Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic, openly admits that climate change was not initially a top priority for him. However, since taking over as head of the parent conglomerate, he has had a dramatic change of heart. Kusumi now emphasizes Panasonic’s commitment to “green impact” initiatives and the company’s role as a public institution of society.
Panasonic, along with other Japanese businesses, is leading a government-backed campaign to adopt a new metric, called Scope 4 or “avoided” emissions. This metric goes beyond a company’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its own operations and supply chains and considers the contributions made to society and the economy by its energy-saving products and services.
Panasonic faces challenges with current environmental metrics due to its diverse range of products, including car batteries that are carbon-intensive to produce. However, Kusumi believes that factoring in avoided emissions would provide a more accurate view of the company’s environmental impact.
Under its latest climate plan, Panasonic aims to achieve virtually net-zero CO₂ emissions from its operations by 2030 and reduce total emissions by over 300 million tonnes by 2050. Two-thirds of this reduction would come from avoided emissions through the sale of existing and new technologies and businesses.
While critics argue that avoided emissions may lead to greenwashing, there is growing support for this concept in the global asset management industry. Asset management firms such as Schroders, Robeco, and Mirova are endorsing the use of avoided emissions metrics to expand climate finance.
There are challenges in quantifying avoided emissions and ensuring global adoption of the metric. However, Tatsuo Ogawa, Panasonic’s chief technology officer, emphasizes the importance of establishing proper guidelines and making avoided emissions a global standard.
Yuki Kusumi believes that Scope 4 is necessary to fully assess a company’s emissions performance. He argues that if companies are penalized for increasing emissions when manufacturing products like batteries, it might discourage efforts to accelerate overall CO₂ reduction.
In conclusion, Panasonic is actively embracing the concept of avoided emissions to showcase its environmental impact beyond operational and supply chain efforts. While there are valid concerns and challenges associated with this metric, the push for global adoption is gaining support and recognition from industry leaders and organizations.
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