Competition winners visit Uganda to witness impacts of carbon offset scheme

Canon Medical at Amunamum Primary School

A team from Canon Medical Systems UK was given a warm welcome when it visited a rural village, school and hospital in Uganda to see the positive impacts of clean water due to the company’s Carbon Zero initiative.

Since 2014, every imaging system installed by a hospital or clinic in England, Scotland or Wales has had its CO2 emission footprint calculated and verified by CO2balance and a United Nations’ auditor to be offset to a high impact project in Uganda or Kenya.

The recent trip involved visits to the villages of Apala Ilera, Omar, Awat and Aweiwoo in the Kole District of northern Uganda where a history of political unrest has taken its toll on infrastructure such as water provision, schools and hospitals. Development projects run by international organisations in conjunction with the Ugandan Government and supported by companies such as Canon Medical are vital. They rebuild communities, boost gender equality and improve overall health and wellbeing.

Canon Uganda carbon offset scheme — Canon Medical Systems UK’s Carbon Zero ambassadors (centre) meet villagers in north Uganda: ultrasound regional manager south Tim Palarm, marketing team lead Nicola Fox, HR assistant Cassie Rose, service sales account executive (south) Danielle Johnson and business support manager Mat Aylen.

“We received such a warm and enthusiastic welcome from the villagers in Uganda,” said service sales account executive (south) Danielle Johnson. “The supply and maintenance of water bore holes goes far beyond just the provision of water for them. Although the obvious benefits are that waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery are avoided, villagers no longer need to walk as far each day to fetch clean supplies, or look for firewood to boil and sterilise unclean water. This means children, relied on by their families to help, have time to go to school and receive an education. Furthermore, with fewer fires needed to boil water, fewer trees are cut down to reduce deforestation.”

Team members were all winners of an internal Carbon Zero competition championing sustainability and were selected to take part in the Ugandan trip based on their individual achievements in living an environmentally conscious life and encouraging others to do the same.

Lead picture: Canon Medical Systems UK representatives marketing team lead Nicola Fox and ultrasound regional manager, south, Tim Palarm visited the Amunamum Primary School in Uganda.

Published on page 18 of the January 2020 issue of RAD Magazine.