Valuable forest resources, biodiversity, and various habitants are disappearing as a result of climate change and overdevelopment globally. Canon recognize that it is important to protect natural environment and biodiversity for the future sustainable society, and we promote conservation activities accordingly.
Canon recognizes biodiversity as essential for a sustainable society. We carry out various activities to conserve and protect biodiversity under our Biodiversity Policy, which applies to the entire Canon Group.
Canon recognizes biodiversity as essential for a sustainable society. We carry out various activities to conserve and protect biodiversity under our Biodiversity Policy, which applies to the entire Canon Group.
Basic PolicyCanon fully recognizes biodiversity as an important basis for a sustainable society, and promotes activities that contribute to biodiversity conservation.
Action GuidelinesCanon creates various initiatives, like the Bird Branch Project, to conserve the ecosystem and biodiversity.
We introduce our initiatives to harmonize with Nature.
Installing a nest box
A nest box, observed breeding, at some Canon's site
Canon promotes the Bird Branch Project, which highlights consideration of the biodiversity with focusing on birds. And we are making efforts to raise awareness of biodiversity internally and externally, including greening at our sites which provides natural habitats for birds.
As part of the Bird Branch Project, a wild bird habitat has been created at Canon Global Headquarters in Tokyo, where birdlife is monitored with network cameras and regular bird census are conducted. Moreover we organize seminars and bird watching events to our employees to recognize the nature in our neighborhood.
At other sites than Canon Global Headquarters, we are expanding several initiatives such as bird surveys and conservation of green area. Especially, at our overseas sites such as France and the Netherlands, they corporate with local conservation organization. We plan to increase the number of operating sites where this program is implemented from 22 sites in 2019 to 36 sites by 2021.
We report these activities on our special website. We aim to gain 1 million page viewers of the website by 2022 from current 600,000 page viewers in 2019, by communicating importance of conservation of biodiversity.
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’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.
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.
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.
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.
Canon promotes the use of sustainable forestry resources
To help support biodiversity, Canon promotes the use of sustainable forestry resources as the raw materials for paper production within the value chain. We have set procurement policies favoring the purchase of paper products derived from sustainably sourced wood pulp. Moreover, the office paper we sell is made under forest certification schemes or using environmentally conscious raw materials.
In its procurement of timber products, the Canon Group uses materials supplied from forest resources managed exclusively for use as timber products.
2. Trace the origin of forest resources usedWe seek the cooperation of business partners to ensure the traceability of products throughout the manufacturing process, from the harvest of raw materials onward.
3. Confirm evidence of traceabilityCanon works with its business partners to ensure the traceability of materials used in Canon products (or OEM products) and their packaging that are subject to timber product regulations in each country.
Canon Management Standards for Timber Products is here.
We introduce other Canon's Environmental Material Activities.