The depletion of resources due to population growth globally and the issues of marine plastic waste have focused people's attention on the “Circular Economy.” Companies are now expected to work with stakeholders to promote transformation to a business model that does not depend on resource consumption.
The Ricoh Group's concept of a sustainable society is expressed in the “Three Ps Balance,” which describes a society that maintains a balance among the three Ps: economy (Prosperity), society (People), and the global environment (Planet).
Under the Ricoh Group Environmental Declaration, “We proactively reduce environmental impact and strive to improve the Earth’s self-recovery capabilities to achieve a zero-carbon society and a circular economy through business.” We have also positioned the realization of a circular economy as one of the materiality features in the global environment field and set medium- to long-term targets, which the entire group is working toward.
The Ricoh Group established the Comet Circle™ in 1994 as a concept to achieve a circular economy. Based on the concept of the Comet Circle, we have been promoting the reduction of environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle of our products. In consideration of the recent social circumstances, we have established the “Resource Conservation Policy” and “Plastics Policy” to promote more specific initiatives.
Ricoh group has set targets and goals for plastic usage of our products and packaging under consideration of social issues such as “Shifting to a circular economy,” and “Tackling ocean micro-plastic pollution”
For details of Ricoh's circular economy activities, please refer to the Ricoh Group Circular Economy Report.
To continuously discuss mid- to long-term issues of the Ricoh Group in the areas of environment, society, and governance at the management level, the ESG Committee, chaired by the CEO, was established in May 2018. The committee meets once every quarter with the participation of Senior Management to discuss the status of initiatives, issues, and investment decisions related to ESG themes, such as zero carbonization, as important themes for management. Its deliberations are regularly reported to the Board of Directors, which then supervises the execution of ESG activities at a high level.
In 2020, in addition to our existing collaboration with procurement, design, production, QA, and sales, we established and activated a cross-functional working group with the participation of members from the ESG department to create a mechanism to integrate indicators and measures into our business and product strategies in line with our environmental targets (in resource conservation).
To achieve a circular economy, we will continue to promote activities that integrate management level and on-site activities in order to accelerate actions such as the reduction of new resource use in products, substitution and reduction of virgin plastic derived from fossil resources, and effective use of used products.
Furthermore, we are promoting collection, reuse, and recycling initiatives globally at our own sites in Europe, Japan, the Americas, Asia, and China. Each Group company has established criteria for selecting industrial waste disposal companies (ISO 14001, 9001, R2, e-Stewards certification, etc.) in accordance with the circumstances of each country, and company manages waste to ensure that it is handled reliably and appropriately by a reliable partner.
The Ricoh Group is promoting thorough resource conservation activities and active utilization of recycled materials with the aim of reducing Virgin material usage ratio of products to 12% or less by 2050.
Ricoh Group Environmental Goals (Resource Conservation)
Goals for 2030
Goals for 2050
*1 Virgin material usage rate is the usage rate of new resource inputs to total resource inputs of products.
*2 Quoted from the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) publication
The resource conservation target is set based on the idea that In order to use sustainable resources, it is necessary to reduce the
total amount of resources used to 1/8 compared to 2000 level".
Ricoh group has set targets and goals for plastic usage of our products and packaging under consideration of social issues such as “Shifting to a circular economy” and “Tackling ocean micro-plastic pollution”
Specific Targets and Goals for Plastic
Specific targets and goals for plastic |
FY2021 performance |
FY2022 performance |
Supplementary explanation for actual performance |
---|---|---|---|
Use of post-consumer recycled plastics for imaging products Goals for 2030: Post-consumer recycled plastic content rate of 50% or more |
8.6% | 16.2% |
By increasing the installation of MFPs and printers, our core products, and expanding the use to supplies, we are steadily increasing the usage in line with the plan. |
Reduction in packaging materials for virgin plastic derived from fossil resources |
+5.3% | +5.4% |
We have been engaged in efforts to reduce plastic packaging materials in our imaging products, but the contribution rate for this fiscal year is relatively low, resulting in an increase compared to the fiscal year 2020 due to increased sales volume. However, with the release of flagship products that significantly reduce plastic packaging materials in February, we anticipate that the reduction rate will improve in the future. |
Display resin identification code and single material use |
ー | ー |
In 2021, we successfully incorporated Design Policy for End of Life into practice and completed its formalization into a set of rules. As planned, we anticipate achieving material indication and single materials by 2025. |
We have set target values for our efforts in 2023 to maximize material recycling of products that cannot be reused from the collected used products, thereby reducing incineration and landfill disposal.
Resource circulation targets for the End-of-Life Products
Performance | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Breakdown | ||||||
Main unit/accessories | Supplies | Parts | |||||
Collection amount of End-of-life products (t) | 51,948 | 47,843 | 47,705 | 51,158 | 38,439 | 11,109 | 1,609 |
Reuse/Recycle/Energy Recovery (t) | 50,806 | 46,627 | 46,221 | 49,888 | 37,517 | 10,784 | 1,587 |
Reuse/Recycle ratio | 84.0% | 84.4% | 84.1% | 83.9% | 95.1% | 43.6% | 93.3% |
Energy Recovery ratio | 13.8% | 13.1% | 12.8% | 13.6% | 2.5% | 53.5% | 5.4% |
Incineration/Landfill ratio | 2.2% | 2.5% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 1.4% |
Target:Reduce waste below the previous year's level*
*Target for FY 2023: <65,785t
Data scope:RCL(production/non-production sites), production subsidiaries
For other achievements related to realizing a Circular Economy, please click here.
Design for Environment, 3Rs and Long-Term Usage
Reduce Product Sizes and Weights
Reduction of packaging materials
Expanding the scope of material recycling
New business products that reduce environmental impact
Reuse and Recycling Program and Network
Reuse and Recycling Businesses
Audit of Industrial waste disposal company in Japan