By
developing environmental technologies
and encouraging all employees to participate
in environmental activities based on plans
to improve sustainable management, the
Ricoh Group will be able to conserve the
environment and make a profit at the same
time.
From
Passive Environmental Stage to Proactive
Environmental Conservation Stage and the
Responsible Stage of Sustainable Management
In its past
environmental conservation approaches, the
Ricoh Group first went through a Passive
Stage, in which it dealt with regulations
and responded to customer needs, then a
Proactive Stage, in which it reduced its
environmental impact by voluntarily setting
higher goals in environmental conservation
as a global citizen. Now, the Ricoh Group
is preparing to enter the Responsible Stage
of sustainable management, in which it pays
equal attention to environmental conservation
and deriving economic benefits. As a global
citizen and a company, it is necessary to
ensure profitability in all environmental
conservation activities. The Ricoh Group,
based on its environment
management information system, checks
its achievements from environmental and
economic viewpoints and identifies the issues
that need more attention to ensure continuous
improvements in its defined sustainable
management.
Plan
for Environmental Achievement
In fiscal
2001, the Ricoh Group made an environmental
action plan
for fiscal 2002 - 2004. The plan outlines
ways of promoting sustainable management
that conserves the environment and makes
a profit at the same time and shows the
areas and goals of activities in consideration
of legal trends, social interest and expectations,
as well as the Ricoh Group's environmental
impact and expected economic effects.
Areas of Activities
and Measures to Promote Such Activities
To develop
a sustainable society that limits the environmental
impact caused by economic activities to
a level that the self-recovery capability
of the natural environment can deal with,
it is necessary to keep the emissions of
greenhouse gases, the use of resources,
and the use of chemical substances within
a tolerable range. The Ricoh Group measured
its environmental impact according to
the Eco Balance system,
and as can be seen by the results, the Ricoh
Group regards energy conservation, resource
conservation, and recycling and pollution
prevention as important environmental conservation
areas in each of its products and business
sites.
Furthermore, to ensure its continuous environmental
conservation activities remain profitable,
the Ricoh Group promotes environmental management
in its products and business activities
by developing environmental
technologies
and encouraging all employees to participate
in environmental
conservation activities.
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