Canon kicks-off The UAE School Environmental Sustainability Competition in partnership with EWS-WWF and The National

Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 7 April 2015 – As part of its commitment to encourage and inspire UAE’s younger generation to live a more sustainable life, and develop into responsible citizens, Canon Middle East (CME), a leader in imaging solutions, in partnership with Emirates Wildlife Society – World Wide Fund (EWS-WWF) and The National newspaper, has launched ‘The UAE School Environmental Sustainability Competition’.  

The competition aims to engage with the UAE schools community in order to raise awareness about environmental issues among the youth, and to provide them an opportunity to be part of the solution. Students and teachers will be required to outline actions taken by the school to become more environmentally friendly. This competition comes at the back of Earth Hour, a global movement that has raised awareness on Climate Change issues globally and locally. 

Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East said: “We are truly pleased to kick-off the UAE School Environmental Sustainability Competition. At Canon Middle East we are committed to integrating our global philosophy of Kyosei, the purpose of living and working together for the common good, into our everyday activities and giving back to the communities that we operate in.

“We believe that to successfully move forward, sustainability must be at the core of our business. We are committed to spearheading local initiatives that are core to our EMEA wide business and continue inspiring younger generations to live in a pollution free environment.”

Agrawal also stated that environmental education is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote long-term sustainable use of natural resources.  Canon believes they can help by educating children about the importance of conservation in order to be well-prepared for the task of protecting UAE’s environment in the 21st century.

Ida Tillisch, Director General of Emirates Wildlife Society- WWF, said: “Engaging school children creatively, and providing them opportunities to connect to the natural system around them is key to get them to understand and care about the environment. We hope that this initiative will get them inspired to continue engaging with nature and its conservation, now and in the future.“

Schools across all emirates will have the chance to participate in the competition by nominating a team of five students in addition to a supervisor. They must submit a 1,500 word proposal on how their school is sustainable, how they can improve their sustainability approach and why they should win the competition, via a tab on Canon Middle East Facebook page by Sunday, 19 April 2015. A panel of experts from Canon ME, Emirates Wildlife Society and The National will judge the proposals and five schools will be shortlisted on 23 April for the finals. 

The shortlisted schools will receive a Canon LEGRIA HF R68 video camera to create and submit themed promo videos, as well as win a trip to Wadi Warayah National Park provided by EWS-WWF. A mixed workshop on video production, environmental conservation and social media promotion ideas by Canon and EWS-WWF will be held on 29th April.  The deadline for the promo video submissions is 21 May, with voting via Facebook starting on 23rd May. The winner will be announced on 31st May, and students from the school will be supported to plant a sustainable garden in the school, to connect with nature and learn about local plants and water issues.

Canon Middle East has been active in raising awareness about sustainability and conservation for the past few years. As part of its Environment Projects in 2013, Canon Middle East, in partnership with the local NGO Goumbook, launched ‘Plant a Ghaf’ campaign. The competition was held at Al Barari Nursery where after select recycled products were sold, participants were committed to plant a Ghaf tree. The green campaign highlighted Canon’s green proposition among all product groups.

Canon was recently recognised for its environmental and CSR efforts by the Dubai Chamber and received the CSR Label for the third consecutive year. Additionally, Canon was awarded  ‘Best Environmental Practices in the Arab World’ in 2014 by the Arab Organisation for Social Responsibility as well as being recognised at the GEC Awards for its wide range of community activities that addressed the environment, healthcare, sports and personal development. 

As part of its Kyosei mission, Canon strives to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the Canon Group at all stages of production lifecycle, from materials procurement to disposal and recycling. Canon was the first company to acquire certification under Japan’s Carbon Footprint Program for multifunction office systems.