The Ricoh Group has an extra-long-term environmental vision to reduce environmental impact generated by the advanced nations to one-eighth the fiscal 2000 levels by 2050.
We are striving to achieve this target by improving the level of sustainable environmental management. Improvements in the sustainable environmental management level mean that environmental impact is reduced while economic effects are enhanced as a result of promoting environmental conservation activities.
To achieve this, it is necessary to map out appropriate action plans to reduce environmental impact caused by all our businesses, consider and implement effective measures, and establish a scheme to evaluate and disclose the results.
The Ricoh Group is operating PDCA, evaluating action plans, measures, and activity results, using Eco Balance, integrated environmental impact, and environmental accountings as tools.
PDCA and the Roles of Tools for Sustainable Environmental Management
Understanding the Environmental Impact Caused by
All Our Businesses Using Eco Balance and
Integrated Environmental Impact Evaluation
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The Ricoh Group obtains information on the environmental impact caused by all its businesses and by each process, using Eco Balance and integrated environmental impact as tools, to effectively reduce the environmental impact generated by processes with large environmental impact.
First, Eco Balance is prepared based upon input and output data for each process and for each environmentally-sensitive substance. The data are collected by the sustainable environmental management information system.
At this stage, however, the significance of the environmental impact generated by each process cannot be compared because each process employs different environmentally-sensitive substances.
Therefore, an integrated analysis method is used to convert the total environmental impact caused by business activities –including impact upon human health, depletion of resources, and impact upon ecosystems/biodiversity –into indicators to evaluate the integrated environmental impact and identify processes generating large environmental loads.
The Ricoh Group has set the Year 2013 Long-Term Environmental Goals and has prepared an environmental action plan based upon its evaluation of the integrated environmental impact that is identified by Eco Balance.
Selecting Measures by Environmental Accounting
and Evaluating Activity Results
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Reducing environmental impact using measures that will lead to the creation of benefits is crucial to promoting sustainable environmental management. The Ricoh Group uses environmental accounting to determine what measures should be taken for what processes and for what operations so that the maximum effect can be obtained. A number of improvement plans to reduce the identified environmental impact are examined in consideration of developments in society and laws/regulations and competition to improve processes generating large environmental impact identified through evaluation based upon Eco Balance and the integrated environmental impact. Then, using segment environmental accounting, we simulate how much environmental impact is reduced and how much profit is created compared with the costs for each measure, while surveying the results of the individual measures.
Eco Balance
Eco Balance means the preparation of a list of input and output data on environmental impact to identify, quantitatively measure, and report environmental impact caused by companies; or such a list itself. It is based upon the same concept as LCA, and direct environmental impact as well as indirect environmental impact is calculated.
Integrated Environmental Impact
This is an integrated indicator shown in ELUs (environmental load units), incorporating various types of environmental impact caused by environmental load. Substances that put a load on the environment cause various phenomena including global warming and air pollution, which negatively affect the ecosystem and human health. In addition to these, the depletion of resources is taken into consideration, and all these factors are incorporated into one single indicator that represents the significance of environmental impact as a whole. Determining the environmental load caused by all our businesses and calculating the integrated environmental impact allow us to formulate a specific plan to reduce them. A method called EPS, which was developed by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute Ltd., is used for calculation.
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