| Fiscal 2002 Environmental Accounting |
The environmental conservation
cost of the Ricoh Group as a whole increased approximately
17% compared with that in the previous fiscal
year due to increases in the recycling-related
cost and environmental management system maintenance
cost. As for the economic effects of each cost
item, the upstream/downstream cost, representing
product recycling-related costs, increased 34%
year on year, but profit from the sales of recycled
products increased roughly 76%, which shows that
the recycling business has steadily improved,
moving towards the breakeven point. Regarding
environmental conservation effects, environmental
impact was not reduced much in fiscal 2002 compared
with that in the past. However, considering the
fact that total environmental impact (expressed
in terms of greenhouse gas emissions) was reduced
by half compared with that in fiscal 2000, the
reduction in fiscal 2002 does not appear too unreasonable.
Sustainable management indicators showed satisfactory
results. For example, the eco-index increased
about 18% compared to the last fiscal year, to
1,423.7, which is 2.6 times that in fiscal 2002.
Also in fiscal 2003, the indicator is expected
to increase as much as approximately 6%.
The Ricoh Group promotes the establishment of
Eco Balance environmental accounting, and it is now possible to calculate
sustainable management indicators based on the
environmental impact caused by and the cost of
environmental measures taken for the domestic
image-related product business. We will also examine
the introduction of sustainable management indicators
based on the evaluation of each product's environmental
cost and benefit. Such indicators will be used
as numerical targets for each product in the environmental
action plan.
 |
Change in gross
profit and sustainable management indicators
in the Ricoh Group
| |
Fiscal
2000 |
Fiscal
2001 |
Fiscal
2002 |
| Ratio
of eco profit |
1.27 |
1.21 |
1.58 |
| Ratio
of eco effect |
1.61 |
1.95 |
1.81 |
| Eco
index |
538.8 |
1,204.1 |
1,423.7 |
| Ratio
of profit to social cost |
40.9 |
100.8 |
108.9 |
| Gross
profit (100 millions of yen) |
6,133 |
6,999 |
7,453 |
|
|
|
| Segment
Environmental Accounting |
|
|
|
Segment Environmental
Accounting
Corporate environmental accounting targets
corporate environmental activities as a
whole but can be used in decision making
only in limited cases. However, segment
environmental accounting, in which corporate
environmental activities are conducted by
project, can be used in decision making
in many cases. Segment environmental accounting
is especially useful in predicting the effects
of environmental activities. The Ricoh Group
announced its adoption of segment environmental
accounting in 1999 and put it into practice
by taking various measures. In fiscal 2002,
the Group continues its efforts to promote
sustainable management by conducting segment
environmental accounting at various opportunities. |
Actual Costs and Effects of Developing
QSU Products (Copiers/Printers) (Segment
Environmental Accounting) |
| We
are aggressively introducing
our proprietary energy-saving
technology QSU to major
models in the hope that more
customers will use these models
and more effectively reduce
their environmental impact.
The products marketed by the
Ricoh Group in fiscal 2002 contributed
more to impact reduction than
those marketed in fiscal 2001,
resulting in an 18,100-ton reduction
in CO2 emissions
per year. In terms of electricity
fees charged to customers, the
reduction is equivalent to ¥1,161.6
million in savings. Also,
segment environmental accounting
shows that QSU technology brought
about a profit of ¥2,305
million to the Ricoh Group.
|
|
|
| Costs |
Effects |
| Item |
Main
costs |
Amount |
Economic
benefits |
Effect
on environmental conservation |
| Corporate
effect |
Customer
effect |
| Research
and development |
Development
of energy-saving units |
¥400
million |
Effect
on profit ¥2,305.0 million |
Reduced
electricity expenses ¥1,161.6
million |
Reduced
CO2 emissions 18,100 tons |
| Molds,
Jigs, and Parts |
¥458
million |
|
| * |
Figures for reduced electricity expenses and CO2 emission represent the benefits gained for an entire year if the machines is used eight hours a day, 20 days a month. The figure for corporate effectrepresents the effect on gross margin for fiscal 2002 sales.
