Striving to Minimize Climate Change

We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint, which decreased from 36,260 tons of CO₂ in 2022 to 31,419 tons in 2024.

Factors contributing to this decrease include reductions resulting from the purchase of carbon credits, as well as reductions in standby power consumption at manufacturing facilities and upgrades to high-efficiency equipment as part of energy-saving initiatives at production sites in Japan.

Our sales companies are increasingly transitioning from gasoline vehicles to hybrid and electric vehicles to decrease fuel consumption in sales and service vehicles. Additionally, in some regions of Europe and Japan, renewable energy is being utilized to reduce CO₂ emissions.

Each phase of our products' lifecycle is carefully designed to minimize environmental impact while maximizing value for healthcare providers and patients alike.

We provide services to more than 190 countries and regions worldwide. Additionally, we collaborate with leading institutions worldwide to develop innovative technologies through joint research and development.

We distribute our products to the market each year to contribute to a sustainable global environment.

Based on our product development and design process, which complies with IEC 60601-1-9^*, an international standard for the environmentally conscious design of medical equipment, we are implementing various measures to reduce our energy consumption and resource usage. We are also making an effort to embed eco-conscious design into our products, focusing on improving product efficiency, as well as providing our customers with environmental information concerning our products upon request.

^*IEC 60601-1-9: International Electrical Standard or requirements for environmentally conscious design to ensure compliance of medical devices with environmental regulations in different countries.

We are active members of the Environment Committee of JIRA¹ and DITTA², its superior international organization. In response to the EU Eco-Design Directive³, we also participate in a voluntary initiative to promote eco-design of products, led by COCIR⁴. We work in cooperation with other member companies to proactively conserve energy and resources, as well as manage the chemicals contained in our products.

The outcomes of these efforts are carefully reported and shared with the European Union (EU). Particularly in recent years, in response to the circular economy promoted in the EU, we emphasize exploring technology to identify and reduce the consumption of CRM⁵. We have also implemented proactive measures to eliminate toxic chemicals from our products.

1. JIRA: Japan Medical Imaging and Radiological Systems Industries Association
2. DITTA: International Congress of Diagnostic Imaging and Therapy Systems Trade Association
3. EU Eco-Design Directive: Directive aiming to establish a framework for ecological design requirements applied to energy-related products
4. COCIR: European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT industry
5. CRM: Critical Raw Materials

Canon offers healthcare professionals a wide range of high-quality products and services in the fields of diagnostic imaging, healthcare IT, and in vitro diagnostics.

To ensure the most effective use of resources in our business, we are engaged in refurbishing used products and reusing used parts.

We have a robust refurbishment program called "Secondlife" that complies with IEC 63077*, the international standard for the refurbishment and maintenance of used medical imaging equipment.

^*IEC63077: An international standard established by the International Electrotechnical Commission for the refurbishment of used medical imaging equipment. Established in November 2019. Titled "Good refurbishment practices for medical imaging equipment.

Secondlife first selects and collects used medical imaging equipment. Next, the equipment we accept into the program is disinfected, cleaned (including repainting), tested for functionality and performance, and thoroughly checked for safety. Finally, the equipment is packaged, safely transported, and installed. Alongside this, we operate a second-hand parts supply system for reconditioned products, ensuring reliable support (see figure below).

Suitable parts collected from products are inspected, sorted, cleaned, verified, and quality tested before being sent to our parts center for use in repairs.

We are working to reduce the amount of packaging materials, especially petroleum-based materials, which are used when shipping new products. Reduction is realized by simplifying the packaging process and reducing the number of items per system.

The amount of packaging material used in 2024 was 2,651 tons, a 3% increase from 2023, primarily due to the rise in shipments of products with a large number of packages.

we continually improve packaging efficiency to ensure our products are delivered safely to our customers. For transportation within Japan, we have introduced new concepts and promoted the use of low-carbon transportation methods such as rail and ship. Our packaging materials are primarily made from renewable and recycled materials, and all our wood is FSC-certified.

^*FSC is an international system of the Forest Stewardship Council^®.

Canon Medical Group is committed to sustainable development and climate change throughout the product life cycle.

We continuously evaluate our environmental impact in four phases of our products, procurement of materials and components, manufacturing and transportation, use, and recycling and disposal, using energy consumption as a unified indicator.

Through quantitative evaluation, we aim to consider more reliable measures and reduce environmental impact based on product characteristics.

As a measure during use, which consumes the most energy, we provide interactive remote assistance programs as well as technologies implemented in the equipment, such as eco-mode. And we recover as many resources as possible and promote repair, reuse, and recycling.

We provide environmental training to all our employees, including those from contracting companies, to ensure compliance with our environmental policies and activities. In 2024, over 6,319 people completed their environmental education. Additionally, we offer training for specialists and internal environmental auditors to help them maintain maximum adherence within their teams and departments. Environmental training is also a part of the onboarding process for newly hired employees.