Sustainability is the future, which is why Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, finds it a privilege to announce and celebrate that the Company’s enterprise division has now lent a decade of support to the Arbor Day Foundation’s reforestation program. Since 2009, the company’s enterprise division helped contribute to the planting of more than 500,000 trees in the U.S., with this year’s efforts counting toward the Arbor Day Foundation’s Time for Trees initiative, under which the Arbor Day Foundation seeks to plant 100 million trees worldwide by 2022.
“We understand the vital importance of replenishing and maintaining our forests and are committed through our philosophy of Kyosei to promoting environmental responsibility to our employees, partners, and customers,” says Shinichi Yoshida, executive vice president and general manager, Canon U.S.A. Inc. “It’s an honor to continue into our 10th year of supporting the Arbor Day Foundation, which we believe can help drive positive environmental impact in 2019 and beyond.”
The Arbor Day Foundation implements reforestation initiatives across the country to rebuild forests that are in desperate need of regrowth. Through this program, Canon contributes to the planting of one tree for every eligible imageRUNNER ADVANCE solution sold between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, up to a maximum of 50,000 trees. These solutions can help users work conscientiously and allow administrators to enable settings that can help users save energy and paper.
This year, active replanting efforts are taking place all over the nation. Canon’s aid for 2019 is planned to help support reforestation efforts for the Superior National Forest (MN), habitat restoration for rare species in the Upper Altamaha Watershed (GA), and restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem in the Big Thicket National Preserve (TX).
“Canon’s longstanding support has been invaluable to our forest revitalization efforts across the nation,” says Dan Lambe, president, Arbor Day Foundation. “The Foundation appreciates Canon’s continued corporate support to address one of the world’s most challenging environmental issues.”
The Group’s €5 million investment in the plant enables it to purify water to the highest standards before it can be returned to the environment. Purified water can also be partially reused in the process, further reducing water consumption by up to 90%. This innovative treatment also reduces electricity usage and CO2 emissions by up to 80%. This latest investment underscores Smurfit Kappa’s ongoing commitment to water stewardship and follows recent similar initiatives across its plants in Europe and the Americas. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, said: “Today is an important day for environmental protection in Belgrade and throughout Serbia. This is a day that represents a turning point for the sustainable development of our country. By 2025, all companies have a deadline for introducing wastewater treatment plants. Smurfit Kappa did this two years ahead of schedule by building the first industrial biological plant. This is an example of how all business people in Serbia should join the policy of sustainable development".
Sumitomo Forestry, a Japanese company is planning to build the world's tallest wooden skyscraper to mark its 350th anniversary in 2041. Only 10% of the 70-storey W350 tower would be steel, combined with about 180,000 cubic metres of indigenous wood which will make up for 90% of the building. This will limit the carbon footprint of the building as the wood will store the carbon instead of emitting it into the atmosphere. There will be about 8,000 homes, with trees and foliage on balconies at every level, creating a pleasant space for plants and living organisms and in turn contributing to the biodiversity of the city. In doing so, the company will be on track to meet its wider objective to create environmentally-friendly and timber utilising cities and maintain the livelihood of the forest ecosystem. Click Read More below for additional information.
This year saw our members smash through past records for new PEFC-certified hectares!
In Australia alone, more than 16 million hectares of forest became PEFC-certified – an achievement that won Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) the top prize for growth during our PEFC Forest Certification Week award ceremony. Second and third place did not do badly either, with Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and PEFC Russia adding 8.2 million and 8.1 million hectares of certified forest, respectively – an amount that in previous years would have easily given them first place! click Read More below for additional detail