Promoting employee awareness of environmental issues
through environmental education and awareness promotion activities
In successfully implementing sustainable
management, in which all employees participate, the aggressive promotion of environmental
conservation activities by each division is needed, as are statements from top
management on the need for perseverance in carrying out such activities. Urging
individual employees to become more aware of environmental issues is equally important.
Sustainable
management activities may appear to be a corporate responsibility, but employees
are the ones who actually conduct the activities. The success or failure of any
activity depends upon the extent to which employees understand its importance.
The Ricoh Group is promoting employee awareness of environmental issues as well
as their behavior in a variety of ways, such as providing environmental education,
sharing relevant know-how through IT networks, promoting Zero-Waste-to-Landfill
efforts, and supporting the volunteer activities of employees through such means
as nurturing environmental volunteer leaders and commending their actions. In
these ways and
others, the Ricoh Group strives to put its environmental principles into practice
among its 74,000 employees around the world.
The Ricoh Group Environmental Conference  (International)
|
| In December 2002, the people in charge
of environmental issues from five regions gathered for the Ninth Ricoh Group Environmental
Conference. Ricoh vice president Haruo Kamimoto gave a speech on the promotion
of sustainable management. At the conference, the first Sustainable Development Award was given. |
 |
The Ninth Ricoh Group Environmental Conference |
Zero-Waste-to-Landfill Activities (International)
|
In fiscal 2001, the Ricoh Group achieved
Zero-Waste-to-Landfill1 at its production sites worldwide and has nearly
done so at its nonproduction sites as well. Such achievements can be obtained only if all employees are closely united and are
striving for the same goal, such as setting up detailed waste sorting.
1. Zero-Waste-to-Landfill has been achieved
and maintained at business sites covered by the environmental action plan up to
fiscal 2001, namely, all production sites in Japan, Ricoh Electronics, Inc. (USA),
Ricoh UK Products Ltd. (UK), Ricoh Industrie France S.A. (France), Ricoh Asia
Industry (Shenzhen) Ltd. (China), and Taiwan Ricoh Co., Ltd. (Taiwan) |
ISO 14001 Certification (International)
|
| ISO 14001 certification significantly
contributes to promoting employee awareness of environmental conservation. The
Ricoh Group earnestly endeavors to obtain this certification at both its production
and nonproduction sites. |
Environmental Education  (Japan)
|
| The Ricoh Group established an education
system for Group companies in Japan to help employees become more environmentally
aware professionals. Under this system, a variety of seminars and training sessions
are held, including those for new employees and designers. Furthermore, employees
are encouraged to obtain official qualifications as pollution control managers
and other positions. |
Environment-Related Seminars and Number of Participants
| Name of Seminar |
FY 2002 |
| Recyclable Designs |
41 |
Technologies for the Environmental
Impact Assessment of Products |
45 |
Environment-Related Laws
and Regulations |
47 |
| LCA |
32 |
| Chemical Substance Safety/Compliance with Related Laws and Regulations (Introductory) |
24 |
| Chemical Substance Safety/Compliance with Related Laws and Regulations (Advanced) |
18 |
| Noise |
33 |
| Thermal Design of Office Equipment |
14 |
| Total Number of Participants |
254 |
|
Nurturing Environmental Volunteer Leaders (Japan)
|
| To support employee voluntary environmental
conservation activities, Ricoh started a leadership-training
program in 1999. Environmental volunteer activities are indispensable tools
in promoting employee awareness of environmental conservation. Employees can truly
understand the importance of environmental conservation by actually taking part
in volunteer activities and sharing what they have learned, rather than by simply
reading about it in books. |
Promoting Awareness through Lectures (Japan)
|
| Ricoh started a month-long campaign
to promote employee awareness of environmental conservation in fiscal 2001. In
fiscal 2002, guests were invited from outside the company to give keynote speeches.
Guests included Mr. C.W. Nicol of Afan Forest, an organization supported by Ricoh,
as well as Mr. Masahide Kashio, who promotes conservation of mangrove forests. |
|
A speech commemorating the month-long campaign |
European Environmental Conference
|
| In February 2003, Ricoh Europe B.V.
in the Netherlands organized a European conference on the environment, the biggest
in its history, with 80 participants from 18 countries. Participants included
those in charge of promoting environmental conservation and recycling at Ricoh
sales companies, NRG sales companies, Lanier sales companies in Europe, and European
manufacturing companies. They enthusiastically took part in the question-and-answer
sessions, especially the one following the WEEE (EU Directive of Waste Electrical
and Electronic Equipment in effect, Feb., 2003) presentation on the 2006 European
recycling regulations given by a lawyer. This clearly showed how keenly interested
the participants were in WEEE. |
|
European Environmental Conference (February 2003) |
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