The Ricoh Group's social contribution activity policy is based on its CSR Charter and Code of Conduct so that each group company can contribute to the development of their respective countries and regions. Employees actively participate in these activities, and work to continuously improve their activities by communicating widely with society.
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In Japan, Ricoh Group companies use regional traits and the unique characteristics of their respective business activities and conduct well-planned activities along a conceptual road map. Outside of Japan, group companies offer disaster relief and other activities meeting the needs of the local community and contributing through all-employee-participation events. |
Promoting social contribution activities aimed at becoming the most trusted company <Tohoku Ricoh (Japan)>
Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd., manufacturing subsidiary, engages in local-community-focused activities using the company's uniqueness in the area of "Simplify life and work," one of the key pillars of Ricoh's three core values. The basic concept behind this is to bring happiness to people and society. In implementing activities, Tohoku Ricoh investigated its unique characteristics (regional features and management resources) and decided to concentrate on four themes-"using facilities/joining hands with the local community," "supporting the development of future generations in-house," "supporting the development of future generations in the community" and "handing down product-making know-how"-and then created a road map. The company and employees are now working together as one to deepen and expand each theme.
| Roadmap for Supporting the Development of Future Generations in the Communityaccelerate |
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Earthquake relief efforts at Ricoh China <Ricoh China (China)>
 Following the massive earthquake that shook Sichuan Province, China, on May 12, 2008, three employees from Ricoh China Co., Ltd. (RCN) (our regional sales headquarters in China) visited Sichuan in late May and conducted an on-site inspection into the plight of schools and government offices to find out how Ricoh China could help. The three employees met with local government and education bureau officials in Chengd. and Mianyang (both disaster-stricken areas) and obtained information on local damage, the plight of office equipment at disaster relief headquarters and support for local schools. Based on this information, Ricoh China donated office equipment to the local disaster relief headquarters to Communityaccelerate their emergency assistance efforts and donated printers to local elementary schools and junior high schools to help them resume classes as soon as possible. In determining which schools would receive the printer donations, Ricoh China defined the criteria such as the level of damage to school buildings, plight of equipment, and funding capabilities. The donation of office equipment based on the employees' swift needs assessment greatly contributed to the early reopening of local schools lacking equipment. In addition, as part of the assistance, Ricoh China employees visited all user companies and schools to check damage to Ricoh equipment at the afflicted area and conducted repairs. As of the end of May, Ricoh was the first Japanese company to conduct on-site activities. For this reason, local newspapers and government newsletters wrote articles on Ricoh's efforts, which won high praise. As a result, the company earned the public's trust, and this trust is leading to new sales in the area.
Teaching Children about Hunger and Climate Change <Ricoh Nederland (Europe)>
Ricoh Nederland B.V. has been working with a non-profit organization called "Kids Moving the World" since 2007. The organization conducts activities that teach children about hunger, climate change and other global issues through games. All willing employees are eligible to receive training and become a Game Guide. So far, the program has attracted 40 employees, who have been regularly teaching primary schools classes on hunger in developing countries such as Tanzania and Cambodia, using games to provide children with understandable explanations. In 2008, a new program called "Planet Me," featuring a polar bear as the main character, was launched to teach children about climate change.
Kids Moving the World has held classes in about 1,900 Dutch primary schools (about one-quarter of the total number of primary schools in that country) and taught roughly 250,000 children. The organization provides many children with opportunities to seek a better world through learning about unfamiliar issues such as hunger and the environment. These activities are highly praised by the education sector and also help to raise employee motivation as well as generating many other benefits.
Encouraging Full Employee Participation in Volunteer Work <Ricoh Europe (Europe)>
 Since 2005, Ricoh Europe B.V. has been hosting Team Day once a year to enable all employees to contribute to their respective communities. Since 2006, Team Day has been implemented in cooperation with Community Links, a non-profit organization active in London's low-income areas.
For Team Day 2008, the Playwood Project was organized, with employees helping bring children closer to nature by constructing tree houses, bird-watching and animal-watching stations and walkways on-site at the Playwood center. The area, which had previously simply been a walk-through by the local community, has been turned into an area where roughly 200 local children can play. The 176 participating Ricoh Europe employees formed teams with colleagues they do not normally work with and enjoyed cleaning, building fences, painting structures and installing bird houses and walkways. The activity was covered by the local media.
The number of Ricoh Europe employees taking part in Team Day is increasing every year, with 84% of all employees, including President, taking part in 2008. In post-event surveys, 96% of respondents said that they would like to participate in future activities. Based on the success of past activities, in 2009 Ricoh Europe plans to engage in projects with Community Links that are friendly to the environment as well as the local community and will encourage ecological diversity.
Other social contribution activities |
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