The grant was established in 2005 and is available to individuals or organisations about to launch a project, or who are already working on a project that will impact positively on New Zealand’s environment.
Entries close on August 31 and Tony Wills, Canon New Zealand’s managing director says anyone involved in environmental should apply.
“We know that in this area funding can be quite limited and resources are often stretched. Canon recognises the importance of having quality equipment to record, document, process and store work, and this is where we hope the Canon Environmental Grant will help,” said Mr Wills.
Last year’s grant went to Antarctica New Zealand to facilitate an environmental impact monitoring programme aimed at minimising the ’footprint’ of human activities in Antarctica.
Jana Newman, environmental adviser for Antarctica New Zealand said the organisation has been thrilled to be the inaugural recipient of the Canon Environmental Grant.
“The grant has been invaluable in progressing our visitor site assessment scheme to determine if environmental impacts are occurring in the Ross Sea Region of Antarctica as a result of regular human visitation. This scheme will enable us to provide informed advice to operators and regulators on actual or potential environmental impacts and means to mitigate such impacts.
“This monitoring work would not have been feasible without the generous support of Canon. The environmental grant has equipped our monitoring team with EOS20D cameras which have been used to carry out photo monitoring at key sites in the Ross Sea Region. These cameras are integral in this long term monitoring programme, providing us with high resolution, awesome quality images and are a real helping hand in managing environmental impacts in Antarctica.”
Canon has a range of products and solutions to assist people undertaking and documenting environmental work. It includes the latest high tech visual equipment for field-work, through to advanced office equipment and IT solutions to help the project along indoors.
.
Tony Wills says that Canon has an environmental policy that ranges from product design, to manufacturing, sales, use, recycling and reuse. The company works to conserve energy and resources, maximise product lifecycles and eliminate hazardous materials from its products and processes.
This includes operating the world’s largest toner cartridge return programme, designing energy-efficient office equipment, removing 100 percent of the lead from its photographic lenses, and encouraging employees to adopt environmentally sound work practices.
“The successful applicant will be pleased to know that not only will they have the latest equipment to help them operate more effectively, but that the equipment – like all Canon products – have been designed with the environment in mind,” he adds.
