Panasonic Corporation announced on October 8, 2026 that it will begin pilot programs in Vietnam and the Philippines to collect, refurbish, and recover materials from used air conditioners. The initiative is based on the Panasonic Group’s long-term environmental vision “Panasonic GREEN IMPACT,” and will run in both countries through the end of March 2027. The pilots are being carried out as part of the Ministry of the Environment’s “International Metal Resource Circulation Promotion Project.”
As economic growth drives wider adoption of home appliances across ASEAN countries, establishing proper systems for collecting and processing used appliances remains a challenge. Air conditioners in particular contain refrigerants, making proper collection and processing essential. Panasonic aims to apply the appliance recycling technology, know-how, and refurbished-product sales expertise it has built up in Japan to these pilot programs.
In Vietnam, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements for electrical and electronic products took effect in January 2025, creating a need to build systems for properly collecting used appliances and channeling them into resource circulation. Panasonic Vietnam Co., Ltd. is partnering with major home appliance retailer Cao Phong to launch a collection pilot starting October 8. Customers who purchase Panasonic products at Cao Phong stores will be able to trade in their used air conditioners when buying a replacement. The collection scope also includes other brands’ products, with a target of collecting 500 to 1,000 units by the end of March 2027. The pilot will test the operational and business feasibility of a collection method that leverages the retailer’s sales network, as well as a collection scheme that can be sustained over the long term. Panasonic is considering eventually disassembling the collected air conditioners, sorting them by material, and using the output as recycled resources; going forward, it also plans to consider expanding the range of appliances covered and using the recovered materials in its own products manufactured in Vietnam.
In the Philippines, Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation (PMPC) is partnering with a major local home appliance retailer to launch a collection pilot in October. As in Vietnam, the goal is to collect 500 to 1,000 units including other brands’ products, while testing the collection method, material recovery process, and the potential use of recycled materials in its own products. The pilot will also examine the possibility of selling the collected air conditioners as refurbished products.
As part of its efforts to extend the usable life of appliances, PMPC ran a pilot in November 2025 selling 80 refurbished refrigerators. Since September 2026, it has also been piloting the sale of refrigerators returned due to initial defects or other issues—refurbished under strict quality standards and sold on a D2C website as “Panasonic Refresh.” Products are graded according to condition and sold with a one-year warranty from the date of purchase.
In Japan, Panasonic already offers inspected, warrantied refurbished products under the “Panasonic Factory Refresh” brand, and has long engaged in appliance recycling—collecting and disassembling used appliances to recover iron, copper, resin, and other materials for reuse as resources. Drawing on the refurbishment, quality control, collection, and material recovery know-how built up through these efforts, Panasonic will test resource circulation systems suited to the market conditions in each country.
Based on insights gained from the pilots in Vietnam and the Philippines, Panasonic plans to expand efforts—primarily across ASEAN—to build systems that extend the usable life of appliances and to promote proper collection, refurbishment, and material recovery of used appliances, tailored to the regulatory and market conditions of each country and region.
*Photos quoted from the press release
*The photo at the top shows the signing ceremony with Cao Phong (September 21, 2026, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam): Takayasu Fujino, President of Panasonic Vietnam (left), and Trang Hong Thai, Deputy Director of Cao Phong (right)
【Press release】Panasonic Launches Pilot Collection and Material Recovery Program for Used Appliances in Vietnam and the Philippines
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