Sustainability
Canon
Nikon
to our business that we commit to addressing, including ‘Prohibition of Forced Labour and Child Labour’ and ‘Working Hours and Wages’. We carry out materiality assessments, identifying key areas for our business and stakeholders. We set mid-term targets and performance indicators for those identified areas. Both progress and achievement are monitored and reported publicly on our annual Sustainability Report. As the global economic and social situation changes over time, we periodically review and revise materiality and targets. Besides our internal key performance indicators, as a business enterprise that has a proactive stance towards sustainability, Nikon is evaluated and rated by various external organisations, continuing to receive positive assessments. For instance, we have been selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the fourth consecutive year. We are also A-listed by CDP’s questionnaire for information disclosure related to the measures taken to address climate change. We believe these results demonstrate our proactive approach and considerable achievements towards sustainability. At the beginning of 2021, Nikon Europe became the founding partner of WaterBear: a streaming platform dedicated to producing and publishing documentary films that illuminate the fight to save our planet. Together, we have become an engaging and inspiring resource for one of the most important tools we have in this fight: storytelling. This is why Nikon Europe and WaterBear’s founding partnership is so powerful. WaterBear provides Nikon the platform on which we can be impactful in a way that’s true to our business, just as Nikon provides the cameras, lenses and photography family that help WaterBear and its charitable partners bring their work to life. We are both investors in narrative and, together, building stories that move people to take action on behalf of our planet. nikon.com/about/sustainability/report/ sr2021_09.pdf
Nikon has a holistic programme addressing all economic, environmental, social and governance areas, with long-term vision and defined goals. To ensure uniform and consistent sustainability initiatives across the group globally, our policy and programme are governed and overlooked by the Sustainability Committee, chaired by our CEO. We have an overarching global policy approved by the board of directors, stating our commitment as Nikon Group to contribute to society and achieve sustainable growth by putting our corporate philosophy (trustworthiness and creativity) into practice. One of our biggest challenges is to enhance energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions throughout the business operation, to combat climate change. The Nikon Group has set a target aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This also includes reviewing our energy sources. In 2021, Nikon joined RE100, aiming for 100% renewable energy sourcing to accelerate progress. We also focus on CO2 footprint reduction of our products. For example, when compared to the D850 digital SLR – which also features a full-size, high-pixel-count image sensor – Nikon’s Z 7II mirrorless camera realises a weight reduction of approximately 33% by making the camera body more compact. As a result, CO2 emissions at the raw material procurement phase have been reduced by 45%. We also strive to reduce CO2 emissions of our product distribution by switching from air to sea/land transport, moving materials from some suppliers directly to the airport warehouse and devising specifications such as the size, material, shape of boxes and type of instructions for use. In the manufacturing of lenses across the business, we have also been able to reduce our carbon footprint dramatically, by using simulations to reduce the number of prototypes required during the build stage. As a global brand, we face the problem of human rights issues in our supply chain. We are doing everything possible to ensure products delivered to our customers must not only be of high quality, but made in an ethical and socially responsible way. This is not limited to our employees, but also workers throughout the supply chain, ensuring they have a safe and healthy working environment and conditions. We launched the Nikon Human Rights Policy in April 2019, to clarify our approach to issues in the Nikon Group worldwide. In this policy, we identify seven issues particularly relevant Vanguard We started the sustainability journey several years ago with a focus on maximising the life of our ranges, saving the need for materials and shipping on new products. This has ultimately been achieved through three key initiatives. Spares With Vanguard’s history of innovation, it is impossible to keep every spare part indefinitely. However, we track our consumer care requests to identify trends. For example, in 2019 we noticed increasing demand for a quick-release plate on a series of discontinued tripods. We received enquiries
Guided by our corporate philosophy of kyosei – living and working together for the common good – we have a global programme in place addressing economic, social and environmental sustainability. Kyosei has helped Canon put these principles at the heart of our business for more than 80 years, and we have continued to lead the way, even as technology and society have changed. Our products are designed to imagine and create a better world, whether it’s through visual storytelling, or helping people live better lives with our medical imaging technology. At the same time, we are transforming the way we operate and manufacture, to contribute to the circular economy while minimising our environmental impact, growing our influence with education programmes, and empowering young people to change the world. As a global manufacturer, we have a responsibility to limit the environmental impact of products during their design, creation, use – and at end of life. This is no small dilemma, but we are already addressing this through innovative approaches to production that contribute to the circular economy. A circular model means we try to recover as many materials as possible from old devices, while intelligent design for new products reduces the amount needed and improves logistical efficiency. Innovative approaches like remanufacturing, which reuse the bulk of materials from old models to create quality ‘as-new’ ones, also help reduce life cycle environmental impact, while also being economically sustainable for customers. Like all other businesses, we face the challenge of creating a more equal society. Through partnerships with organisations like the United Nations and Plan International on social value programmes, we empower young people all over the world to capture, share and inspire change on a massive range of societal topics. We use a variety of targets and frameworks to measure progress across different areas. On the environmental side, we are aiming to achieve net zero CO2 emissions globally by 2050, and have several metrics which help to track progress. We measure our yearly average reduction in product life cycle CO2 emissions, with a goal of delivering a cumulative 50% reduction between 2008 and 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement, something we are currently on course to fulfil. This sits alongside targets for energy consumption at all our operational sites. is permanently fixed to the body, making it impossible to repair economically. As a result, we redesigned the eyepieces of Endeavor binoculars in 2018 to be simply removed and replaced, extending their life. This is being rolled out for all, and we expect the transition to be done within two years. Quality Over the past five years, Vanguard has invested heavily in CNC technology – also known as computer numerical control. In the VEO 3 tripod collection, this has allowed us to source aircraft-grade aluminium for key load-bearing components from specialist
PETER BRAGG Sustainability & government affairs director, Canon EMEA
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are another important framework used at Canon for coordinating and judging progress. We submit yearly reports to the UN Global Compact, which align our activities with targets such as gender equality and climate action, and form an important part of measuring the social value we help create. This is supported by our ongoing contribution to the circular economy, backed by a zero waste to landfill policy. Our award- winning toner cartridge recycling programme has collected 444,000 tons of cartridges since its inception, while our five recycling plants around the world ensure we reuse as many materials as possible. Interest in sustainability from customers, employees and other stakeholders continues to grow. And there is no sign of legislative and regulatory pressure slowing down, especially in the EU. Regulations aimed at encouraging more eco-friendly design and helping consumers to be more green are set to be put in place in coming years. At Canon, we need to meet that demand and continue to change our business to adapt. We have been focused on ensuring sustainability is integrated throughout our operations, and continue to do so. Whether transforming our car fleet to electric vehicles, investigating different business models or collaborating with customers to see how we can help them meet their own net zero goals, we must maintain a relentless focus on delivering sustainability improvements across the board. canon.co.uk
manufacturers, rather than die casting in-house, where quality is harder to control. This is then machined to much higher tolerances than can be achieved through traditional methods, ensuring the final product is as robust as possible. It has the added advantage of allowing the design team to build in a greater range of features, like a tripod leg or multi-mount, so that one product can cover multiple uses and save the need to buy more than one. vanguardworld.co.uk
from people who found, or were given, an old Vanguard tripod, but without the plate. Working with our factory, we restarted production and reintroduced the QS-03, allowing us to extend the life of over 300 tripods since 2020 in the UK alone. To reduce this risk in future, all new tripods feature Arca-Swiss release plates. Design By understanding consumer care, we have worked with our design team and factory to remodel products. On a pair of binoculars, the eyepiece is the most common issue. Historically, this
24 Photography News | Issue 100
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