Canon 2012 Annual Report Download - page 34

Strategy Business Units MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Financial Section
32
assets. These facsimiles are created by blending Canon’s latest digital technol-
ogy and traditional Japanese crafts, such as gold leaf craftwork. As a result of
the project, original cultural assets can be kept in the more favorable environ-
ment of museums while copies can be used for educational purposes and public
exhibits. Since the program began in 2007, the cumulative total of items repro-
duced and donated under the project has reached 25 (as of December, 2012.)
“Colorful Classroom” Project Launched at “Hope Schools” in China
In 2012, Canon China teamed up with Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. and the China
Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) to launch the “Colorful Classroom”
project at three “Hope Schools” supported by China Canon Group. The aim of
the project is to raise the observation skills, imaginative power, and aesthetic
consciousness of Chinese children through images and colors. In addition
to donating digital cameras, inkjet printers, and other devices, Canon sent
employees to the schools to conduct photography classes for the children.
ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF CONFLICT MINERALS
The term “conflict minerals” refers to certain minerals originating in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries in Africa, the
profit from the trade of which, provided through the global supply chain, is
alleged to be funding armed groups in that region. In the United States, legis-
lation was enacted requiring publicly listed companies to disclose their usage
of such minerals, which went into effect in January 2013.
Seeking to ensure that customers use its products with peace of mind, the
Canon Group has clarified its basic stance on the issue, working together
with business partners and industry entities with the aim of avoiding the use
of conflict minerals. Canon has held briefing sessions for relevant domestic
and overseas partners since November 2012, and launched conflict miner-
als inspections of its products since the end of January 2013, beginning with
major products. In terms of both legal compliance and CSR, Canon is making
steady progress in preparation for disclosing conflict minerals-related infor-
mation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as scheduled in 2014.
CULTIVATING DIVERSE HUMAN RESOURCES
Canon works constantly to foster global human resources capable of per-
forming on the world stage, by taking advantage of international training
programs and the like. Given our priority to keep production in-house, it is
important for us to cultivate personnel with world-class skills and expertise
on a global scale. In 2012, we stepped up training programs aimed at acquir-
ing the knowledge and skills necessary to advance our industrial equipment
business, identified as a new core domain for Canon.
In 2012, the Tsuzuri Project created
a high-resolution facsimile of fold-
ing screens with pictures of flocks of
cranes, which belong to the Freer Gal-
lery of Art, Smithsonian Institution
(Washington, D.C.), and donated them
to the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation
for History and Culture.
Without regard to national origin, race,
and other matters of background, Can-
on hires, trains, and promotes personnel
that can excel as a member of a global
enterprise so that it can grow sustain-
ability as a global company.