Panasonic has announced that it is extending its Offset For Life programme to encompass its range of professional displays. The carbon offset programme, launched originally for the professional projector range in November 2010 (see here), allows Panasonic customers to offset carbon emitted through the usage of their projectors and displays, enabling a reduction in their net contribution to climate change.
Since the introduction of the eco-friendly “NeoPDP” technology in 2009, Panasonic says that it has been committed to supporting the AV industry with products which consume less electricity, without compromising on picture quality and brightness. NeoPDP is said to offer customers four times the luminance efficiency of the 2007 models. The professional displays range is also mercury and lead free, reducing the impact on the environment when recycling or during disposal, while the screens are claimed to be very efficient with a panel life of up to 100,000 hours .
Customers can opt-in to the programme when purchasing professional Panasonic displays from a dealer, allowing the carbon offset to be added to their own corporate carbon reduction targets, as well as making a positive contribution to their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Calculating the emissions of a project can be done through the online calculator at www.panasonic-offset.eu. In addition, customers can order the offset through Panasonic and they will receive a certificate declaring that the given project’s emissions have been offset.
Panasonic is working in partnership with ClimateCare, one of the leading carbon offset companies in the world, and through the programme will be supporting three of its Gold Standard green house gas emission reduction projects:
• Wind farm in Turkey: The project consists of 54 wind turbines, providing a total installed capacity of 135MW on Gokcedag Mountain between Bahçe and Hasanbeyli in the Osmaniye Province, Turkey. In addition to the energy benefits, the project also employs local people, sources local materials and components and helps Turkey meet its growing energy demands
• Wind farm in Ningxia Yinyi, northern China: The wind farm is expected to generate approximately 105 GWh of clean renewable electricity each year in a country where 80 percent of electricity comes from coal power, as well as stimulating local employment
• The provision of efficient cook stoves in Ghana: Most families in Ghana cook with inefficient charcoal ‘coal-pots’. The project replaces these coal pots with an efficient stove, known as the Gyapa, which reduces charcoal consumption by 25 percent. The stoves also reduce indoor smoke levels which can cause debilitating illnesses
“We understand that our customers in markets such as retail, education, corporate and the public sector are under huge pressure to reduce their impact, coupled with the ever increasing demand for higher brightness and larger screens,” said David Martin, European marketing general manager for displays (pictured). “The Offset for Life programme is another major step towards this. By signing up, our customers will be able to ensure their own carbon footprints are reduced, as well as help contribute to more sustainable lifestyles in Turkey, China and Ghana.”
Panasonic says that it is also striving continually to ensure its product ranges, including its projectors and displays, are as energy efficient as possible. As an example, the energy saving design of its new PH30 series of high definition plasma displays is said to have reduced energy consumption by 35 per cent over the previous PH20 range without compromising on performance.
