Background photo: At the Ricoh Environmental NPO Meeting on March 27, 2007
(upper left) Harumitsu Mashiko Corporate Environment Division, Ricoh / Mr. Yasushi Hibi Conservation International / Mr. Eiichiro Noguchi FoE Japan, an international environmental NGO / Mr. He Aijun Asia Green-Culture Association / Mr. Katsunori Sasaki FoE Japan, an international environmental NGO / Kazuyuki Kishi Corporate Environment Division, Ricoh
(left below) Ms. Mikako Awano WWF Japan / Ms. Keiko Suzue Bird Life Asia / Ms. Risako Noguchi C.W. Nicol Afan Woodland Trust / Mr. Noritaka Ichida Bird Life Asia and Yanbaru Forest Trust
Conserving the ecosystem on a global scale cannot be
achieved by corporate efforts alone.
| The Ricoh Group believes that repairing the damage to the global environment is its corporate mission. Based on this belief, the Group has formed partnerships with NPOs to conserve the global forest ecosystem.
Through these experiences, we have learned that partnerships between NPOs and companies are a really significant way of expanding the base of a sustainable society and have started a variety of activities to promote higher levels of cooperation and collaboration between companies and NPOs and between different NPOs.
In this way, we aim to achieve more effective conservation of the ecosystem, something that cannot be achieved through the efforts of a single company. |
We are faced with a mountain of problems concerning the global environment.
NPOs should cooperate in taking strategic action.
| Seven NPOs that are involved in the forest ecosystem conservation project in cooperation with Ricoh were invited to the Ricoh Environmental NPO Meeting on March 27, 2007. The meeting aimed to encourage information exchange among NPOs. At the meeting, it became clear that NPOs face many problems in common.
At the same time, all participants had greater hopes that their activities would be even more effective if NPOs cooperated with each other in taking strategic action. The Ricoh Group will continue
to hold such meetings to offer a platform for cooperation among NPOs and to offer concrete support for their activities. |
Many companies plant trees simply for the sake of appearances, without any clear vision. Ricoh's forest conservation activities, however, are backed firmly by its basic attitude towards environmental problems and its awareness of the problems. The meeting offered us a good opportunity to realize again that for Ricoh, afforestation is a tool for those purposes.
Ecosystem conservation activities always come up against a variety of problems of all shapes and sizes. Individual NPOs are carrying out their activities and overcoming these problems one by one. If NPOs and companies start having heart-to-heart talks with each other, they are sure to find more clues to solving these problems. I would like to thank Ricoh for offering us this opportunity and look forward to more profound discussions in the future.
It is difficult to present the effects of ecosystem conservation within a short span of three to five years. So I would like companies to support us in the longer term. I hope NPOs can cooperate with each other to set indicators to evaluate conservation effects. I would like Ricoh to offer a platform to that end.
Many international NPOs have their headquarters in Western countries, and there are only a few NPOs in Asia. Nevertheless, exchanges and cooperation among NPOs in Asia, where biological species and natural habitats are widespread, will result in highly effective activities.
For example, cooperation between Yunnan and Japan in the conservation of evergreen broad-leaved forests and World Heritage sites would be a great idea.
We are faced with many global environment problems all over the world. How NPOs cooperate with each other and take strategic actions is really important for the recovery of the global environment. We of course appreciate Ricoh's support for individual projects. But even more, we are hoping for Ricoh's support for cooperative strategies between NPOs.
I was surprised to know that the projects of different organizations face so many problems in common. I usually tend to think only about our own activities, but listening to people at the meeting, I could see our own activities from an objective point of view.
The most significant task in the running of an NPO as an organization is establishing an independent economic foundation. In the future, we would like to seek partnerships that will lead to innovations in the NPO sector, even addressing issues relating to the organizational foundation including personnel costs, since people are the largest resources for NPOs.
Indicators for assessing the effects of ecosystem conservation are extremely important for companies like Ricoh to continuously provide support, and we are willing to cooperate in establishing such indicators. We want to hold even more detailed discussions with you
and intend to establish an ecosystem conservation network covering NPOs and companies.
On June 20, 2006, 109 environmental experts from NPOs, companies, and organizations participated in a symposium which was held in conjunction with the Environment Month. Activities carried out by Ricoh and NPOs were presented, and a panel discussion was conducted about how NPOs and companies can collaborate with each other. The conclusion of the discussion was: "We should stop thinking that companies are experts on economics and NPOs are experts on environmental activities, and get to know each other better. This will lead to generating ideas on how to cooperate more effectively." Some of the company participants said,
"Our ideas about NPOs have changed. The goals of both parties can be achieved only when we expect more of NPOs and take them seriously." "It was a good chance to think about partnerships between NPOs and companies from a viewpoint I didn't have before. It was a refreshing surprise
to see people from NPOs expressing their true feelings."
1st Ricoh Global Environment Month Symposium "For Joint Creation of a Sustainable Society"
June 20, 2006, "i-Salon" at Ricoh Head Office
Number of participants: 109 in total (59 from companies, 30 from NPOs, and 20 from Ricoh)
<Panelists>
Mr. Naoki Adachi: sustainability planner, Mr. Eiichiro Noguchi: FoE Japan, Mr. Masaki Mashita: Nippon Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation, Mr. Hiroshi Iijima: Asaza Fund
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