Resource Efficiency at Operational Sites
Reducing Waste
In 1990, Canon's Japanese operational sites alone generated 35,000 tons of landfill waste. In 2001, we began our zero landfill waste campaign, and as a result of 3R efforts since then to recycle waste by sorting and collecting it by material type, all manufacturing sites in Japan had succeeded in generating zero landfill waste*1 as of December 2003. This goal was also achieved by all 17 manufacturing sites outside Japan as of December 2005.
Subsequent to these breakthroughs, we have maintained a zero landfill waste record at production sites in and outside Japan. Since 2009, we have focused on enhancing technologies for the reuse of resources in a bid to further restrict the generation of actual waste.
Some examples of this include improving the yield category ratio*2 in toner manufacturing processes, and optimizing the volume of resources used and eliminating energy waste through the introduction of material cost flow accounting.
Total waste emissions*3 in 2010 reached 78,000 tons, an increase of 13% year-on-year due to a recovery in the production volume and other factors. Also, when the waste emissions of the Océ Group, which was newly added to the Canon Group in March 2010, are included our total waste emissions in 2010 amounted to 88,000 tons, with waste emissions per unit of net sales coming to 2.38 tons per ¥100 million and general landfill waste generated by business activities totaling 3,934 tons.
We will continue our efforts to eliminate waste in 2011 so as to reduce it even further.
- *1Zero landfill waste
All waste generated from operational sites is recycled. Zero landfill waste is not considered achieved if even a small amount of residue after intermediate processing is subjected to landfill disposal.
(Note that this does not include waste material for which Canon cannot independently determine the method for recycling due to government directions.) - *2Yield category ratio
"Yield categorization" refers to selecting only that toner which meets grain size specifications. The ratio of the toner which meets the grain size specifications is referred to as the "yield category ratio," and improving that ratio cuts resource waste. - *3Total waste emissions
This represents the total amount of recyclable waste, valuable resources, landfill waste and waste reused through internal recycling.
Total Waste Emissions and General Landfill Waste Generated by Business Activities
| Type of Waste | Use after Recycling Treatment | Recycled Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Paper | Cardboard, paper used by OA equipment, toilet tissue, pulp (raw material for paper products), building board, roadbed materials, etc. | 21,005 |
| Plastics | Raw materials for plastic products and other applications, roadbed materials, cement materials, fuels, blast furnace reducing agents, soil improvement agents, etc. | 17,489 |
| Metals | Raw materials for metals, roadbed materials, etc. | 10,431 |
| Oils, acids and alkalis | Cement materials, fuels, roadbed materials, reuse of oils, chemicals and solvents, etc. | 12,379 |
| Sludge | Cement materials, construction materials, aggregates, metal materials, organic fertilizers, compost, etc. | 5,470 |
| Wood | Construction, boards, bedding for planting, fuels, pulp materials, fertilizers, etc. | 2,368 |
| Glass and ceramics | Glass materials, roadbed materials, cement, metal materials, etc. | 286 |
| Night soil | Fertilizers, soil improvement | 1,169 |
| Raw garbage | Fertilizers, compost | 389 |
| Others |
Combustion improver, roadbed materials, soil improvement agents, iron-making materials, metal materials, etc. | 4,628 |
| Total | 75,614 | |
Reducing Use of Water Resources
Approximately 40% of the water Canon uses in its production processes is for lens production and semiconductor manufacturing.
To reduce water use, in 1996 Canon began successively introducing closed wastewater recycling systems at its operational sites, including the Fuji-Susono Research Park, Oita Canon Materials Inc., the Hiratsuka Development Center, the Ayase Office, the Utsunomiya Plant, Canon Zhuhai, Inc., and Oita Canon Inc. By purifying and reusing the water used in production processes, these sites curtail water consumption and generate less wastewater.
Water use volume reached 8,580,000 m3 in 2010, an increase of 4% year-on-year due to a recovery in the production volume and other factors. Also, after inclusion of the water use volume of the Océ Group, which was newly added to the Canon Group in March 2010, our total water use volume in 2010 amounted to 8,710,000 m3, with water use per unit of net sales coming to 230 m3 per ¥100 million.
We will continue to work to reduce the amount of water we use as well as our wastewater emissions by including water recycling technologies in our overall efforts to enhance resource reuse technologies.
Use of Water Resources
Total Wastewater Discharge
