Sun-Powered Printing
Canon Inc., a maker of cameras, optical, imaging, and industrial products, announced that all of the power used in its fiscal year 2023 was converted to renewable energy at five locations among four manufacturing companies — Canon Suzhou Inc., Canon Vietnam Co. Ltd. (Thang Long Factory and Tien Son Factory), Canon Hi-Tech Thailand Ltd. (Ayutthaya Factory), and Canon Prachinburi Thailand Ltd. — which produce the mainstay products of its printing business such as office multifunctional devices, home inkjet printers, and large-format inkjet printers.
Canon is working to convert 100% of the power used at the sites where it manufactures its printing products to renewable energy. So far, the company has installed solar panels within the grounds of some manufacturing sites and has harnessed the renewable energy generated from these panels in its production activities. At the Thang Long Factory owned by Canon Vietnam, approximately 18% of the entire plant’s power is generated from solar panels that were installed in July 2022. The total installation area is approximately 419,793 sq.ft. (39,000 m²) with generation capacity of 4.48 MW.
In addition to this initiative, Canon newly obtained a renewable energy certificate (REC) which securitizes the environmental value of renewable energy. This allowed the company to convert 100% of the power used in fiscal year 2023 at five locations among four manufacturing sites — Canon Suzhou, Canon Vietnam (Thang Long Factory and Tien Son Factory), Canon Hi-Tech Thailand (Ayutthaya Factory), and Canon Prachinburi Thailand — to renewable energy. As a result, the percentage of renewable energy usage in 2023 at the final assembly sites for printing products, including these five locations, increased to approximately 39.5%, up roughly 5.8% from 2022. In 2024, Canon plans to continue promoting the self-procurement of green energy through initiatives such as newly installing solar panels and increase the usage rate of renewable energy.
