Over the life of a product - from concept to retirement - manufacturing can often have the biggest impact on the environment. Panasonic is committed to making sure the manufacturing of Toughbook® rugged computers has the smallest environmental effect possible.
Panasonic's eco-friendly computer manufacturing policy mandates that all Toughbook products are built using lead-free soldering. Lead can trigger brain and blood disorders — especially in children — if the metal is accumulated in the body. Toughbook mobile computers also are increasingly manufactured with fewer halogenated plastics. These plastics are widely used for their fire-resistant attributes but can emit toxic gasses when incinerated. In addition, all Toughbook laptops are manufactured with minimal use of plastic resins, which makes the products easier to recycle.
Not only are the materials that make up Toughbook mobile computers getting more environmentally-friendly, the factories that manufacture them are as well. In fiscal year 2006, Panasonic introduced the Clean Factory Accreditation System, which is based on tough global environmental standards such as ISO 14000 and includes global warming prevention guidelines. Panasonic's basic principle for the Clean Factory initiative is reducing inputs to--and discharges from--company factories. For example, to be labeled a Clean Factory, a plant must recycle 98 percent of the waste it generates.
The accreditation determined that 250 of Panasonic's 319 factories — 78 percent — were indeed clean. Panasonic is working to make the rest of its factories clean.
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