|
|
Estimated Costs Efficiency of an Ice
Thermal Storage/Chilled Water System
in Environmental Conservation (Segment
Environmental Accounting) |
| Much
of the equipment at Ricoh Microelectronics
Co., Ltd. plants produces heat,
making 24-hour air conditioning
indispensable. Air conditioning
accounts for more than half
the total energy consumption
at these plants. In May 2002,
the company installed new air-conditioning
systems that combine an ice
thermal storage system and a
chilled water system for improved
environmental performance and
economic efficiency. The systems
enable 24-hour operation by
making ice and chilled water
at night. Replacement of the
heavy oil thermal power generation
system has reduced carbon dioxide
emissions by 866 tons and electric
power and water utility expenses
by approximately 14.3 million
yen. |
|
|
| Costs |
Effects |
| Economic
benefits |
Effect
on environmental
conservation |
| Item |
Main
costs |
Amount |
Item |
Amount
reduced |
Item |
Amount
reduced |
Business
area costs |
Investment |
34.45
(millions
of yen)
(Difference
from the
conventional
method) |
Reduction
in heat and light expenses |
12.9
(millions
of yen) |
CO2
emission |
866(t) |
| Reduction
in water expenses |
1.4
(millions
of yen) |
Water consumption |
10.9(t) |
|
| * |
Effects
are calculated through a comparison to fiscal
2000 figures. |
| * |
Calculated
from total investment (¥169 million) |
|
Costs and Effects of Hot Runners for
Injection Molding (Segment Environmental
Accounting) |
| Ricoh's
Atsugi Plant replaced the runners
of the 350-ton injection molding
equipment (which are used to
align the position of materials
in molds) with hot runners.
This resulted in a reduced discharge
of waste plastic and lower materials
costs. The old runners were
crushed for recycling, but some
parts had to be disposed of
due to their composition. Hot
runners, by contrast, produce
no waste because parts can easily
be broken down and reused. From
September 2002 through March
2003, the plant reduced waste
plastic by 19.2 tons and costs
by ¥21 million. |
|
|
| Costs |
Effects |
| Item |
Main
cost |
Amount |
Economic
benefits |
Effect
on environmental
conservation |
| Reduction |
Amount |
Reduction |
Amount |
Business
area cost |
Design
and production cost |
¥2.56
million |
Waste
disposal expenses |
¥1.86
million |
Amount
of waste discharged |
19.2
(t) |
| Material
cost, etc. |
¥21.77
million |
|
| * Effects
are calculated for seven months, starting
from September 2002. |
| Costs
and Effects of Water-based Cleaning
of Ink-Fixing Rollers at RIF (Segment
Environmental Accounting) |
| Ricoh
Industrie France S.A. has developed
a water-based paint to replace
its organic solvent-based paint.
The use of the water-based paint
reduced emissions of volatile
organic compounds into the air
by 83%, resulting in total cost
savings of €121,500, since
the second half of 1998. |
|
|
| Costs |
Effects |
| Economic
benefits |
Effect
on
environmental
conservation |
| Item |
Main
costs |
Amount |
Reduction |
Amount |
Reduction |
Amount |
| Business
area cost |
Investment
cost |
452
EURO |
Solvent
cost |
121,500
EURO |
Amount
of organic solvent used |
1.32
(t) |
|
| * |
Effects are
calculated for the period starting from
the second half of fiscal 1998. |
|
Costs and Effects of a Modal Shift
from Trucks to Railways (Segment Environmental
Accounting) |
| Aiming
to reduce the environmental
impact and cost of product transportation,
Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd., a manufacturing
subsidiary, entered into partnership
with Japan Freight Railway Company
to promote a modal shift from
truck to railway transportation.
This resulted in a reduction
of carbon dioxide emissions
of 117 tons and a cut in transport
expenses of approximately 57
million yen. |
|
|
| Costs |
Effects |
| Economic
benefits |
Effect
on
environmental
conservation |
| Item |
Main
costs |
Amount |
Reduction |
Amount |
Reduction |
Amount |
| Business
area cost |
Investment
cost |
0
yen |
Transportation
cost |
¥57.4
million |
CO2
emission |
117
(t) |
|
| * |
Effects are
calculated for the period starting from
October 2001.
There was no initial investment. |
|
Environmental Conservation Costs and
Effects in the Recycling Business
in 2002(Segment Environmental Accounting) |
| Efforts
made in Japan include improving
the collection, recovery, and
recycling efficiency by making
use of a recycling information-sharing
system and nationwide recycling
system. Increased profitability
will be achieved by significantly
reducing the cost of collection
and disposal through an advanced
venous logistics system and
increasing the sales of recovered
machines. For regions other
than Japan, it was decided that
used products will be collected,
recovered, and sold within the
same region. Efforts are being
focused on improving collection
rates and the expansion of recycling
sites. The Group's recycling
activities are thus evolving
into a recycling business. |
|
|
| Costs |
Effects |
| Economic
effects |
Effects
on environmental conservation |
| Item
of cost |
Amount |
Item |
Reduced
Amount |
| Product
recycle cost |
¥918
million |
Sales
amount |
¥1,421
million |
Resources
recovered
26,422 t
A 498-t increase
from the previous year |
Final
disposal 37 t
A 313-t decrease
from the previous year |
Collection/resource
recovery cost |
¥2,772
million |
Social
effect |
¥2,114
million |
| Total
cost |
¥3,690
million |
|
| * Data is
for Japan only. The figure for "Social
effect" is the amount that customers
saved on the cost of waste disposal. |
|
