Background photo: Big Ben, London
About 2,600 customers have participated in the program and over 40,000 trees have been planted.
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Matthew Smithurst
Marketing Officer
Ricoh UK Ltd. |
The Ricoh Tree Dedication Programme started in January 2005.
Customers are requested to make an entry for participation in the program for each Ricoh product used.
Ricoh will plant a tree in the customer's name for every 100,000 copies made on the customer's Ricoh equipment. Since 2006, the company has been supporting its partner NPO, Seeds for Africa, in planting fruit trees in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone with local communities. Planted fruit trees offer not only food to local people but also fruit for sale, and they contribute to the prevention of global warming and the creation of a sustainable society.
By December 2006, about 2,600 customers had made entries for 35,000 units of products, resulting in the planting of over 40,000 trees so far. This program has evoked favorable responses from and been highly appreciated by many of our customers. There are examples of a customer's high appreciation of this program leading to a business agreement for a Ricoh product.
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(From left)
Paul Curtis
Ricoh UK Ltd.
Ms. Alison Walbank
Mr. Steve Harrison
Ms. Maggie Bishop
Mr. John Bettison
Ms. Helen Bartle
Derbyshire County Council
Mr. Councillor Geoff Carlisle
Mr. Andrew Ayling
Derbyshire County Council
Matthew Smithurst
David Birch
Ricoh UK Ltd.
Ms. Michelle Smith
Derbyshire County Council
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Derbyshire has a population of about one million and is located in the central part of England. Derbyshire County Council (DCC) is one of the most pro-active county councils in the U.K. in initiatives and puts up clear ideas about environmental conservation. As a community leader, DCC has persuaded residents and companies to recognize the importance of environmental issues. In addition, DCC has contributed to the planting of 2,500 trees, which is the largest number of trees planted among our customers participating in the Ricoh Tree Dedication Programme.
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We found the program an innovative
idea for environmental preservation.
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 Assuming leadership in the local community
When engaging itself in any activities, Derbyshire County Council (DCC) gives sufficient consideration to the influence it has on the economy and environment. In addition, it not only shifted the source of electricity used in the office to natural energy, but also implements a collection and recycling program for toner bottles; green purchasing of everything from buildings to pencils; and fair trade purchasing to check whether suppliers fulfill their corporate responsibilities through the supply chain. DCC also conducted a survey on CO2 emissions by county councils and engages itself in activities to offset CO2 emissions in cooperation with the Carbon Trust. DCC thus displays initiative as a community leader.
Using the program for developing environmental awareness in the local community
Derbyshire County Council (DCC) purchased office automation equipment by tender in 2005, aiming at rationalisation of printing and environmental preservation.
Appreciating the reduction in the number of printers through optimal placement, energy-saving efficiency, and so forth, DCC currently uses over 1,800 Ricoh products and entered all of them for the Ricoh Tree Dedication Programme. "When I was first told about this program, I thought it was an innovative idea for environmental preservation. It was an idea no one else had ever proposed, and we thought that we would be able to influence the local community as a whole by participating in the program. In addition to offering information on our website, we use it for developing environmental awareness among children in the local community by giving information about the program to schools." Numerous African primary schools are involved in the scheme and there is an obvious potential link with schools in Derbyshire.
Over 2,000 students from over 120 countries study at London South Bank University (LSBU). The university has entered 150 Ricoh products currently in use for the Ricoh Tree Dedication Programme, contributing to the planting of about 240 trees.
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Participation in the Ricoh Tree Dedication
Program has enabled LSBU to create new
sustainable resources for future generations
while carefully using the paper end products in the present.
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Consideration for the environment Kaizen and all five Kyosei improves the quality and reliability of our Ricoh products
London South Bank University has just won an Innovation Award from the Carbon Trust, an independent company funded by the UK government to promote the reduction of carbon emissions, and practices the green purchasing of all equipment. We approach purchasing on the basis of the total lifecycle of a product, taking into account energy consumption, running costs, transportation and recycling. Environmental considerations account for around 10% of the factors affecting purchasing decisions. We believe that the reliability of products is important and consideration for the environment is an important element that improves the synergy of the Ricoh products.
We appreciate the scheme behind the program and your activities in Africa
We have entered all the Ricoh products we use in the Ricoh Tree Dedication Programme. We decided to participate in the program because we appreciate the scheme to plant trees in proportion to the volume of resources and energy used, which allows us to reduce the environmental impact we cause. We also used the program for information purposes, mentioning it in our university magazine. We find it wonderful that we can contribute to the creation of a sustainable society by supporting your activities in Africa, a continent beset with many problems and suffering deficiencies in many essential fields. We expect that Ricoh UK will offer information on the performance of products that contribute to sustainability.
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