Environmental and Social Material Topics

Overview of Material Topics

In 2022, based on the GRI Standards as revised in 2021, Canon identified the material topics outlined below by considering the environmental and social impacts of Group activities – both positive and negative, direct and indirect. Topic identification was based on management discussions and the four-step processes described below.

Step 1:
Identify social issues using various indicators, including different international frameworks and sustainability surveys, and based on direct dialogue with stakeholders

Step 2:
Gauge the impact that Group business activities and actions taken in line with the medium- to long-term management plan have on the environment and society

Step 3:
Evaluate the significance of the impacts for each of the issues

Step 4:
Validate the selections and priorities in the assessment results through dialogue with external sustainability experts

To confirm the suitability of material topics, Canon conducts an annual review of surveys of sustainability trends from countries and regions worldwide, together with an analysis of related regulatory systems.
In 2024, Canon also began reviewing material topics in terms of compliance with global sustainability disclosure standards as set out by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

Targets and Results for Identified Material Topics

Environmental domain
Social domain

Environmental domain

★: Target met, good ☆: Target partially met

Material topics	Significance	Goals	Main targets	Results, achievements in 2024 (KPIs)	Status
Climate change	Very important	Achieve net zero GHG emissions over entire product lifecycles by 2050	In line with SBTi criteria, reduce Scope 1* & 2* GHG emissions by 42% and Scope 3* (category 1, 11) GHG emissions by 25% compared to 2022 by 2030	Reduced Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 12.8% and Scope 3 (category 1, 11) GHG emissions by 17.7% compared to 2022	★
Climate change	Very important		Lifecycle CO₂ emissions improvement index per product 3%-per-year average improvement, 50% improvement in 2030 compared to 2008	Annual average of 3.76% (2008-2023)	★
Resource efficiency	Very important	Contain new resource input and use recycled materials Completely eliminate single-use plastics in packaging materials	Total waste generation per basic unit: 1% improvement	2.2% improvement	★
Resource efficiency	Very important		Resource recycling rate for printing products in 2025: 20%. In 2030: 50%	Approx. 17%	☆
Chemical substances	Very important	Careful management of chemical substances in products and in manufacturing	Emissions of controlled chemical substances per basic unit: 1% improvement	0.9% deterioration	The target has not been achieved due to the deterioration of efficiency resulting from factors such as increased usage accompanying quality improvements from the cleaning process. We aim to achieve the target through thorough management of emissions suitable for the processes.
Chemical substances	Very important		Prohibit inclusion of designated chemical substances in products one year before ban	No prohibited substances in products	★
Biodiversity	Important	Conserve biodiversity from a global perspective while considering diverse local characteristics Reduce impact on biodiversity of all business activities and promote social contribution activities that help conserve biodiversity	“Consideration for biodiversity centered on operational sites”: Ascertain impact of business activities on biodiversity, conserve animal and plant habitats around operational sites	Expanded Bird Branch activities Shimomaruko Woodland registered in the OECM international database Oita Plant of Oita Canon and Canon Medical Systems Head Office registered as “Nature Symbiosis Sites”	★
Biodiversity	Important		water usage per basic unit: 1% improvement	0.6% improvement	The target has not been achieved due to the deterioration of efficiency resulting from factors such as an increased production ratio of products with high water usage. We aim to achieve the target through thorough management of usage suitable for the processes.

Social domain

★: Target met, good ☆: Target partially met

Material topics	Significance	Goals	Main targets	Results, achievements in 2024 (KPIs)	Status
Human rights and labor	Very important	Respect the human rights of all stakeholders involved in Canon’s business activities	Mitigate risks by conducting human rights due diligence	Identifying salient human rights risks in business activities, including supply chain Self-audits by sites in Japan and overseas using RBA tools: 64 sites Expanding human rights training as part of human rights awareness activities for employees	★
		Environments that maximize the individuality and potential of employees, ensure mutual respect for diversity, and empower employees	Canon Inc.: Increase ratio of female managers by 3x by end-2025 from 2011 level	Ratio of female managers at Canon Inc.: 4.2%	★
			Canon Inc.: Increase ratio of male employees taking childcare leave to at least 50% by end-2025	Ratio of male employees taking childcare leave at Canon Inc.: 64.6%	★
		Safe, secure workplace environments for employees	Canon Inc. and Group companies in Japan: Eliminate all types of machinery-related accidents (0 cases)	Canon Inc. and Group companies in Japan: All types of machinery-related accidents (2 cases)	Although accidents occurred and the target was not met, we are putting measures in place to prevent recurrence and continue to conduct risk assessments, aiming to achieve the target
		Safe, secure workplace environments for employees	Canon Inc. and Group companies in Japan: Eliminate accidents caused by highly hazardous chemical substances (0 cases)	Canon Inc. and Group companies in Japan: Accidents caused by highly hazardous chemical substances (0 cases)	★
Sociocultural support activities	Important	Contributing to the realization of a better society as a good corporate citizen	Promote sociocultural support activities in global and local communities by leveraging the Group’s advanced technological capabilities, global business development expertise, and diverse, specialized human resources	Workshops for the Canon Young People Programme aimed at fostering creativity and expressiveness in young people held across 32 countries with 1,725 attendees Participants in Miraisha Programme aiming to increase employment opportunities and technical skills in Africa: About 600 Beneficiaries in 4E’s Project providing multi-faceted assistance in India: 26,450 Visitors to Tsuzuri Project special exhibition preserving ancient Japanese cultural assets for the future: About 10,000	★

* Scope 1: Direct emissions (city gas, LPG, light oil, kerosene, non-energy-related greenhouse gases, etc.)
Scope 2: Indirect emissions (from use of electricity, steam, etc.)
Scope 3: Supply chain-related emissions (emissions from purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution, and utilization of sold products).

Material Topics (PP10-11) (1.0MB)