Mexico. Epson began a three-year international partnership this year with WWF, a global conservation organization that focuses on restoring and conserving forests around the world. It is the first time that a Japanese company in the electronics and precision instruments sector has formed this type of partnership.
With a shared ambition to address environmental issues of common interest, the partnership will encompass three objectives:
1. address Epson's environmental footprint;
2. support WWF's forest restoration and conservation projects in seven countries in four regions; and
3. Provide information on environmental issues.
To make this possible, Epson plans to contribute 240 million Japanese yen (approximately $1.7 million) over the next three years starting in March 2023, which will go to WWF forestry projects.
Through the partnership, Epson will support WWF's forest conservation activities and nature recovery efforts on various "Deforestation Fronts," and will aim to improve sustainability in its supply chain as a participant in WWF's Forests Forward program.
In order to achieve together a positive world for nature, this partnership will also promote the responsible use of forest resources (paper) in companies, and future considerations for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and activities that contribute to a circular economy.
In 2021, Epson announced its Environmental Vision in which it committed to becoming carbon negative and eliminating the use of exhaustible resources from the subsoil by 2050. To achieve these goals, the company is implementing a series of initiatives aimed at achieving decarbonization by closing the resource loop, offering products and services that reduce environmental impact, and developing environmental technologies.
Epson recognises that whole-community participation is necessary to achieve a sustainable society, and is working with partners who share its ideals, such as WWF, to raise awareness and take strong action to solve the environmental problems facing our planet.
The protection and responsible management of forest ecosystems has been high on the agenda of recent global debates, such as the UN COP27 climate conference and the UN COP15 conference on biodiversity. It is critical that we build on this momentum by making a strong commitment and implementing urgent transformative changes needed to reverse biodiversity loss and build a more sustainable society.
Through partnership and participation in the Forests Forward programme, Epson and WWF commit together to saving threatened forests in vital landscapes, both inside and outside Epson's supply chain, by improving forest management and nature restoration.
