Message from the CEO

Fujio Mitarai

Canon’s corporate philosophy is summarized in the Japanese word kyosei, which describes the idea of harmonious coexistence. Kyosei expresses our shared aspiration to create a society in which all people live and work together harmoniously for the common good into the future, regardless of race, language or culture.

Based on our corporate philosophy of kyosei, Canon has also been at the forefront of initiatives to protect the environment because we consider this to be our responsibility as a global enterprise. We have tried to build harmonious relationships with the Earth and the natural environment. We introduced a system for printer cartridge recycling in 1990. Since then, we have worked throughout our organization to reduce the lifecycle CO2 emissions of Canon products at every stage from R&D, design, procurement and production to logistics, sale, servicing and postuse collection and recycling.

Since 2008, we have been working to achieve an annual average improvement of 3% in lifecycle CO2 emissions per product. We have achieved a cumulative improvement of 43% in the life cycle of products from development to recycling through energy and resource conservation and streamlining of distribution. By 2030, we aim to reduce emissions by 50% from the 2008 baseline, and, by 2050, we aim to cut our CO2 emissions across product lifecycles to net zero by working together with society.

Moreover, from the perspective of conserving resources, we operate recycling plants across five sites globally, in Japan, the US, Germany, France, and China. We also strive to use less resources by eliminating waste via automated production and just-in-time logistics systems, while also standardizing components to reduce inventories. As we move ahead, we aim to achieve coexistence between affluent lifestyles and the global environment by providing more value with fewer resources by leveraging the power of technology and innovation throughout all product lifecycles.

Besides our business activities, we are engaged in initiatives that focus on people and society so we can leverage the talents of those working with Canon to be an enterprise that thrives in partnership with local communities.

In 2021, we refined the Canon Group Human Rights Policy, in line with the deep respect for people that has always been core to Canon’s approach and based on international standards relating to respect for human rights. We are continuing to strengthen our activities in line with this policy while conducting dialogues with stakeholders.

Our ideal is to grow and prosper with those in the community so Canon is an enterprise that is admired and respected around the world. Based on our corporate philosophy of kyosei, we are committed to helping realize a better society by engaging in dialogue with our stakeholders in every part of the world and to address the issues faced by people worldwide.

I humbly ask for your continued support.