Panasonic Electric Works Co., a major Japanese manufacturer of lighting fixtures (among its many other products), launched its Carbon Offset and Lighting Renewal campaign in July 2008. Panasonic expects the campaign, targeted at existing building owners, will allow it to achieve zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from lighting by combining both the introduction of a system of highly efficient, energy saving lights and the purchase of carbon offsets.

The company has been selling a type of lighting fixture since 2007 called the W-Eco, which consumes 38 percent less electricity, lasts longer, and uses less material compared to conventional models. If all the lighting fixtures in existing buildings were replaced by the W-Eco model, as proposed in the campaign, CO2 emissions related to the use of lighting would be significantly reduced.

Moreover, the company suggests that building owners visualize and calculate the expected amount of inevitable CO2 emissions, and then it introduces them to a specific plan for purchasing emissions credits for carbon offset using some of the funds saved by the switch in lighting fixtures.

Panasonic also introduces the most suitable sales company of emissions credits to its customers, in accordance with particular customer needs such as volume and the time, and then promotes the trading of credits. In the case of a nine-story office building in Tokyo with a total floor area of 15,000 square meters, for example, CO2 emissions would amount to 333 tons before the retrofit. The company says that 126 tons out of the 333 tons could be reduced by the energy savings produced by using the W-Eco model, and then the remaining 207 tons could be offset by purchasing emissions credits.

http://panasonic-electric-works.net/

Posted: 2008/11/07 11:15:03 PM

TAG Eco-product/Business , Energy , Global warming , Manufacturing industry