CSR 2021 - Our Planet
Recognizing that the Earth is an irreplaceable asset, Canon Medical Systems Group strives to develop and provide environmentally conscious medical equipment and systems that contribute to communities and healthcare services. We are committed to this philosophy as we expand our business worldwide and promote environmental activities to the extent that they are feasible in accordance with the Canon Group Environmental Charter and Canon Medical Systems Group Standards of Conduct.
Climate Change
For Canon Medical Systems Group, contributing to the battle against climate change is a key priority and we support the Paris Climate Agreement. We consider climate change issues very important in view of shared challenges our world is facing in the long term such as the effects of more extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels in various parts of the world.
Our objective is contribute to the battle against climate change through the following actions:
* The Canon Medical Systems Group’s production bases, which have a high environmental impact, will carry out CO2 reduction activities in accordance with Canon Inc. standards.
* The Canon Medical Systems Group’s sales bases will consider quantitative targets in 2022 and develop activities from 2023.
As a member of the Canon Group, our company’s medium-term plan is designed to achieve the medium-term plan established by Canon Inc.
We know our equipment consumes most energy when in use and we are constantly making efforts to reduce energy consumption during use. (See the ‘Our products’ chapter for more details). We are also focusing on monitoring and continuing to reduce our energy usage and CO2 emissions in the production and maintenance phases, as reflected in our carbon footprint and measures described below.
Carbon footprint 2020
Our total global carbon footprint in 2020 was 35,754 tons of CO2.
Carbon footprint of Canon Medical Systems Group
Carbon footprint of Canon Medical Systems Group
The majority of our CO2 emissions in 2020 were due to electricity consumption, mainly on the production side.
The second largest producer of emissions was company vehicles burning fossil fuels while trips were made to provide maintenance and other services to customers. We are aware that fewer trips were made in 2020 because of COVID-19 and this number will be higher in 2021.
The second largest producer of emissions was company vehicles burning fossil fuels while trips were made to provide maintenance and other services to customers. We are aware that fewer trips were made in 2020 because of COVID-19 and this number will be higher in 2021.
The results by region are as follows:
Carbon emissions per region
Carbon emissions per region
Most of the electricity needed for production is consumed in Japan. CO2 emissions caused by business trips are highest in North America, followed by Europe and Japan. We measure our carbon footprint on a monthly basis, including that of our subsidiaries, to be able to evaluate and take effective measures to reduce our carbon footprint.
Measures taken to reduce carbon footprint
We are continuously focused on taking measures to reduce energy consumption at our production sites as well as our sales and research facilities. We also seek to use renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions caused by transportation.
Electricity saving and renewable energy
As for specific electricity-saving measures being taken at our production sites in Japan in recent years, including the year 2020, we are promoting the introduction of highly efficient equipment and renewing local substations and air conditioning equipment for infrastructure facilities. We are also taking behavioral measures such as operating plant equipment more efficiently, turning off lights during breaks and setting air conditioners at appropriate temperatures.
Other measures, also applied by our sales and service facilities, include the use of LED lighting and motion sensor lighting, as well as the introduction of solar panels on warehouse roofs.
Transportation
With regard to transportation, we are taking measures such as switching to low-emission vehicles and distributing tickets for public transportation. Extensive digital communication is already in place for internal consultation services. However, in order to provide maintenance and other services, we need to visit our customers. Here, too, we plan to introduce digital communication with customers as much as possible, based on our experience with temporal measures introduced during COVID-19.
As for specific electricity-saving measures being taken at our production sites in Japan in recent years, including the year 2020, we are promoting the introduction of highly efficient equipment and renewing local substations and air conditioning equipment for infrastructure facilities. We are also taking behavioral measures such as operating plant equipment more efficiently, turning off lights during breaks and setting air conditioners at appropriate temperatures.
Other measures, also applied by our sales and service facilities, include the use of LED lighting and motion sensor lighting, as well as the introduction of solar panels on warehouse roofs.
