Canon Oceania's latest sustainability report 'Embracing Change' revealed that the company last year was "significantly affected" by:
Floods in Queensland which led to about 75% of the state being declared a disaster zone. The Christchurch earthquakes which put the New Zealand into a state of emergency for three months. Cyclone Yasi, estimated to have been the most costly cyclone ever to hit Australia.
Further afield, the devastating tsunami and earthquake in Japan and the extensive floods in Thailand also disrupted Canon's operations, resulting in product shortages in key categories.
Canon said a "significant challenge" to its profitability came from decreased profit margins for its consumer products despite strong sales volumes.
The company said that while the Oceania group made a profit in 2011, the New Zealand business reported a loss. Canon companies in the Oceania region – including Canon New Zealand, Canon Finance New Zealand, Canon Australia and Canon Information Systems Research Australia (CiSRA) donated NZ$80,000 to the New Zealand Prime Minister's Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.
In terms of sustainability, Canon's key achievements included a 14 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening of its channel partnerships, ramping up its services offerings and playing a key role in the development of a national recycling scheme in Australia for computers and televisions to reduce e-waste under the Product Stewardship Act.