Having celebrated its centennial in 2021, Mitsubishi Electric will kick off its next one hundred years at CES 2022 online. The company marked the milestone by revisiting its corporate values, pledging to shift away from an economic focus on products and toward a social-contributing focus dedicated to corporate citizenship. This new philosophy and direction will be on display at CES 2022 online as the company’s core business pillars that come together to offer a range of solutions to realize a vibrant and sustainable society centered on people.

First Steps into a New Era

One of the world’s largest trade shows, CES (originally an acronym for Consumer Electronics Show) is held in Las Vegas every January, attracting a following not only from those in the consumer electronics industry but also from the media, investors, analysts, and general technology enthusiasts. Industry stakeholders look to CES as a stage on which to set trends and make highly anticipated announcements for the coming year.

The timing of the event at the very beginning of the year is far from the only reason for its popularity. Launched in 1967 with only 100 exhibitors in attendance, CES has long since expanded beyond a simple consumer electronics conference. Today, thousands of the most innovative businesses leverage its far-reaching platform to pinpoint key trends in rapidly evolving industries such as mobility, healthcare, VR, games, and carbon neutrality, as well as to broadcast their global messages of a better future.

Mitsubishi Electric has participated in CES for many years, with exhibits in recent years focusing on innovative technologies within specific industries such as the automotive sector. However, as the environment surrounding people and society has greatly changed, the company rethought its approach. When the event returns in both live and virtual formats in early 2022, Mitsubishi Electric’s online exhibition will focus on the many diverse yet integrated solutions that the company can offer to solve key social issues as a diversified electric and electronics company with affiliates around the globe.

"At past events, we concentrated on the automotive sector," says Toshio Kawai, Senior General Manager of Global Strategic Planning & Marketing Group at Mitsubishi Electric. "However, we now believe it would be better to promote our core technologies and solutions in a more comprehensive manner. Starting this year, our exhibitions will present integrated solutions that harness all of our strengths as a company."

By observing the reactions of visitors as they encounter these comprehensive solutions in person, Mitsubishi Electric is hoping to get a good grasp of industry trends over the next year or two or even further into the future. Kawai predicts that this strategy will allow the company to determine its future direction as far ahead as 2030 or 2050.

Embodying Corporate Citizenship

Behind the shift to introducing integrated, multidisciplinary solutions at this headline-grabbing trade show is Mitsubishi Electric’s new purpose statement. Adopted in 2021 to coincide with the company’s centennial and fresh look toward the future, this statement is founded on the idea that all employees should strive to keep in mind the end consumer, not just their corporate clients, and to improve their lives and the world they live in. This reflects the company’s commitment to transition from an economic perspective driven by sales to a social perspective dedicated to corporate citizenship, which involves environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"We used to discuss our operations at an organizational level," says Kawai. "But our new management policy brings into focus how each and every employee is involved in our businesses and contributes to society. It is a people-centered way of thinking." The company also intends to use this approach to utilize its solutions to solve issues in areas such as sustainability, decarbonization, and DX, which ultimately affect all of society.

So, what exactly is Mitsubishi Electric, planning for CES 2022? The central theme of the exhibition will be "Smart Society," with every display touching on the goals of solving global issues and achieving the SDGs. The company will present integrated solutions in four thematic pillars — life, industry, infrastructure, and mobility — which are summarized below.

Life: Energy-efficient heating and cooling technologies; people- and eco-friendly residential solutions such as zero-energy buildings (ZEBs); touchless elevator control panels
(The PureRide touchless elevator control panel has received a prestigious CES 2022 Innovation Award in the Smart City category.)

Industry: Labor-saving, safety-enhancing and productivity-optimizing industry solutions such as robots and e-F@ctory

Infrastructure: Power generation, security, and public transportation systems that provide sustainability, safety, and security in our lives

Mobility: Autonomous driving; mobility robots that can take on a multitude of tasks

A Global Approach to Sustainability

CES 2022 is coming at a symbolic time — just when Mitsubishi Electric is celebrating its centennial and embarking on its next one hundred years. As the company shifts its priorities to comprehensive solutions that reflect its commitment to corporate citizenship, Mitsubishi Electric’s ultimate purpose — to "contribute to the realization of a vibrant and sustainable society through continuous technological innovation and ceaseless creativity" — is coming into sharper focus.

Next month’s CES will mark a true turning point for Mitsubishi Electric.
It will represent the first step in the company’s quest to deepen ties between its solid management base, which has steered the company for a century, and its global network of 167 affiliate companies located around the world. Kawai hopes that this will result in a stronger global presence.

"The message we promote at CES will reach every region around the world, which will open up new overseas business opportunities," he says. "As we look ahead to the next one hundred years, the importance of global collaboration cannot be overstated. This means strengthening cooperation with our major R&D facilities in US and Europe, and expanding our business interests through local initiatives rather than waiting for orders from Japan. CES 2022 has brought that message to the forefront."

Masanori Akamoto, Senior Manager at the Global Strategic Planning & Marketing Group who has been involved in Mitsubishi Electric’s CES activities for many years, says that the company’s workforce will be its greatest strength when it comes to contributing to society over the next one hundred years. "We currently have 140,000 employees all over the world. Anywhere you go, you will see that our people are the best of the best. To stay competitive, we will need to continue building up our regional workforces and creating a strong global network that brings together all of our affiliates. Mitsubishi Electric has a wealth of human resources that we have nurtured over the years, and I believe this is one of our greatest strengths in the global market."

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