Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy
Project Manager New Technologies,
Sustainable Production and Consumption Department,
The 2007 sustainability report features several improvements compared to last year. “Highlight boxes” help inform the reader about what Canon considers key achievements in the different chapters, and the “stakeholder chapter” has been expanded. The report is also more transparent in terms of “lowlights”, i.e. information on those areas where performance did not live up to the corporation’s own targets, standards or expectations.
Canon has also taken its commitment to third-party engagements one step further. A face to face discussion about the overall third party engagement process and expectations for this year’s report took place early in the reporting process.
However, Canon’s objective of becoming an excellent global corporation and their commitment of fulfilling their social responsibilities and pursuing sustainability as expressed by the top management should be better reflected in the corporation’s vision and strategy. Sustainability can be a powerful driving force for innovation and value generation, which other corporations have proven. So far, there is hardly any mention of how sustainability is embedded in their mid- to long-term business plan, nor is sustainability addressed in any of the key management indicators.
Although improvements have been made over previous years, the published management approaches, targets and the reporting on social and human rights issues still lag behind environmental issues and appear less systematic. It is encouraging to learn, however, that Canon is investigating expanding their policy of green procurement with societal considerations. We look forward to learning more about this in next year’s report.
The engagement process with “third party stakeholders” should, according to Canon, help to inform the report reader as well as Canon. By displaying their reactions on the comments that were made during the past few years at the company’s website, Canon is taking a step in that direction. However, the engagement process could be taken forward another step. Hosting a roundtable session with senior management who represent different corporate functions could facilitate the process of assuring material issues for Canon. Ideally, other stakeholders in addition to the two organisations involved in the third-party opinion process would participate in such a meeting.
Canon has improved its sustainability reporting and management year after year. We believe Canon is ready to take the next challenging steps forward.
Director,
ASrIA (Association for Sustainable and
Responsible Investment in Asia),
Once more I would like to congratulate Canon on improving the overall quality of their reporting. With respect to the content of the report, the continuing efforts of Canon to achieve an improvement by a factor of 2 on their carbon impact over the life-cycle of their products via a multitude of efficiency improvements to their products and operations is impressive. As also are their efforts to meet and exceed the challenging requirements of the RoHS and WEEE standards and to engage in and lead industry initiatives related to such standards. I believe that this is an approach which not only reflects the sincerity and determination of Canon to deal with key sustainability related issues, but which will continue to create real competitive advantage to Canon in the longer term.
With respect to social issues, I felt that Canon could still make much more of its strengths in this area. Canon has developed significant community oriented programs in the US and Europe where it has key markets. However, Asian consumers, where Canon has its primary manufacturing sites, are also becoming more developed and assertive as well as sensitive to labour related issues. Canon could benefit from developing a more systematic approach to sustainability issues which more clearly indicates their awareness of the potential material risks as well as opportunities associated with the social as well as the environmental aspects of their operations. Furthermore, bearing in mind that legislative standards and implementation can vary widely, even within a single country such as China, I would urge Canon to move beyond a focus on meeting legislative standards with respect to such as labour issues. Rather, I would urge them to focus on setting and meeting group wide standards in line with their kyosei principles and international best practice. In addition to managing its supply chain relationships, Canon has a significant workforce in its own factories throughout the Asian region. It is therefore in a position to be a leader in initiatives on best practice on employee and supply chain labour issues, as well as stakeholder engagement with workers, consumers and local communities. This is an area in which Canon could develop more long-term corporate value via improving discourse and transparency.
Overall the report, and indeed the whole reporting process which I have been engaged in as a commentator, show that Canon is continuing to make impressive progress towards meeting the goals of their Excellent Global Corporation Plan and in improving their reporting and disclosure standards.
This Canon Sustainability Report 2007 contains third-party opinions* from the same two stakeholder groups (hereinafter referred to as “commentators”) who have contributed to each edition since the 2004 report. As a result, the commentators are able to offer opinions from a medium- to long-term perspective on how well this report meets their expectations regarding the information included in the report, the quality of performance it conveys, and its usefulness for meaningful engagement.
To enhance our exchange of opinions with stakeholders, we have adopted a proactive approach toward our dialog with the commentators. In addition to the dialog session at the time of preparing the third-party opinions held since the previous report, we have also introduced additional dialog session at the planning stage of this report period and reflected the commentators’ suggestions in this report as much as possible. (See the table below.) These third-party opinion pages include the main items discussed with the commentators; specifically, the items worthy of praise and the key issues that need to be addressed over the long term.
Based on the issues raised by commentators and opinions from other stakeholders, Canon is stepping up its sustainability activities and striving for more complete information disclosure through this report and other media. For more information on the third-party opinion process and a summary of commentator’s opinions over the past four years along with Canon’s responses, see the Canon website.
* These third-party comments are the personal views of the authors and do not imply any endorsement from their organizations.
| Main Suggestions | Main Reflections in the Report (New Content in the 2007 Report) |
|---|---|
| Expand reporting on risk management and negative information. | Such information is covered in “Multifunctional Product Information” and “Responding to Quality Risks“ in the “Relations with Customers” section; and in “Inadequate Handling of Waste” and “Detailed Soil and Groundwater Survey Information” in the “Environment” section. |
| Explain the policy concerning contract workers. | “Promotion of Proper External Personnel Management” was added to the “Relations with Employees” section. |
| Explain the position on the introduction of a CSR procurement system. | We are currently considering the introduction of CSR procurement. |
| Describe sustainability targets/plans in social aspects. | Canon added content concerning current and future targets and plans. |
| Explain Canon’s approach to social initiatives. (i.e., UN Millennium Development Goals and UN Global Compact) | Canon has joined the World Business Council of Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in 2007, and participates in the discussion of international initiatives. |
| Describe major environmental regulations and Canon’s activities relating to these regulations. | We have described major environmental regulations that Canon focuses on and monitors, as well as Canon’s activities relaitng to these regulations. |