Transportation
With regard to transportation, we are taking measures such as switching to low-emission vehicles and distributing tickets for public transportation. Extensive digital communication is already in place for internal consultation services. However, in order to provide maintenance and other services, we need to visit our customers. Here, too, we plan to introduce digital communication with customers as much as possible, based on our experience with temporal measures introduced during COVID-19.
Special tool
A special tool we developed for sales and service facilities monitors the status of equipment and remotely obtains error logs and other information when problems occur. This tool helps reduce CO2 emissions by identifying replacement parts without visiting hospitals and reducing the number of visits (on-site trips) by service personnel.
ISO 14001
Production in Japan, as at the other production units, takes place under an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. Under this system, power consumption has been monitored since 1996, and analyses of where power can be saved are carried out to enable targeted measures to be taken.
A special tool we developed for sales and service facilities monitors the status of equipment and remotely obtains error logs and other information when problems occur. This tool helps reduce CO2 emissions by identifying replacement parts without visiting hospitals and reducing the number of visits (on-site trips) by service personnel.
ISO 14001
Production in Japan, as at the other production units, takes place under an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. Under this system, power consumption has been monitored since 1996, and analyses of where power can be saved are carried out to enable targeted measures to be taken.
How we will reach carbon neutrality
Energy efficiency and renewable energy
We have been working to improve energy efficiency in our premises and transport efficiency at our subsidiaries for over 15 years now. Many improvements have already been implemented during this period, such as improving the insulation of our office building, installing LED lighting with motion and light sensors, and buying energy-efficient equipment. In 2020 we switched to purchasing green renewable electricity, and this had a major impact on reducing our carbon footprint. Additionally, we decided to replace part of the hybrid car fleet with fully electric cars, the reason being that hybrid cars typically revert to running on their petrol engines, which vastly increased our carbon footprint and fuel costs instead of reducing them. At the same time, because of COVID-19 restrictions we had to find alternative ways to communicate with customers instead of visiting them in person, such as Teams meetings and Virtual Videos. This has reduced our carbon footprint and will shape the new normal going forward.
In 2021 we plan to install solar panels on both our office and warehouse roofs. Until recently, regulations in the UK made these kinds of initiatives expensive by restricting the amount of unused electricity that the electricity companies were prepared to take back. With regard to transporting goods from our warehouse to customers, we decided to take out a contract with a new specialized transport company that combines different loads for several clients, thus reducing the carbon footprint per product.
ISO 14001
We are ISO 14001 certified for our environmental management system, as well as ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certified for quality management and ISO 45001 certified for health and safety. Apart from having a tool available to promote improvements in environmental issues such as energy efficiency and renewable energy, we saved a lot of money by saving energy and resources.
Carbon offsetting
In 2014 we decided we wanted to do more for the environment and be a carbon neutral business. We therefore decided to meet the PAS 2060 standard. This has meant calculating the residual carbon footprint of running our business in the UK and carbon offsetting by buying UN gold standard credits for projects in Kenya and Uganda. We extended this offsetting to cover the carbon footprint of production, transportation and average consumption of equipment we sell to our customers over its expected life. One of these projects is in Uganda, where maintenance of water boreholes was set up. Since many boreholes were no longer working, unsafe water needed to be boiled before consumption. With safe water available, it is not necessary to boil the water now, bringing savings in carbon emissions. Additional benefits of this project are improved health for those involved and gender equality, with women being able to work and girls going to school instead of foraging for wood to boil water.
We felt this was an interesting step to take, because we were keen to take further energy saving measures and do something meaningful.
Darryl Collin, Environmental and H&S
Manager, Canon Medical Systems
United Kingdom
Circularity
Approach
We keep an eye on the use of materials in our products from the design stage onwards (see also “Our products’ chapter). We are striving to reuse products and parts after use as far as possible, and therefore promote taking back products from our customers after use. Customers can decide for themselves whether to sell their products back to us or to someone else. The whole of our sector has a responsibility to recycle as many products and parts as possible or have them disposed of responsibly by certified companies (under e.g. the WEEE Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive).
