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courtesy: greenpeace

This push by the company is in line with a Federal Government initiative which yesterday allocated $14 million over four years for improving appliance performance in the home, including a new Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) scheme.

Steve Rust, Managing Director, Panasonic Australia said, "Manufacturers and consumers need to understand that a product's eco footprint extends well beyond its intended use, with much of its environmental impact occurring before and after its time in the home."

Panasonic research found as much as 10 per cent of product carbon emissions are generated during manufacture and transport of electrical products, along with the more than 2 million televisions ending up in Australian landfill each year.

"We will be soon writing to the Minister for the Environment confirming our support and offering our expertise", says Rust, adding, "Panasonic already participates in similar labelling programs for more than 1,000 of its products in Japan".

Panasonic says it considers it a major responsibility to improve the energy saving performance of home appliances and it recently unveiled prototypes of its double-efficiency Plasma televisions, which aim to reduce power consumption by 50 per cent while maintaining the same level of brightness.