Summary and key achievements 2022

Our world is in transition. We need new thinking: from human well-being to planetary well-being, from a linear to a circular or even regenerative economy, while still delivering high-quality services and products. Improving product efficiency through eco-conscious design, adopting proactive efforts to eliminate toxic chemicals in our products and reduce the consumption of critical raw materials are just a few examples of the steps we are taking.

We believe we have a legal and moral obligation to promote the fair use of resources, to promote the respect of human rights throughout our supply chain, to frequently conduct due diligence and apply the precautionary principle. And we do this in collaboration with our stakeholders, from our employees and suppliers to Canon Inc. and global associations.

We want to be recognized as a trustworthy company and are committed to disclose the right data, and at the same time we believe in collaboration and the power of the word. We also believe that we are currently in a transition of values, especially within the field of corporate social responsibility. These values go beyond numerical targets, international frameworks such as the global SDGs, international product standards and reporting standards such as GRI and IFRS.
We celebrate the diversity of these values within our global company, while still trying to define a shared vision that enables us to contribute to a healthy and prosperous future for all. We translated this vision into an action plan, which was ratified in 2023 and shared with our subsidiaries. Also, with the support of our President, we continue to embed CSR in our core values and language.

Our corporate philosophy is Made for Life: Made for patients. Made for partners. Made for you. In context of our corporate social responsibilities our philosophy ‘Made for Life’ rings truer than ever. Life is at the core of everything we do: enriching life for all, elevating life and extending life both human and non-human, for a sustainable future.

2022 summary

In 2022 we fully returned to normal after the COVID pandemic, but we also preserved some successful elements that were introduced during these difficult times. Online and remote working were embedded in our policies to create a better balance for our employees. Other key achievements in 2022 include:
  1. On People aspects, we continued our effort on being an employer of choice for people from different backgrounds, with increased focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
  2. On Planet aspects, we established a medium-term plan for CO2 emissions for the entire group, setting a goal of a 42% reduction from the 2022 level by 2030, and we are taking steps to achieve carbon neutrality.
  3. On Prosperity aspects, we continued to support local communities, through in-kind and financial donations and sponsorship on a group level and individually by several subsidiaries.
The purpose of our CSR report is to provide a comprehensive overview of our most significant impacts on the environment, the economy and people and on human rights. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview, we also aim to provide insights into how we will manage all these impacts through our activities. Through transparent communication, we aim to make it possible for stakeholders to make informed assessments and decisions about the impact we have as an organization and how we contribute to sustainable development.

We prepared this report in reference to the GRI standards and look forward to your ideas, suggestions and comments. Please contact us at Contact us

Our approach

Foreword

In 2022 we continued our CSR activities across the entire global market. We have made progress and at the same time we recognize that we must step up our efforts. Canon Medical is increasingly becoming active when it comes to sustainability and CSR.

A good example is the carbon neutral target announcement and decision made at management level in December 2022. In Japan we have a very detailed approach in making decisions. When faced with a problem, we try to look at all relevant aspects and perspectives. We believe an issue consists of much more than just a number or working for example towards a KPI. However, we also understand that we must listen to and follow the developments of the community. So, having a solid long-term carbon target with full involvement of management was an important CSR-related proactive tactic at the highest level of Canon Medical.

Today we are surrounded by many material issues, and we must take action. As a technology company, we have a firm belief in technology assisting us in dealing with the many problems we are facing as humankind. When looking at CSR for the long term, we are looking at ways Canon Medical will be able to deliver solutions to our customers with the lowest possible energy use in all stages of the product life cycle. Newly developed products already incorporate many environmentally conscious features, whilst maintaining the high-quality Canon Medical is known for. Our customers are wanting to lower their carbon and energy footprint as well as further their work on their own CSR policy. Our product offering will help them do so.
Last year I made it my mission to include environmental aspects and CSR in general in all my quarterly business updates. This is one way of creating more awareness in our company about this topic. I will continue with my efforts, but to truly get CSR in our DNA and culture, we will focus our efforts to encourage the attitude at work to focus more on sustainability and a similar lifestyle at home.

