonic reiterated that it is also currently constructing an eco-friendly state-of-the-art North American headquarters in Newark, N.J.
The building is adjacent to the largest public transit hub in northern New Jersey and is billed as “a model of environmental responsibility,” Panasonic said.
The building is designed to be LEED Gold Certified and the interior Panasonic space to be LEED Platinum Certified.
Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker said, “Panasonic’s investment in Newark is like an ignition switch for our city. They’re bringing life to a part of our city that badly needs it and putting Newark on the map as a magnet for smart green design.”
