Canon Middle East ranks among top CSR practitioners in the region

Canon Middle East, a leader in imaging solutions, has recently been selected as the first runner up  in the Medium-Size Enterprise Category of the Arabia Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2012, achieving remarkable progress from last year’s ranking.

Canon is involved in several CSR initiatives across the Middle East ranging from working with the Dubai Autism Centre and the Emirates Environmental Group, to promoting ICT skills amongst the region’s youth and encouraging budding filmmakers through its support of local film clubs such as the BLOOM! Cine Startups initiative – a platform that helps budding filmmakers make their first film using Canon DSLR cameras.

In the past five Awards cycles, the Arabia CSR Network has received almost 400 applications from hundreds of organizations across the Arab region.

This year, the Awards were organized under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and Chairman of Dubai Airports.

The winners were announced at the Awards Ceremony that took place on 24^th October at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East, said: “In today's economy, a key way to survive and thrive is to put sustainability at the heart of your business and focus on long term growth rather than short-term gain, thus planning for a sustainable future. With this in mind, we at Canon aim to grow our business responsibly, supporting the natural environment and respecting the communities in which we live and work, in line with our Kyosei philosophy.”

Mrs. Habiba Al Marashi, President Arabia CSR Network, said: "In order to succeed we need leaders to guide us by example. The record number and exceptional quality of entries this year reflect the on-going commitment of companies towards corporate social responsibility. All of the winners are to be commended and we would like to congratulate Canon for moving up from last year to become the first runner up of the Arabia CSR Awards 2012.”

The Awards launched in 2008, honor companies across the Arab world that demonstrate ethical and responsible practices in business. The judges look for evidence of a clearly articulated and widely communicated Corporate Responsibility and sustainability strategy embedded in the business strategy, together with examples of policies or projects that positively impact on society, the environment and the economy.