Canon Middle East was awarded the first place in Ta’atheer Awards 2016 Best Environmental Sustain-ability Programme/Initiative Category, an award that measures the social impact of organisations’ CSR efforts.

The organisation won the award for its UAE School Environmental Sustain-ability Competition, a programme aimed at engaging children in UAE schools to raise awareness about the environmental challenges facing the youth here, and to provide them an opportunity to be part of the solution.

Mai Youssef, corporate communications director, Canon Middle East, said:     “It is an honour to be recognised at the Ta’atheer Awards. This award is symbolic of our unflinching commitment to the environment, one of the three pillars of our Sustainability values. The UAE School Environ-mental Sustain-ability Com-petition was intended to create greater awareness about the benefits of environmental conservation in the region, which, for example, abounds in water shortages. This was an initiative that Canon Middle East     created to encourage students to share how their school was sustainable, how they could improve their   sustainability approach and why they should win the competition. Canon has been regularly involved in environmental initiatives over the years, including product recycling programmes, and toner and cartridge programmes where the company sends zero waste to landfills.

“The region’s youth should, therefore, know about the challenges facing them; businesses like Canon Middle East are in a prime position to work hand-in-hand with young people to find solutions to social and environmental issues. We hope that through this award, Canon will inspire young visionaries and other corporations to take the responsibility for a brighter future into their own hands.”