To promote the
kind of environmental management that ensures
environmental conservation and profitability
at the same time, the Ricoh Group continuously
makes improvements to the basic environmental
management system, develops environmental
technologies, and encourages all employees
to participate in sustainable management,
environmental accounting, and social contribution
activities. In addition, the Group places
importance on the evaluation of its activities
by society at large. The following shows
the Group's major environmental achievements
in fiscal 2002.
Basic System for Sustainable Management
Award
to promote sustainable management (International)
In fiscal 2002, we established an award
to promote sustainable management on a groupwide
scale. This award is subdivided into the
development of environmental technologies
and activities that promote environmental
management carried out by all employees
on a daily basis. Candidates for the awards
are judged based on the environmental conservation
effects and economic benefits of their activities.
In fiscal 2002, Electronic Devices Company
and NRG Benelux B.V. each received an award
for developing analog one-chip LSI's
for cellular phones and setting up a copier
recycling business, respectively.
Developing
a sustainability self-assessment program
(Europe)
Ricoh Europe B.V., the regional sales headquarters
for Europe, developed a sustainability self-assessment
program as a tool to evaluate the present
level of its sustainable management and
propose the required improvements in a clear
manner in order to achieve highly sustainable
management. This program rates the company's
activities (up to 1,000 points) in 11 areas,
including the company's environmental management
system, collection and recycling, energy
conservation, and corporate social responsibilities,
etc. The program also rates the comprehensive
values of such activities in terms of environmental
accounting and corporate image. All items
used in the rating can be determined in
absolute rather than relative terms. By
March 2003, Ricoh UK Ltd., Ricoh Deutschland
GmbH, Ricoh France S.A., Ricoh Italia S.p.A.,
and the head office of the NRG Group followed
Ricoh Europe B.V. and implemented the same
sustainability self-assessment programs.
Evaluation
of environmental management (Asia-Pacific
region)
Ricoh Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., the regional
sales headquarters for the Asia-Pacific
region, started evaluating the environmental
management of all sales companies under
its supervision (i.e., Ricoh Australia Pty,
Ltd.; Ricoh New Zealand Limited; Ricoh
Singapore Pte. Ltd.; Ricoh Thailand Co.,
Ltd.; Ricoh Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.; and Ricoh
Philippines, Inc.) in the first half of
fiscal 2002. The following six items are
evaluated: the company's environmental
action plan, collection, recycling, recovery,
PR aimed at customers, and ISO 14001. The
companies are notified of their evaluation
results in order for them to improve their
environmental activities.
Developing Environmental Technologies and Products
Reduction in CO2 emissions through energy-saving products
 |
Aficio 2035/2045 (imagio Neo351/451) (Model 765D equipped with optional functions)
|
The
Aficio 2035/2045 (imagio Neo351/451)
series marketed in March 2003 is based
on a life cycle assessment (LCA) to
be environment-friendly throughout
its life cycle, from manufacturing
and use to recycling. Designed to
be highly recyclable, the series is
manufactured using less lead solder
(in its printed circuit boards), less
polyvinyl chloride (used in wire coating),
and less hexavalent chromium (in steel
boards). Furthermore, the environmental
impact caused at the production stage
was reduced thanks to the use of the
newly developed P
x P Toner
and toner bottles manufactured using
recycled PET bottles for drinks (accounting
for 50% of materials used) . Also,
to reduce the environmental impact
when being used, Ricoh's unique energy
conservation technology called QSU
was further developed to reduce energy
consumption. Moreover, the series
is equipped with electronic database
functions, which contribute to decreasing
the amount of paper used. The series
easily complies with the International
Energy Star Program, Japan's Green
Purchasing Law, and Eco Mark standards.
|
Reconditioned
digital copiers (Japan)
Following the marketing of the imagio
MF6550RC (reconditioned digital copier)
in fiscal 2001, the imagio MF3570RC
and imagio MF4570RC were offered in
fiscal 2002. Ricoh was able to develop
a reconditioned digital copier before
any of its competitors because it
was a leader in digital copier sales
and had accumulated extensive know-how
and skill in the recycling of analog
copiers. Reconditioned digital copiers
contain more than 87% (mass ratio)
reused parts1, the highest
in the industry. The environmental
impact of the imagio MF4570RC over
its life cycle is approximately 35%2
less than its predecessor, which was
made of all new parts, in terms of
the amount of resources used and energy
consumed in manufacturing. The imagio
MF6550RC received the Good Design
Award 2002 and the Nikkei Industrial
Daily Award for Excellence (under
the Nikkei Product and Service Excellence
Prize 2002).
| 1.
|
Parts that
can be used again from collected
machines and that have undergone
the necessary processing for
reuse |
| 2.
