The China & Northeast Asia Company strives to create positive social impact through our business by providing solutions that support healthy, comfortable living for the region’s aging population.
Wellness Smart Town initiative
Our company, founded in 2019, operates two main business segments, home appliances and residential equipment, focused on delivering services to homes and living spaces.
Aiming to help people in China live longer healthy lives by using Japanese know-how, we broke ground on a Wellness Smart Town for seniors with our cooperative partner, Yada International Holdings Ltd. Some 1,150 homes in the town use all Panasonic residential equipment.
The integrated Panasonic solutions introduced in this town include indoor air quality control with PM2.5 filtration and temperature & humidity optimization, sanitary spaces that utilize customer health data, and smart bedrooms that promote a good rest. Scheduled to move into the town in fall 2021, residents will be able to adjust their living environment for increased health and comfort using a simple operation on a smartphone, which have a high penetration rate in China.
The Wellness Smart Town initiative also has the potential to be expanded to Southeast Asia, India, and other regions facing similar issues, which we believe can contribute to the healthy life targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Reducing food loss and resource waste with fresh food cold chains
Panasonic boasts a large share of the commercial refrigeration system and display case market. Due to a lack of pre-cooling equipment in production areas such as farms and fishing ports, however, an estimated 30% of all harvested food in China ends up processed as waste.
To address this issue, we are installing pre-cooling equipment through a business tie-up with Guizhou province in Southwest China, and also serving as a general contractor to engineer and build refrigerated warehouses for clients across China. We believe this will contribute to a healthier, better life by reducing food loss, converting loss from waste into higher income for people in rural and fishing villages, and improving food quality and safety — all goals mentioned in the SDGs.
We are also working to reduce resource waste by leasing equipment. These efforts are intended to change the status quo in which refrigerated display cases are disposed of earlier than their intended lifetime due to the unique customs surrounding real estate contracts for stores in China.
Turning recognition into future trust for health and safety
A basic tenet of Panasonic's management philosophy, that "a company is a public entity of society," is a well-known concept in China. More than ever before, corporations are being called to contribute to societal wellbeing.
Nowadays, as the importance of health and safety draws renewed attention in China due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of the air, water, and food we deliver through our business is gaining recognition. By continuing to deliver value that turns this recognition into trust, we will contribute to the achievement of the SDGs in this region.