Refurbishment
Canon Medical Systems Group has three refurbishment plants, in Japan, the Netherlands and the USA. Every medical diagnostic device that is taken back is examined thoroughly and assessed in the light of various quality criteria. If it meets the minimum quality standards it is refurbished. The refurbishment plant in Japan specializes in CT. The plant in Europe refurbishes the whole product range, from ultrasound to CT, MRI and X-ray equipment. During this process, which usually takes a few weeks, the device is cleaned thoroughly, parts are repaired or replaced as necessary and it is then extensively tested. Parts that need to be disposed of are sent to and processed by a specialist firm. Obviously, we stand behind our products — not only our new systems but also those that have been refurbished. We therefore provide the same guarantee on those as on our new ones.
Additionally, it goes without saying that the Refurbishment Centers comply fully with all the laws and regulations in force and local or international standards for refurbishment such as IEC63077 (Good refurbishment practices for medical imaging equipment).
We are convinced that our careful refurbishment process enables our devices to be used again for many years by enthusiastic new users. In this way, along with our customers, we are making a positive contribution not only to patient care but also to environmental protection.
Demand has been increasing for years now as well. We are enlarging our refurbishment capacity accordingly, as this enables us to help increase circularity and reduce the use of scarce resources.
We keep an eye on the use of materials in our products from the design stage onwards (see also “Our products’ chapter). We are striving to reuse products and parts after use as far as possible, and therefore promote taking back products from our customers after use. Customers can decide for themselves whether to sell their products back to us or to someone else. The whole of our sector has a responsibility to recycle as many products and parts as possible or have them disposed of responsibly by certified companies (under e.g. the WEEE Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive).
Refurbishment
Canon Medical Systems Group has three refurbishment plants, in Japan, the Netherlands and the USA. Every medical diagnostic device that is taken back is examined thoroughly and assessed in the light of various quality criteria. If it meets the minimum quality standards it is refurbished. The refurbishment plant in Japan specializes in CT. The plant in Europe refurbishes the whole product range, from ultrasound to CT, MRI and X-ray equipment. During this process, which usually takes a few weeks, the device is cleaned thoroughly, parts are repaired or replaced as necessary and it is then extensively tested. Parts that need to be disposed of are sent to and processed by a specialist firm. Obviously, we stand behind our products — not only our new systems but also those that have been refurbished. We therefore provide the same guarantee on those as on our new ones.
Additionally, it goes without saying that the Refurbishment Centers comply fully with all the laws and regulations in force and local or international standards for refurbishment such as IEC63077 (Good refurbishment practices for medical imaging equipment).
We are convinced that our careful refurbishment process enables our devices to be used again for many years by enthusiastic new users. In this way, along with our customers, we are making a positive contribution not only to patient care but also to environmental protection.
Demand has been increasing for years now as well. We are enlarging our refurbishment capacity accordingly, as this enables us to help increase circularity and reduce the use of scarce resources.
Packaging material
We are working to reduce the amount of packing materials used during the transportation of new products by simplifying the packing process and cutting down the number of units for each system. In 2020, 98% of the 3,046 tons of packaging was made of renewable and recyclable material. The total amount of packaging material remained more or less the same in 2020 (1% less than the 3,048 tons in 2019). However, over recent years the absolute amount of packaging material used has increased, due to a rise in sales generally and in sales of larger machines. We have steadily increased our packaging efficiency, while ensuring that products are delivered to our customers safe and sound following shipment and local transportation. Setting an example for equipment being transported in Japan, we are utilizing dedicated shipping containers. The packaging material is almost completely based on renewable and recycled material, and we make sure the wood used is FSC certified.
Change in amount of packing materials used
Change in amount of packing materials used
Due to medical device regulatory reasons, not all products/services displayed on this Canon Medical Systems global webpage are available in all countries, regions or markets. Future availability of the products/services cannot be guaranteed either. Please contact your local Canon Medical Systems representative for further details.
Due to medical device regulatory reasons, not all products/service displayed on this Canon Medical Systems global webpage are available in all countries, regions or markets. Future availability of the products/service cannot also be guaranteed. Please contact your local Canon Medical Systems representative for further details.
