Canon's Circular Concept

INTERVIEW

Canon’s Circular Concept

The Sustainabilist spoke with Venkatasubramanian Hariharan, B2C Business Unit Director at Canon Middle East, on the brand’s efforts to promote the circular economy.

Since launching an e-commerce platform for the region, how has Canon ME’s business changed and what has been the consumers’ response?

The Canon e-store was launched over 2 years ago with the main objective to bring our products and merchandise even closer to our customers. It’s a testament to our commitment to make the Canon experience enjoyable for our customers from the start and cater to digitally savvy consumers and the rapid rise of online transactions in Middle East.

Online shopping is growing in popularity in the region, and the pandemic and consequent lockdown further accelerated the transition to e-commerce. An Ernst & Young survey conducted in May found that 92% of consumers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have adopted online shopping. While a sharp incline, I expect it to gradually adjust as malls and stores are now open, but I don’t think we will be seeing a significant decline any time soon. 48 Our foresight in developing our e-commerce platform allowed us to be more agile in responding to our customers’ requirements during the pandemic and ensured their business continuity as well. Whether it’s through our retailers’ network, our partners’ showrooms or online, we’re offering an omnichannel approach to customers, and in today’s retail environment this is particularly important given how customers are using these varied options in their buying journey.

In the past period, especially during the lockdown, there has been a noticeable demand through our e-commerce channels for home printers, ink toners, paper arising and vlogging equipment from the customers need to stay connected, work seamlessly from home or manage e-learning. To support our customers, we also implemented next-day delivery of products and supplies to meet this demand. This has given our customers the confidence in knowing that we are available and will support their imaging requirements, even in the most uncertain of times.

What is the value added of allowing consumers to purchase Canon products and merchandise online?

It is absolutely invaluable to offer customers multiple ways to connect with a brand and its products, whether we’re looking at a pre, during or postCOVID-19 period. Customers have their own preferences on how they like to shop, and often access multiple platforms and sources before they decide to purchase, and any organisation in this day and age has to be able to offer this approach.

What this past period has reaffirmed is that digital platforms have never been more prominent than they are today. It may have been a preference for the digitalsavvy youth before COVID-19 hit to shop online, but currently every demographic has had an interaction with a digital platform in some form or another.

Having a digital platform is also an opportunity for “ organisations to ensure their business continuity “

More specifically, having a digital platform is also an opportunity for organisations to ensure their business continuity, lest they may become obsolete as we enter an age where there is additional preference for the digital.

This doesn’t mean that the physical retail will no longer be, but essentially both have to work together to give customers a more holistic and flexible approach for purchasing.

How does Canon ME manage its environmental impact?

At Canon, we operate according to the philosophy of Kyosei Japanese word that means ‘living and working together for the common good’. We use the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to define ‘common good’ and provide a framework for Canon to manage its social and environmental impacts.

As a result, we have developed three key themes to govern our sustainability strategy and adhere to our core philosophy. On a local level we implement these strategies in the countries in which we operate and support national sustainability initiatives as well.

As Canon wants to lead the sector by contributing to the development of a Circular Economy, how is the brand considering this economic system in both its physical and digital stores?

We are innovating to transform into a more circular economy, and moving away from the traditional ‘make, use, dispose’ linear economy by adopting the principles of a circular economy. We do this by keeping materials in use for longer and minimising waste. We are making products smaller and lighter, and reusing and recycling materials as much as possible. We also strive to reduce waste consumption and the generation of waste from the manufacturing process.

In addition, we also launched a complimentary recycling campaign to collect Canon products and consumables from our B2C customers including ink, toner, batteries and paper as well as electronic waste such as old printers, cameras and scanners. This initiative in the consumer market in the UAE, highlights Canon’s commitment in creating awareness about e-waste, how to safely dispose of electronics appliances, and the benefits of recycling as part of our efforts to embrace a circular economy.

We continued with the door to door recycling programme during the COVID-19 lockdown as we view it as an integral part of the overall economic recovery phase and transition to a more sustainable approach to economic growth.