Daikin Airconditioning Philippines Inc., a high-end air cooling solutions provider, said Wednesday it supports a proposal to compel manufacturers of electronic gadgets and appliances to collect used, worn-out and antedated consumer products.
Daikin manager for sales operations Jed Caburian told Manila Standard the company was willing to abide by the measure, once it was approved and implemented.
“Right now, there is no detailed law about proper electronic waste disposal. We heard there are proposals for manufactures to collect e-waste and charge the users or owners for collection, so as to properly manage e-waste,” he said.
“However, Daikin, even before these talks on proper e-waste disposal came out, had already been complying with international standards. We design our products to last a long time, maybe a lifetime’s worth should I say it. Therefore, our e-waste is not as problematic compared to other electronic manufacturers,” he said.
Caburian said Daikin, in complying with international standards, was always a step ahead in terms of considering the environment and consumers’ health and safety as well as value for money.
He said while the Philippines has yet to implement a 4-star rating for energy consumption efficiency, Daikin ready earned an award in the Japan market for this.
He said what the Philippines was implementing was the orange tag program of the Manila Electric Co. in cooperation with the Trade Department. The orange tag is a system that rates the electric efficiency of electronic appliances and converts it into savings in terms of peso value.
Daikin will offer entry-level air-conditioning units using inverter technology under the Cooling King series by the third quarter of 2017.
Daikin Philippines president Lee Wai Kok said the company was bullish on the continued economic growth and the increasing capacity of Filipinos to level-up to aspirational consumer durables.
“We ventured into these economy units to close the gap between window-type and split-type air-conditioners. While window-type are priced at P12,000 to P15,000 per unit, our Cooling King, equipped with better environment-compliant refrigerant will cost between P15,000 and P20,000 each,” he said.
The company expects to increase its market share in the local air cooling solutions segment as it forays into affordable, inverter-type air-conditioners for the residential market.
