Innovative Formula Equates to Business Success

When people see closed storefronts in the neighborhoods where they live and work, they're reminded that the toll this economy has taken on businesses affects their own lives. And yet some companies – faced with the same adverse headwinds – seem to rise to the challenge and go on to prosper as never before.

Why is that? And could there even be a lesson to be learned here if you're thinking of starting your own business as a result of either being unemployed or just plain fed up with your current job?

The "i-word" keeps popping up among experts as the answer to that question. "The whole engine that drives any economy is innovation," says Stephen Gnass, executive director of the National Congress of Inventor Organizations, a non-profit for inventors and inventor groups.

Take IBM, for example. It practically reinvented itself years ago – going from a stodgy seller of large, pricey computers to a global software and consulting giant – and just recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. And then there's the more under-the-radar case of New Jersey-based GAF.

North America's largest roofing and ventilation manufacturer is celebrating its own anniversary this year – 25 years longer in business than IBM, but who's counting? – and one way it got there was by coming up with unique answers to consumers' and businesses' desires to go green. In fact, it made quite a splash last summer when it teamed up with New York City's Department of Buildings to paint 1 million square feet of roofs white – GAF supplied the reflective paint for one of the many projects of the initiative, as well as materials and labor – as a way of cutting the city's energy costs.

To GAF's CEO, Bob Tafaro, that kind of nimbleness is key. "When you put customers first by ensuring that they get quality products and service, and when you keep your employees focused on innovation, you've got the formula for surviving long term and throughout even the toughest economic times."

The company's commitment to service and innovation has actually produced a number of "firsts," including: the first ready-to-lay asphalt roofing, the first to use color granules in roofing materials, and the first to offer a lifetime shingle warranty. And, oh yes, for those concerned about the outsourcing of American jobs, everything's made in America. For more information, visit www.GAF.com.

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NewsUSA has created and placed over 15,000 editorially sound newspaper, radio and online features that educate and inform consumers about finance, health, safety and travel as well as home and holiday topics.

Canon on Forbes &#039;Top Genuinely Green Companies&#039; List

Forbes, the magazine which is best known for ranking the world's richest individuals and its most successful corporations has listed Canon, the well-known manufacturer of cameras, photocopiers and other electronics devices as one of the world's top ten most genuinely green companies. With a selection from a very wide spectrum of industries, Forbes singled-out Canon's environmental activities which are at the heart of what it does as a company. These include the Environmental Planning Center and the Environment Promotion Center in the US, which enable Canon to keep track of its environmental performance as well as Canon's publication of an annual sustainability report, published in both English and Japan.

The Background - Canon Already Widely Recognised for its Environmental Leadership

It was only last year that the UK's leading Sunday broadsheet, The Sunday Times, placed Canon as the tenth most environmentally-aware business in its UK-focused survey - The Sunday Times Best Green Comapnies List. One stand-out feature of Canon's UK operations were the outstanding levels of environmental awareness among Canon's Reigate staff, as well as the collective activities of employees when it came to reducing environmental impact by sharing transport to and from work for example.

Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) in the US, who are best known for the Energy Star logo which they award to the top 50% of devices for energy efficiency performance, awarded Canon the 2011 Energy Star Award for Excellence in Energy Efficient Product Design. Canon's accomplishment was recognised at a special awards ceremony in Washington DC in April.

Forbes' Insights

As well as highlighting the already widespread recognition for its environmental efforts and the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Award for Excellence, Forbes pointed to Canon's policies at its US corporate headquarters in the US stating,

"The Japanese camera and electronics manufacturer, Canon, has implemented an Environment Planning Center and Environment Protection Center at its Corporate headquarters..."

Forbes commented that is these core institutions which provide the means for Canon to monitor its environmental performance and also pointed to the comprehensive annual sustainability report, published in both Japanese and English, which provides extensive disclosure on Canon's greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions.

Bunji Yano, Senior Director and General Manager at Corporate Communications, Canon USA commented,

"At Canon, our business is driven by the goal of fostering a sustainable environment while delivering world-class digital imaging technologies...This recognition further validates our commitment to the environment and preserving our plant as a whole."

Canon's Environmental Achievements for Office Devices

Even in a part of the electronics industry which is known for oustandingly high levels of energy efficiency when it comes to device running as well as environmentally-conscious design and build, Canon has consistently stood-out for energy-saving and sustainability innovations across all of its devices - from photocopiers and multifunction printers to scanners and desktop printers. For all office equipment, Canon's Life Cycle Assessment System aims to assess and to minimise carbon emissions at every stage of a photocopiers's development - from the processes involved even at a device's conception through to the carbon impact of delivery to the eventual Canon Business Solutions Partner. Some paticular highlights of Canon's efforts when it comes to energy/environmentally-conscious design and build - power consumption on imageRUNNER Advance photocopiers has been cut by 65% relative to equivalent devices even 5-10 years ago and Canon is now the first photocopier manufacturer to be sucessfully deploying 'bioplastic' parts in the construction of all imageRUNNER Advance photocopiers range.

On the centrality of the environment, Canon's Yunichi Yshtake has previously commented,

"Guided by our corporate philosophy of kyosei - 'all people, regardless of race, religion and culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future' Canon's commitment to the environment is reflected in our ongoing efforts to develop products that incorporate sustainable life-cycle planning and improved resource efficiency from the initial concept to post-consumer phases."

Falcon wishes to congratulate Canon on its inclusion in the Forbes Genuinely Green Companies List.

For the full version of this article, please visit:

http://www.falcon.co.uk/news/general-news/canon-on-forbes-top-genuinely-green-companies.htmlAbout the Author

Jeremy Samson is an imaging technology expert writing extensively on the latest developments in the document managment industry.