Canon and WBM Bid to Advance Circular Economy Goals

Canon UK & Ireland, in collaboration with Waterloo Business Management (WBM Ltd), is celebrating the first year of a joint initiative focused on providing businesses with an efficient solution for recycling printer consumables.

The partnership is noteworthy in the realm of procurement, offering a model for sustainable supply chain management.

Their initiative effectively redirected 33,800 kg of toner cartridges and related products from landfill back into production, leveraging a closed-loop recycling process.

This achievement not only contributes to Canon’s global goal of net-zero GHG emissions across its entire product lifecycle by 2050, but also presents key implications for procurement strategies with sustainability in mind. 

Strategic procurement impact

Starting in January 2024, the initiative rapidly gathered pace. Now, almost 350 customers, spanning more than 1,000 facilities, participate in the programme.

WBM has executed 892 collections and managed 2,922 boxes, successfully recycling over 42,000 toner bottles.

This promising outcome illustrates the tangible advantages of implementing circular economy principles within procurement functions, particularly in enhancing the quality and performance of recovered materials over virgin equivalents.

James O’Connor, Managing Director at WBM, says: “Our partnership with Canon has enabled WBM to make printer component recycling more accessible and efficient, operating at a wider scale that was not previously possible.”

This improved capacity materially boosts the volume of brand-specific recycled products and supports Canon's sustainability initiatives, thereby adding value to Canon's clientele with a more conscientious approach to inventory management in their printing setups.

Enhancing material recovery standards

WBM’s use of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-specific technique, diverging from typical, more generic recycling schemes, allows for enhanced consistency in material recovery and superior ecological benefits.

Procurement professionals can appreciate the seamless and efficient user experience this system offers, alongside comprehensive traceability of recycled materials–integral to meeting and maintaining compliance with increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

Ensuring traceability

Canon customers, through WBM’s digital portal, benefit from complete visibility into the recycling process.

The platform allows for tracking collections, reviewing historical data and downloading compliance certificates.

Such transparency facilitates procurement departments in demonstrating progress toward sustainability objectives, an aspect growing in importance amidst more stringent regulations and heightened scrutiny from stakeholders.

“Canon is actively working to enhance the recyclability of our products as part of our broader commitment to a circular economy,” adds Arpitha Swamy, Environment and Product Safety Specialist at Canon UK & Ireland.

The partnership is pivotal in reducing waste and removes materials from landfill. There are aspirations to expand the service, increasing its reach across the UK and supporting partners on their sustainability paths.

The first milestone of the Canon-WBM partnership demonstrates the potential of strategic collaboration in translating sustainability commitments into actionable procurement outcomes.

By embedding closed-loop recycling into its procurement operations, Canon not only mitigates waste but also establishes a forward-thinking standard for circular practices in the print industry.