Oct. 8, 2007 Electronics manufacturer Panasonic has pledged to cut 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions from its manufacturing operations over the next three years, adding that it will soon count CO2 elimination asa "critical management indicator."

Panasonic made the commitment as part of its "Eco Ideas Declaration" identifying the three areas of environmental focus: to deliver energy-efficient products, to reduce C02 emissions, and to educate consumers on environmental issues and impacts.

The environmental performance goals have officially been added to Panasonic's "GP3" three-year business plan, to be completed in March 2010. The company says that beginning in 2009 it will consider CO2 emissions a critical management indicator, along with sales, operating profit, inventory.

In April, Panasonic established an environmental performance system to collect monthly performance data on 23 items from the manufacturing locations worldwide. The performance data items include CO2 emissions as well as water and energy consumption such as electricity, gas, and fuel oil, among others. The system started this month in Japan and will be implemented at all manufacturing locations including overseas facilities in January 2008, the company says.