Las Vegas, NV — Canon U.S.A. has announced its first set of products developed with the company's own life cycle assessment design system, which looked at the lifecycle emissions and environmental impacts of the products and their materials.
The new imageRUNNER ADVANCE series of multifunction office devices are expected to result in 30 percent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than previous product models. Canon designed the new products to be smaller and lighter than previous models and to use less packaging, all leading to fewer materials used, fewer transportation emissions and more efficient shipping.
The imageRUNNER ADVANCE items are also the first Canon products to use 100 percent recycled plastic and bioplastic in certain device parts. Canon operations around the world have been experimenting with bioplastic in printers and recycled content in calculators.
As for chemicals and hazardous materials, the imageRUNNER ADVANCE series exceeds the substance restrictions set by the European Union's RoHS Directive, which calls for restricting six substances. Canon's product design system restricts the use of 24 hazardous substances and has minimized the use of lead in steel, copper and aluminum parts.
In addition to using fewer, and fewer hazardous, materials, the new products also use less energy. They exceed Energy Star standards, reduce power consumption 75 percent compared to previous models and use 1 watt or less when in sleep mode.
And, like most new printers, copiers and scanners, the products come with a range of features designed to conserve paper, toner and energy.
Multifunction device (not from Canon's new product line) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dm-set/ / CC BY 2.0