Panasonic is well advanced in transforming its global organisation and introducing environmentally sustainable product innovations, bringing hundreds of new eco technologies to the market including; high efficiency heat pumps, photovoltaic solar panels, energy storage batteries and new fuel cell technology. Since Panasonic was founded in Japan in 1918, the company’s principles have remained as the basis of its operations today. The first of seven Panasonic founding principles is to demonstrate ‘contribution to society’ and, whilst many traditional Panasonic products consume energy, to help achieve the target of being the number one green innovation company in the electronics industry by 2018, many new Panasonic green products and ‘eco ideas’ will contribute clean energy generation to society, energy that can be used to power devices and utilities that Panasonic also provides.
Whilst cutting edge eco technology is at the forefront of its R&D, the company also recognises that society’s next generation, the young people of today, represent our future and new technology to them is a normal part of growing up. With this in mind, Panasonic is taking steps to engage, raise awareness and educate those growing up in a world of challenges and threats to our global ecological system with a new education programme called ‘Kids School – Eco Learning’.
‘Kids School’ was first introduced in Europe in 2009 by Panasonic and the non-governmental organisation FEE and is designed to target primary school children between the ages of 7 and 11. The programme offers a child the opportunity to learn about climate change, biodiversity and protecting the planet in an easy-to-understand, fun and interactive way. The programme is also structured in such a way that its assists teachers with lesson planning for lessons linked with environmental awareness.
The Panasonic pledge includes provision of free educational material for schools and teachers such as documents, videos and helpful lesson content can be downloaded from the Panasonic website or distributed in printed form free of charge, giving everything needed to educate children about environmental issues in an appealing and motivating way. The materials also include content generated through another education and engagement programme Panasonic supports on a global scale called Kid Witness News (KWN). Video content that KWN has generated that relate to environment and ecology topics and particularly those videos that participating KWN teams have received awards for can be used to form part of the content that is used in the ‘Kids School’ education programme.
Other fun and engaging features are available from Panasonic to help drive the programme such as appearances from ‘Mr Green’, the official mascot of the Kids School project and iconic character that appears in supplied material such as the ‘Eco Picture Diary’. The Kids School website and other materials are available in several European languages and, Panasonic offices in each participating country are delivering the programme locally in their national language. Another feature of ‘Kids School’ programme enables participating schools to enter both National and European ‘Eco Picture Diary’ competitions with the chance of winning money for their school to purchase essential education kit plus hundreds of pounds worth of the latest Panasonic camera and TV equipment .
With Panasonic transforming its R&D with new eco innovation, providing society with new eco friendly technology, increasing employee awareness of a commitment to “Green Life Innovation” through local community participation and ‘Kids School’, Panasonic really is demonstrating measurable ways in which it continues to contribute to society and reach eco goals. So if you work at a school or have children that you think could benefit why not get in touch today by emailing uk.kidsschool@eu.panasonic.com, today? The deadline for the UK National competition is 15th May 2012 and winners will be selected on 31st May 2012
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