Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Panasonic Holdings Corporation is strategically engaged with climate policy. It has generally positive engagement with policy areas including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, carbon taxes, emissions trading, and circular economy, and advocates for renewable energy and green hydrogen, but with occasional ambiguities around the pace or extent of the energy transition. Panasonic holds memberships and executive positions in industry associations that have engaged negatively with climate policies, including the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), while also holding memberships to associations with positive engagement such as the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA).
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Panasonic has generally positive top-line messaging on climate policy. In a joint letter submitted to Japan’s Environment Minister by the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) in December 2024, Panasonic supported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target. Panasonic supported urgent action to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions in its Sustainability Data Book 2024, published in August 2024, and the then-chairman of Panasonic Holdings broadly supported circular economy regulation in a January 2024 message in the Keidanren Times. In addition, Panasonic endorsed a JCI proposal in December 2023 advocating for the increased ambition of carbon pricing. In a feature story published on its corporate website in December 2023, Panasonic supported “increased regulation and ambitions” to accelerate progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Panasonic has generally positive engagement with policies on renewable energy, GHG emissions, carbon taxes, emissions trading, and circular economy. In a joint letter submitted to Japan’s Environment Minister by JCI in December 2024, Panasonic supported a target of 65-80% renewable electricity by 2035 under the 7th Strategic Energy Plan (SEP). In the same joint letter, Panasonic supported a nationally determined contribution (NDC) of at least 66% GHG emissions reductions by 2035. Panasonic also broadly supported GHG emissions targets in Brazil in a January 2024 feature story on its corporate website. In its 2024 CDP disclosure, Panasonic stated that it advocates for rulemaking for market creation as a member of the Green Transformation (GX) League, but was unclear regarding specific GHG emissions legislation.
On carbon pricing policies, in a JCI proposal submitted to the Cabinet in December 2023, Panasonic advocated for the fossil fuel levy under Japan’s Green Transformation (GX) Promotion Act to be introduced earlier than 2028 and at a price level in line with the 1.5°C target. In the same proposal, Panasonic supported a regulatory emissions trading scheme.
Regarding circular economy regulations, Panasonic promoted policy support for product reuse and refurbishment at a hearing with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) in March 2024. In its Sustainability Data Book 2024 published in August 2024, Panasonic supported sustainable e-waste management policy in countries including Thailand and New Zealand.
In an October 2024 hearing with Japan’s Ministry of Environment, Panasonic Electric Works Company supported efforts to achieve "Zero Emission Building (ZEB) Ready" status for renovations by local governments, but did not specify further positions on energy efficiency legislation.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Panasonic supports renewable energy and green hydrogen, although with occasional ambiguities around the pace or extent of the energy transition. In a JCI joint message submitted to Japan’s Environment Minister in December 2024, Panasonic supported the phase-out of coal power plants by 2035 and accelerated deployment of solar and wind power under the 7th SEP. At a March 2024 METI hearing, Panasonic appeared to emphasize the need for government leadership to address cost and environmental needs for energy, but did not take a clear position on the energy transition. On the other hand, in a March 2024 feature story on its website, Panasonic supported hydrogen produced from renewable energy for use in heavy industry.
Panasonic supported the electrification of vehicles in an article on its website in June 2024. In an article published on its website in November 2023, Panasonic appeared to support the Chinese government’s use of hydrogen for heavy-duty vehicles, but did not take a position on the production method for hydrogen.
Industry Association Governance: As of August 2025, Panasonic has disclosed a partial list of its industry association memberships on its website, but with limited details of its role within each organization, and appears to exclude twelve industry associations actively engaged on climate policy, including the Kansai Economic Federation and Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).
Panasonic holds an executive position in the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), which has historically engaged in opposition to key climate policies in Japan. Panasonic also holds senior positions in the Kansai Economic Federation and JEITA, which have engaged with a mix of positive and negative positions. On the other hand, Panasonic is a supporting member of the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP) and a member of the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) in the United States and the Smart Energy Council in Australia, all of which have engaged positively with climate policies. Panasonic has not published a review of its industry association memberships and climate policy engagement.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2025.