As an industry we need to start up a dialogue about CSR. We need to work together to be able to provide better products to our customers. I hope to learn from our competitors and via this dialogue I envision a healthy competition between us and for us to all to increase our efforts on CSR at the same time.

Toshio Takiguchi, President and CEO, Canon Medical Systems Corporation

CSR policy

Our goal is to provide medical professionals with the solutions they need to improve the health and well-being of patients across the globe.

Underpinning this goal is our Made for Life philosophy, which inspires us to create technologies that provide faster, more accurate diagnoses, better treatment outcomes and enhanced patient care.

Our philosophy drives us to create a better world for everyone in line with our CSR policy. Through technological innovation, partnership building and sustainable practices, we are focused on contributing to the third, eighth and thirteenth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Toward this end, our key CSR objectives for 2021-2025 are:
  1. Achieve progress in current medical treatments with the support of medical imaging.
  2. Support global initiatives with impact on local communities in the medical field.
  3. Work to limit global warming by reducing our carbon footprint.

See the complete Canon Medical Systems CSR Policy 2021-2025 here:

CSR Policy

Materiality issues

Canon Medical Systems Group’s material topics, which form the basis of our CSR Policy, were identified in 2021 through extensive consultations with stakeholders including customers, employees, and government authorities. To determine the material issues, we took into account our stakeholders’ expectations and degree of association with our business activities. By contributing to the improvement of material topics, we also contribute to several other SDGs, as shown on the right.

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Objectives

We aim to achieve the following objectives for each material issue:

1 Creating new value and solving medical issues
1.1 Become a leading innovative global company in the medical field.
1.2 Make progress in medical treatments with the support of medical imaging equipment.

2 Working together with society / contributing to the local community
2.1 Work as a unified global company enriching local communities.
2.2 Continue supporting local communities.
2.3 Support global initiatives with impact on local communities in the medical field.

3 Active participation by and development of people from diverse backgrounds
3.1 Aim for gender composition targets of 70% men and 30% women by the end of 2023, and 60% men and 40% women by the end of 2025.

4 Building a robust and healthy organization
4.1 Continue improvement of occupational safety and health (OSH).
4.2 Ensure that all employees have periodic performance reviews in 2023.
4.3 Ensure all subsidiaries have a mechanism available for reporting ethical and equality related issues by 2023.

5 Protection and conservation of the global environment
5.1 Contribute to the prevention of climate change.
5.1.1 Carry out CO2 reduction activities in accordance with Canon Inc. standards in production bases with high environmental impact.
5.1.2 Decide quantitative CO2 reduction targets in 2022 and develop activities from 2023.
5.2 Further develop activities to recycle waste and reduce chemical substance emissions in accordance with Canon Inc. standards in production bases with high environmental impact.
5.3 Improve water use efficiency.
5.4 Pursue the protection and restoration of nature and its biodiversity globally.

To achieve the objectives in an efficient manner, an overall framework for an action plan was developed in 2021, including various measures and KPIs. In 2023, the official Action Plan was ratified and communicated.

Process

A CSR Project Team was set up in 2021 with representatives from the environmental, human resources, marketing, and facilities departments. Representatives from all our subsidiaries were invited to participate in a global CSR Project Group. Data collection took place for reporting year 2022, using the latest version of GRI Standards from the Global Reporting Initiative, both at the subsidiary level as well as at Canon Medical Systems Corporation Headquarters. Dutch Consultancy agency ‘The Sustainability Consultants’ was invited to facilitate and provide advice on the CSR content. The same exercise wat done for this year’s report.

Scope of the report

This report outlines activities conducted by Canon Medical Systems Corporation throughout 2022 at headquarters in Japan, at 20 subsidiaries and at 9 group companies located in the following 23 countries and regions: Japan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, UK, USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. Environmental information on CO2 and waste data was used from 21 subsidiaries and group companies. Our office in Malaysia closed in 2022.

The status regarding all GRI indicators can be found in the attached GRI Table. We have reported the information cited in the GRI content index for the period 2022 with reference to the GRI Standards.

GRI table

Contact

Please contact our CSR Coordinator if you have any questions about the process and this report: Contact us (link to Canon Medical global website)