Sustainability at Canon
Approach to Sustainability
Since 1988, Canon has been striving to uphold our corporate philosophy of Kyosei (living and working together for the common good) in order to contribute to worldwide prosperity and happiness.
A society in which all people live and work together, respecting one another and coexisting happily, regardless of culture, customs, language, ethnicity, or region. And a society in harmony with nature, able to preserve Earth’s abundant resources for future generations.
To realize such a society, Canon will create new value through the power of innovation and technology, providing world-first technologies and world-leading products and services while also contributing to solutions for the problems our society faces. By providing greater value while using fewer resources throughout all product lifecycles, we aim to enable affluent lifestyles while protecting the environment.
Through our corporate activities, Canon proactively works toward realizing a sustainable society.
- Approach to Sustainability (formulated in October 2021)
Promotion System
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Besides coordinating activities across the Canon Group to promote sustainability from social and environmental angles, Sustainability Headquarters of Canon Inc. draws on the expertise of divisions such as legal affairs, human resources, procurement, and quality assurance to inform the response to specialist issues.
The division overseeing activities reports as required on the direction and content of measures to the CEO and the CFO. Once approval is received, it then promotes activities in cooperation with the relevant divisions in Japan and overseas. We disclose information regarding our sustainability initiatives in this report, which is published annually with the approval of management.
Additionally, in April 2024, Canon established a Sustainability Committee to share information and conduct preliminary deliberations with the aim of ensuring appropriate and effective judgment by the CEO or Board of Directors regarding the sustainability-related matters that Canon should address.
Driving Awareness across the Group
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To revitalize activities and help develop a sustainability mindset across the Group, we share the direction of sustainability activities and related details at meetings such as our global management conferences for the senior managers of major Group companies. Moreover, we assess the results achieved under the business policies of each operating division and manufacturing and marketing company under a consolidated performance evaluation system, as well as the results of their various environmental and social contribution activities, to raise awareness among executives.
In addition, we are conducting a range of sustainability-related training for managers and general employees to drive awareness of sustainability issues.
Specific examples of initiatives
- Education programs for specialist areas such as environmental protection, respect for human rights, data management and compliance
- Sustainability awards system based on categories (e.g., environment, quality)
- Sharing of information on sustainability activities via the company intranet
- Information-sharing meetings involving personnel responsible for sustainability across Group companies
- We invite experts from both within the Group and outside to speak on various topics related to sustainability, such as human rights issues, diversity, and food waste, using the company intranet to disseminate information to employees (for details, see the following website).
Sustainability-Related policies
Engagement in Initiatives
- Responsible Business Alliance (RBA)
- Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI)
- Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
- Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
- Japan Climate Initiative (JCI)
- WIPO GREEN
- 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity
- Joint Article Management Promotion-consortium (JAMP)
Canon Sustainability Channel
With the aim of spurring innovation, Canon holds monthly interactive online events since July 2021, in which anyone can participate to enhance the understanding of individual employees about sustainability issues in a social context.
Guest speakers at events have included people working with the UNHCR or on LGBTQ-related initiatives. These events also introduce Canon’s in-house sustainability activities to help provide information on a range of topics.
Topics addressed in 2025
2025
| Date | Theme | Guest speakers |
|---|---|---|
| March 26 | Live Broadcast from the Canon Bird Branch Project Exhibition | Employees in related departments |
| February 25 | Canon China's Sustainability Initiatives | An employee of Canon (China) Co., Ltd. |
| January 28 | Live Stream of the Nest Box Opening Ceremony | Employees in related departments |