Biodiversity:Business-Related Activities
–Business-Related Activities–

Biodiversity conservation activities at the Ricoh Group first started in 1999, when we started the Forest Ecosystem Conservation Project with environmental NGOs and local communities throughout the world. This was to recognize our responsibility as a manufacturer of products that use a great deal of paper and to engage in the conservation of forest resources. Also in 1999, we started the Environmental Volunteer Leader Development Program to encourage employees to take an initiative in environmental conservation activities. In 2008, when the Japan Business Initiative for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (JBIB) was established, we helped the organization in our role as one of the founding members to advance the goal of promoting cooperation and active involvement of various companies in biodiversity conservation. We evolved the aforementioned Environmental Standards for Paper Product Procurement (established in 2003) that aimed to protect the world’s precious natural forests further in 2010 by formulating the Ricoh Group Standards on Wood-based Raw Materials. The standards are applicable to the entire Group and their scope has been expanded to include broader wood-based materials in addition to paper products.

Ricoh and biodiversity conservation

The Ricoh Group created a map to show the exact relationship between our business activities and biodiversity. The “Map of Corporate Activities and Biodiversity” follows the JBIB format to show the relationship between corporate activities, such as product lifecycle and land use, and biodiversity at a glance. From the map, we learned that the copier industry has a large impact on the ecosystem due to procurement of raw materials (e.g., paper pulp and metals) and manufacturing and consumption of paper. We will use the information from the map in our conservation activities in close cooperation with each business division.

At the Ricoh Group’s office and factories around the world, green space and greenery constitute an important part of these business sites. Some locations even have lush green forests within their premises. To conserve the biodiversity of such natural environment within our properties, the current Environmental Action Plan, effective for three years from fiscal 2011, calls for: (1) higher greenery coverage, (2) removal of invasive alien species, and (3) minimal use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Continued use of chemical pesticides and fertilizes to maintain green space will make the place an unsuitable habitat for a wide variety of creatures. In light of this finding of our monitoring of the creatures inhabiting the premises of the Ricoh Ohmori Office, we started to manage the green space in the office under the approach of integrated
pest management (IPM)^*, a comprehensive approach to pest and weed management with minimal use of chemicals, in fiscal 2010. We are currently experimenting with IPM with the aim of recovering the health of the ecosystem of our premises. From fiscal 2011, periodical monitoring of the green space in question will begin to assess the
effects and challenges of IPM. Based on the assessment results, we will be formulating a green space management manual and follow the instructions specified therein to maintain greenery in our office and factory premises around the world.

• *Integrated pest management: An integrated approach for pest and weed control, which has been internationally adopted in agricultural operations in recent years. IPM adopts an optimal combination of pest and weed prevention and control means based on the consideration of every possible technique available. It aims to reduce the use of pesticides and other chemicals to minimal levels while at the same time preventing the proliferation and growth of pests and weeds and reducing and minimizing hazards to human health and the environment. Major IPM components include:
  •Physical control: Using light, sound, heat and mechanical methods;
  •Chemical control: Applying chemicals derived from natural ingredients;
  •Biological control: Introducing natural enemies of target pests; and
  •Cultivation control: Improving the quality of soil (e.g. enhancing drainage and ventilation)