Successful collaboration between WWF and Canon Europe
Canon Europe became the first Conservation Partner for WWF in 1998, and since that time has worked with WWF to specifically tackle global warming and the extinction of endangered species.
Through the partnership, Canon Europe provides WWF with funds for conservation and helps to raise awareness through internal and external communications and networking opportunities. One of the earliest projects, the WWF-Canon Photo Gallery, was launched in 1999 to digitise the WWF Photo Library. Using Canon support and technology, thousands of images were made available online to the WWF organisation and photographers working for and on behalf of the WWF. This superb collection of pictures, revamped in 2007, is an invaluable communications tool and an ideal way for conveying the WWF’s message.
In 2000, the WWF-Canon Panda Bus, a travelling roadshow to teach children about conservation was launched. Between April and November 2000, the bus toured 13 European cities, including Copenhagen, Dublin, Moscow, Oslo and Paris and was visited by more than 20,000 people across Europe. Since 2003, Canon-WWF PAN (Protected Area Network) Parks Programme has allowed Canon Europe employees to gain ‘hands-on’ experience by contributing to valuable conservation and maintenance efforts. Based on the network of eight PAN Parks across Europe founded by WWF to protect the continent’s wildlife, the programme is also designed to raise awareness of environmental issues and provide the opportunity for environmentally-minded participants to exchange ideas with their colleagues throughout Europe.
Launched in 2007, Canon Europe’s support has enabled the tagging of two polar bears in the Svalbard Arctic with radio collars to allow WWF scientists to monitor their positions via satellite. Running alongside the tracking programme is the Canon Kids’ Zone, a children’s micro-site which mirrors the WWF Polar Bear Tracker with games and educational content to encourage children aged 7-11 years to make a positive environmental contribution in their own lives. Canon Europe shares WWF’s stated objectives to stop, and eventually reverse, the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.