Resource Efficiency
Canon’s Approach to Achieve a Circular Economy

Flowchart of Resource Efficiency

Canon seeks to recycle used products into new ones to maximize the value brought about by resource efficiency. We are continuing initiatives aimed at circulating resources within the same regions where they are consumed. Since 2008, we have reused 37,155 tons of products and parts directly and extracted 46,023 tons of plastic from used products for use as raw materials in other products. Going forward, we will continue to reinforce activities at Canon recycling sites around the world, contributing to both a resource efficiency and the realization of a carbon-neutral society.

• ※ Operated by Canon Ecology Industry Inc.

Digital Printing Business/Resource Recycling Targets Established

The resource recycling rate is a numerical figure indicating what proportion of the sales volume by weight of Canon’s Printing Business utilizes recycled materials or components. We have set targets of 20% for 2025 and 50% for 2030, after recording a value of around 16% in fiscal 2022. The sales volume measures the aggregate weight of all Group inputs and outputs, including newly manufactured and remanufactured MFDs, toner and ink cartridges.

We are taking the following initiatives at recycling sites to boost the resource recycling rate.

• Improving the purity of separated recycled resources such as iron, nonferrous metals, and plastics
• Improving the recycled part ratio in recycled machines and parts
• Expanding the type and production volume of (closed loop) recycled materials

Pioneered by the Group’s principal recycling technology company, Canon Ecology Industry, the programs are also being developed at Canon Giessen and Canon Virginia and other overseas production sites.

Actions in 2023 to improve reuse and recycling led to a resource recycling rate of approximately 17%.

Value Created by Resource Efficiency

We see initiatives at Canon’s recycling sites as not only contributing to a resource efficiency but also contributing to a carbon-free future. The reuse of parts through remanufacturing and the recycling of plastics through closed-loop recycling allow us to reduce the amount of CO₂ emissions generated by raw material procurement and transportation compared with using new raw materials. Canon Ecology Industry Inc. emitted approximately 2,100 tons of Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ through site operations. We believe that these efforts have resulted in a reduction of approximately 11,700 tons of CO₂ emissions.

Environmentally Conscious Design

o achieve effective use of our limited resources, environmentally conscious design is a necessary tool. Starting from the design and development stage, Canon gives careful consideration to the whole process through to collection and recycling of end-of-life products.
Our Environmentally Conscious Design Guidance summarizes the considerations that need to be addressed at the product design stage, including product-related environmental laws and regulations, Green Public Procurement standards, and environmental labeling standards in the different countries and regions where we sell our products. It sets out concrete guidelines covering a range of areas, such as extending product life, making products easier to maintain, disassemble and sort into constituent materials after disassembly, and improving information disclosure.

State-of-the-Art Automated Recycling Plant at Canon Eco Technology Park

In February 2018, we opened the Canon Eco Technology Park. Based on a “clean and silent” design concept, which overturns the traditional image of recycling operations, the facility has implemented advanced systems to further boost recycling efficiency. The Canon Automated Recycling System for Toner Cartridges (CARS-T) is a process in which, after separation using a camera-based process, used toner cartridges are crushed and materials automatically separated for recycling of the main component, high-impact polystyrene (HIPS). The sorting purity of the recycled plastic reaches 99% or greater* with the intensive use of various separation technologies at the different stages of the process.
With the recycling system for ink cartridges (Canon Automated Recycling System for Ink Cartridges: CARS-I), a camera-based automatic sorting process is applied to used ink cartridges. The automated process line covers disassembly, pulverization and washing. Separated materials are re-used for ink cartridge components and packaging. Resources that cannot be recycled in product-to-product recycling are diverted to material recycling or thermal recovery processes to help maximize resource efficiency.

• ※ 99% or greater based on Canon’s in-house sorting method