Canon Solutions America Continues Support of Trees for the Future

Honoring its commitment to environmental health and sustainability, Canon Solutions America Inc. says its work with Trees for the Future — through its Eco Start Program — has helped to plant more than 2.15 million trees since 2010 on behalf of its customers.

According to Canon, these trees have created 538 new forest gardens and helped more than 4,308 people on the pathway out of hunger and poverty. In addition, it says the total number of trees planted under the Eco Start Program will remove over 77,882 metric tons of carbon over the next 20 years.

The Eco Start Program was developed as a collaboration between the Production Print Solutions division of Canon Solutions America, Canon’s production print customers, and the Trees for the Future organization. According to Canon, the program was designed and implemented as a first step in helping its customers achieve carbon-neutral production. Furthermore, the company says the program allows its customers to take part in helping to improve the livelihood of communities while putting trees back into the environment.

“It is because of the immense support of our partners that we are able to continue growing and reaching new heights with our mission and objectives,” says John Leary, executive director, Trees for the Future. “As we look to the next decade, we are committed to our goal of reaching one billion trees planted, and we are honored to have the support of Canon Solutions America to help us achieve that goal.”

As a sustainable agroforestry nonprofit organization, Trees for the Future says it works to improve the livelihoods of impoverished farmers by revitalizing degraded lands. With its experience in planting well over 210 million trees, it says it continues to demonstrate the transformative power of trees in helping farmers to break out of the poverty trap. Today, it says its work in East and West Africa is helping to end hunger and poverty, leaving a legacy of opportunity through sustainable practices and productive lands for future generations.

With this mission and commitment in mind, Canon Solutions America says it supports this effort by calculating the anticipated CO₂ emissions from each of its production print products during a customer’s first year of use based on the average expected energy consumption, annual print volumes, and paper consumption. That information is then factored into equation variables such as anticipated standby and running power, expected output volume per month, average projected operating hours per month, and the estimated energy necessary to cool the production system. The company says this calculation provides an average expected total carbon emissions per year for each product and identifies the anticipated number of trees needed to help offset those average emissions.

“Creating a sustainable future for generations to come is a responsibility we take to heart and one that is important to our customers as well,” says Peter P. Kowalczuk, president, Canon Solutions America Inc. “It has been a privilege to see the progress that has been made thus far through our Eco Start Program, and the planting of trees for each Canon production system purchased. We look forward to helping Trees for the Future achieve their admirable goal of planting one billion trees by 2030.”