CSR highlighted as an integral part of Canon’s company culture underlined by its corporate philosophy of Kyosei

While this is the eighth-consecutive year for Canon to receive the Dubai Chamber’s CSR Label Award, this year the company’s achievements have been recognised by the prestigious Advanced Label Award, which considers a company’s approach to CSR and sustainability across seven impact areas including: Workplace, Marketplace, Community, Environment, Stakeholders’ involvement, Steering and Governing.

The CSR Label Award was first introduced in 2010 by Dubai Chamber and has since then grown in significance to become the highest level of recognition for the CSR efforts of businesses in the Middle East. It is also the first CSR Label in the region that builds on international standards while ensuring local relevance.

This year in particular, and in response to the challenges posed by COVID-19, Canon implemented a comprehensive programme to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, while also offering wellness initiatives, training and career growth opportunities for its employees, including continuing the Canon Leadership Development Programme, which aims to develop the next generation of company leaders.

Mai Youssef, Corporate Communications and Marketing Services Director, Canon Middle East and Canon Central and North Africa, said: “By delivering social and environmental benefits through our people, initiatives and products, we are powerfully demonstrating our commitment to our corporate philosophy. This year we focused on our workplace culture because as we emerge from these unprecedented times, having a strong, upskilled and dedicated team makes us more resilient and capable of driving the company’s growth on all fronts. I would like to thank the Dubai Chamber for recognising these efforts as well as our work for the community and environment.”

Looking outward toward the business community and its partners, Canon maintained a regular two-way communication channels with its key stakeholders, such as educational institutions, non-governmental organisations, government authorities, local communities, subcontractors, suppliers and its employees, to keep them informed and to receive their thoughts on new and planned CSR activities.

As a part of this, Canon successfully organised the fourth edition of its ‘Frontiers of Innovation Forum’ virtually which brought together industry and sector experts under one online platform to foster industry learning during the COVID-19 crisis and maintain a regular communication channel.

On the education development front, Canon also announced an agreement with the UAE Ministry of Education as the official strategic partner to develop the talent of youth in the UAE by empowering them to engage new-age digital innovations and prepare them with the skills required for education and employment opportunities of the future.

From an environmental standpoint, Canon upheld its recycling campaign in the UAE to collect Canon consumables from customers including ink, toner, batteries and paper as well as electronic waste such as old printers, cameras and scanners. This initiative highlighted Canon’s commitment in creating awareness about e-waste, how to safely dispose of electronics appliances, and the benefits of recycling as part of the efforts to embrace a circular economy.

At group level Canon reported a decrease of around 0.26 million tons of CO2 emissions compared to 2017 as a result of its environmental initiatives, which includes recycling. The company has also implemented an environmental education program in place that provides awareness to all employees and it has developed its environmental vision, Action for Green, based on the Canon Group Environmental Charter.

These initiatives are underpinned by the Canon’s 80-year old global corporate philosophy of Kyosei, which meaning living and working together for the common good. Canon’s commitment to corporate sustainability spans across responsible business, society and the environment, and the company continuously monitors and assess its social and environmental impact to identify ways to improve its CSR performance across all areas of the business.