|
Based on
CO2 emissions; see
graph below. |
| *
|
The imagio
MF6550RC/MF3570RC/MF4570RC are
leased only in Japan. |
| * |
A comparison was made by calculating
the annual environmental impact
of new and reconditioned machines
over a five-year period and
eight-year period, respectively. |
| * |
Figures
for CO2 emissions
while being in operation at
customers' sites were not included
in the calculation of the data. |
|
|
imagio
MF4570RC, a reconditioned digital
copier (with optional model 5 attached)
|
Contributing through energy-saving products(International)
We are aggressively introducing our proprietary
energy-saving technology QSU to major models
in the hope that more customers will use
these models and more effectively reduce
their environmental impact. The products
marketed by the Ricoh Group in fiscal 2002
contributed more to impact reduction than
those marketed in fiscal 2001, resulting
in an 18,100-ton reduction in CO2
emissions per year. In terms of electricity
fees charged to customers, the reduction
is equivalent to ¥1,161.6 million in
savings. Also, segment environmental accounting
shows that QSU technology brought about
a profit of ¥2,305 million to
the Ricoh Group.
Increase in recycled PET resin procurement
|
Left : Toner bottle made of 50% recycled PET soft drink bottles
Right : Copier part made of 100% recycled PET bottles
|
To develop a society that recirculates
resources, we need to actively recycle
waste from other industries in addition
to recycling our own products. Ricoh,
in cooperation with Kawaguchi Chemical
Industry Co., Ltd., and Kyoei Industry
Co., Ltd., developed a toner bottle
using recycled PET soft drink bottles
(accounting for 50% of materials used)
and used it for the Aficio 2035/2045.
Furthermore, in the summer of 2003,
we will be the first in the world
to start using a copier part* made
of 100% recycled PET resin. The part
was developed jointly with TOHOKU
MUNEKATA CO., LTD., and can be recycled
three times without adding virgin
materials. Ricoh procured 100 tons
of waste PET resin in 2003 and will
procure an additional 200 tons in
2004.
* Used in the office equipment field
|
Suspending the use of specified chemical substances(International)
|
Meeting held at RAI to explain the green procurement criteria
|
The Ricoh Group will completely suspend
the use of lead, hexavalent chromium,
polyvinyl chloride, and cadmium in
its products by fiscal 2004. To achieve
this goal, a database of materials
and parts that do not contain such
substances was built. The database
will help procure materials and parts
suitable for designing products with
less environmental impact. In addition,
we asked our suppliers to completely
suspend their use of prohibited substances
and helped them develop parts using
alternative materials. Since fiscal
2002, the Ricoh Group's suppliers
in Japan have been required to submit
certificates of the nonuse of prohibited
substances for materials and parts
to be supplied to the Ricoh Group,
and this requirement will be expanded
to include suppliers in other countries.
Also in fiscal 2002, suppliers in
Japan and those of Ricoh Asia Industry
(Shenzhen) Ltd. (RAI: a production
site in China) and Shanghai Ricoh
Facsimile Co., Ltd., (SRF) were targeted,
and a meeting was set up to explain
the green procurement criteria and
encourage suppliers to completely
suspend their use of prohibited substances.
|
Reduction in chemical substances used in color copiers
The Ricoh Group was the first to reduce
the use of chemical substances in its products,
including black-and-white copiers, color
copiers, and multifunctional copiers. The
imagio Neo C380, a copier marketed in Japan,
is the product to achieve Level A (the highest
level) in the level of lead free set under
the criteria by Japan's Green Purchasing
Network for color and multifunctional copiers.
Thanks to the reduced use of polyvinyl chloride,
the imagio Neo C380 and Aficio 1224C/1232C
(imagio Neo C240/320) achieved Level II.
Among color copiers, only Ricoh products
have achieved Level II.
Contributing to the Development of a Sustainable Society
Announcement
of participation in Global Compact (International)
Global
Compact was
proposed to the world's business leaders
by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in
1999. Global Compact is an international
initiative based on nine principles in the
areas of human rights, labor, and the environment.
The concept of Global Compact matches the
Ricoh Group's goal of contributing to the
development of a sustainable society that
recirculates resources, and in 2002 Ricoh
became the second Japanese company that
expressed an intention to participate in
the international initiative. The Ricoh
Group will make further efforts toward the
development of a sustainable society and
continuously report on these efforts in
its sustainability report.
Social Evaluation
Winner of WEC Gold Medal (International)
|
WEC Gold Medal Award Ceremony
|
Ricoh received
the 2003 WEC Gold Medal for International
Achievement in Sustainable Development.
This award was established in 1985
by the World Environment Center (WEC)
to recognize companies that demonstrate
leadership in contributions to global
environmental quality and sustainable
development.
A jury consisting of international
environmental experts, evaluates nominees
for the WEC Gold Meld based on the
following criteria: establishment
of an exemplary, comprehensive, publicly-announced
corporate sustainability policy; uniform,
global and innovative application
of the corporate sustainability policy;
and international leadership in the
sustainable development arena. The
company that is judged to lead in
all these areas is then selected for
the award.
Ricoh is extremely proud to be the
first Asian company to receive this
prestigious award, and the company
will remain continuously committed
to making further progress in its
environmental management system.
 Read more about WEC Gold Medal
|
|
