Contributing to a Society in Harmony with Nature

Putting up a nest box at a company site.

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Canon Bird Branch Project

Japanese tit raising their children in a nest box

A birdwatching tour at Beijing’s Olympic Green

Biodiversity refers to the way living things interact as they coexist on earth. Within this sphere, birds occupy the top position in a local ecosystem pyramid of plants, insects, and small animals, symbolizing thecycle o f life. Canon promotes the Bird Branch Project, which encompasses a range of bird-centered activities at operational sites in Japan and overseas, as a symbol of the initiatives based on its Group-wide Biodiversity Policy.
Canon’s Shimomaruko headquarters complex in Tokyo occupies a site with extensive greenspace containing a wide variety of trees. Under the supervision of the Wild Bird Society of Japan, a monthly survey of the migratory origin of wild birds is carried out to keep track of the population and the changes by season and by year in the 35 species of wild birds so far recorded. The survey has now been extended to other sites, with bird baths and nest boxes installed, nests regularly cleaned, and measures taken to protect the chicks against falling as part of efforts to provide an environment conducive to breeding and rearing young for a wide variety of wild birds. Alerting employees to the presence of nest boxes gives themthe opportunity to observe and learn how wild birds raise their young.
With the idea of attracting kingfishers to the ponds on its site in Ibaraki Prefecture, Canon Ecology Industry Inc. consulted with experts before taking a range of measures to enhance the pond environment, including releasing fish into them. For owls, which are at the top of the food chain, staff have installed large nest boxes and provided other encouragements. Measures to prevent bird strikes (incidents caused by birds or other creatures colliding with human-made structures) and ongoing observation of rare species also contribute to maintaining the welcoming environment for many different wild bird species.
The project website includes regular posts from an expert who explains in simple terms the sometimes difficult subject of biodiversity from the perspective of birds, as well as a bird photo guide and a course on how to photograph birds. The accessible content is designed to stimulate interest across a wide age range. We aim to gain 1 million page viewers of the website by 2022 from current 800,000 page viewers in 2020, by communicating importance of conservation of biodiversity. The project also uses Twitter to communicate on a day-to-day basis about the birds that can commonly be seen at the sites and to provide other related information.
We also promote biodiversity conservation initiatives at overseas sites in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.Canon China has been active in the Bird Branch Project since 2019 in collaboration with a local birdwatching NGO. Beijing, where Canon China is located, has many parks rich in nature where birdwatching tours have been held for employees and their families. Through such birdwatching events, which feature informative talks by bird experts, employees learn about the importance of the natural world. Canon China also helps to raise awareness among the general public, using its website and social media to actively communicate about the importance of biodiversity.
We plan to increase the number of operating sites where this program is implemented from 48 sites in 2020 to 55 sites by 2022.

Click here for details on Canon Bird Branch Project

Eyes on Yellowstone

Canon U.S.A. contributes funds to the globally renowned Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to support surveillance activities targeting endangered wildlife species.
Specifically, through the research and education program Eyes on Yellowstone, Canon imaging devices are being used for ecological observation with the aim of building a digital image library that can be accessed through the website. These images will serve as educational resources for millions of children worldwide, helping to foster their knowledge of the environment and awareness of the importance of conservation.

Canon Canada Branch Out

Canon Canada’s Branch Out Program gives employees at all levels the opportunity to help create green spaces and sustainable environments in their local communities. Branch Out began as a tree-planting program in 2014, but has evolved to include a wide range of sustainability activities, including cleaning up parks, rivers and shorelines, removing invasive plant species, restoring habitats and constructing turtle shelters. All employees from Canon Canada’s 13 offices, from Toronto to Quebec City and Vancouver, are encouraged to participate, sparing a few hours from their work schedule to volunteer. Since the start of the program, employees have volunteered more than 9,700 hours in 68 locations across the country. Their achievements so far include planting more than 36,000 trees and shrubs, removing 7,000 m³ of non-native vegetation and restoring shoreline. In 2019, Canon Canada was recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers by Canada’s Top 100 Employers Project, a partnership with the Globe and Mail newspaper. Companies who receive this designation are recognized for leading the way in creating cultures of environmental awareness.

Protecting rhinos by our network cameras

Axis Communications, a Canon Group company, has started to collaborate with a NPO to protect rhinos from poachers, and has donated network cameras and horn speakers in South Africa. The cameras use thermal imaging to detect objects and incidents 24/7, even in the dark. Our image identification technology detects suspicious activity and the horn speaker then issues an alert remotely.

Furusato Project—Linking Our Dream to the Future

In Japan, Canon promotes an environmental conservation and environmental education project known as the Furusato Project—Linking Our Dream to the Future, with the aim of passing on a beautiful, verdant, and biologically diverse furusato (hometown) for future generations to enjoy.
Through this project, Canon stakeholders, including employees and their families, customers, and business partners, forge links with NPOs and regional community members across Japan to carry out environmental conservation activities and environmental education programs. To help finance these activities, we promote initiatives closely linked with our business activities, such as donating funds according to the amount of used ink cartridges collected or the volume of paper sold.

Action to protect the marine ecosystem

With the collaboration of the Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center and local communities, Canon Hi-Tech (Thailand) worked on a project to protect the marine ecosystem by restoring coastal seaweed beds in the Sattahip District of Chonburi Province. A 200-strong team made up of 150 Canon employees and 50 local government employees and community members took part in an operation to restore seaweed beds using a total of around 10,000 individual plants.

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