Canon carbon neutral scheme provides stoves in Africa

Canon Medical Systems UK has announced its 2019 corporate social responsibility commitments. A series of regional, national and international initiatives, #madeforlife, will focus on the health of the environment and creating a better society in the UK and developing nations.

Canon Medical Systems says it is the only UK medical equipment provider to be carbon neutral, meeting all PAS 2060 requirements by the British Standards Institute, and has gained official partner status from the United Nations’ Division for Sustainable Development Goals.

At an international level, the company will be building on its carbon neutral initiative where every purchase of imaging equipment is translated into tonnes of carbon and offset to a high impact project in a developing country. This CO2 offset takes into account the elements involved in manufacturing, packaging, shipping and average energy usage for the standard lifetime of a medical imaging system. Metrics are calculated and monitored by a specialist carbon zero partner and verified by Gold Standard for Global Goals developed by World Wide Fund for Nature or a United Nations’ Division for Sustainable Development Goals approved auditor. A Canon Medical 1.5T MRI system, for example, has a carbon offset footprint of 226.78 tonnes CO2 which then helps 245 people in Kenya and Uganda by providing cooking stoves and fixing water boreholes.

Nationally, the company will provide corporate backing for the next two years to UK charity Support Dogs to train an assistance dog (see story).

Picture: Through carbon offsetting, cooking stoves can be provided to people in Kenya and Uganda.

Published on page 18 of the June 2019 issue of RAD Magazine.