Procurement of Materials and Parts (Suppliers) -Concept, Targets and Results-

As part of efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products, the Ricoh Group promotes green procurement activities that place emphasis on partnerships with suppliers. Green procurement refers to the procurement of raw materials, parts, and products with less environmental impact. Parts and products so designed are manufactured in plants that are advanced in environmental conservation. The purpose of green procurement is to reduce the environmental impact over the entire lifecycle of Ricoh products and to reduce the costs to the Ricoh Group and its suppliers by using resources and energy effectively. Moreover, by establishing these activities, we aim to contribute to global environmental protection and reinforce management practices of the Ricoh Group and its suppliers. The basic policies for our activities until fiscal 2010 are to reduce the environmental impact of procured parts; to maintain and update the chemical substance management systems (CMS); and to collect information on the environmental impact in order to comply with the REACH Regulation. We have also introduced our own paper procurement standards and rules regarding the composition ratio of recycled pulp, and we carry out procurement activities by paying full consideration to biodiversity conservation.

Work with suppliers to reduce their CO₂ emissions.

Activities for reducing CO₂ emissions contribute not only to the prevention of global warming but also to the reduction of costs, leading to the reinforcement of suppliers' management practices. Based on this recognition, Ricoh is actively working with its suppliers to reduce CO₂ emissions by upgrading their operational processes. In fiscal 2010, Ricoh continued the initiativeit started in fiscal 2009 to assist model suppliers with their efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions. We also collected information on measures taken by other suppliers to reduce CO₂ emissions.
In addition, according to the Regulations of Ricoh Group Products Made of Wood, we are working to prevent the procurement of timber used in the manufacturing our products–not limited to paper products–from forests with high conservation value from the viewpoint of protecting biodiversity.

The Group will accumulate and share know-how and experience from the joint activities with suppliers for reducing CO₂ emissions to further step up these activities. Regarding compliance with environmental laws and regulations, we will work to refine the system that allows the Group and suppliers together to respond to the REACH Regulation and other rules, and to expedite our response to any revision of related laws and regulations.

Green Procurement
Supporting CO₂Reduction Activities at Suppliers