Ideas for Living: Singapore and Panasonic’s Green Community

Panasonic earns its number 10 spot on Interbrand's Best Global Green Brands list, partnering with the government of Singapore to develop Asia’s first public-housing green community. Since the August 1 kickoff of the brand’s collaboration with Singapore’s housing board, the town has gained attention as a “living laboratory for green technology.”

The project will take over Punggol, a former farming and fishing village, starting with 100 households. Using surrounding elements of wind, sun, and rain, Panasonic is providing the technology to enable the community’s total energy solutions.

These solutions include:

• Solar energy panels – each building will feature Panasonic’s photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to power elevators, water pumps, and common areas, enabling building common areas to produce as little carbon emissions as possible.
• Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) – Energy systems will incorporate various ways to monitor consumption such as in-home displays and smart meters.

Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo describes Singapore, where 80% of the population lives in government housing, as an ideal place to begin a public green-housing program.  Through installation of Panasonic’s eco-friendly air conditioners, Singapore will be addressing “the largest consumers of electricity in tropical households.”

Panasonic, which has set for itself the goal of becoming the No. 1 green innovator in electronics by 2018 (its 100th anniversary), can use this high-profile collaboration to develop its expertise and credibility, and scale this model to other cities.