Realizing a Zero-Carbon society

“Climate change” is one of the most important social challenges which the global community is facing. The adverse effects of climate change are becoming more noticeable in many parts of the world and have become a serious issue influencing not only natural disasters, but also food production and economic security. Companies are expected to step up their efforts to decarbonize their operations in response to climate change. 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).

Based on the Ricoh Group Environmental Declaration, which states “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 positioned the realization of a decarbonized society as one of our materiality issues in the global environment field. We are engaged in activities to reduce our GHG emissions to achieve the targets for reducing GHG emissions established through back casting, while respecting scientific findings such as those of the IPCC and international agreements like the Paris Agreement. Specifically, we have set Scope 1, 2, and 3 targets for reducing GHG emissions in 2030,2040 and 2050. We are working together as a group to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions through energy-saving activities at our own sites and the use of renewable electricity, and we are going all-out to realize Scope 3 GHG emissions reductions through visualization and reduction activities in the supply chain.

For details of Ricoh group's climate change activities, please refer to the following 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 addition, we set a target for reducing GHG emissions as one of the companywide ESG targets established as part of our mid-term management strategy, and at the same time, we set a target for reducing GHG emissions for each business unit, for which we conduct forecast and performance management for each business year. We analyze environmental performance data compiled by our cloud system for our approximately 900 global sites and use this data for PDCA management.

The Ricoh Group aims to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050. 2040 goals are net zero GHG emissions in Scope 1 and 2, and a 100% renewable energy ratio for the electricity used in our business activities. Moreover we have obtained SBT 1.5°C certification for our 2030 target, which is consistent with the level required to limit the rise in global temperature to less than 1.5°C in Scope 1, 2, and 3.

Active use of renewable energy
We will promote purchasing renewable electricity certificates and introducing on-site PPAs, and aim to complete the transformation to RE100 by 2030 in overseas countries. In Japan, we will work with companies willing to lobby the government to reduce the cost of renewable electricity and expand procurement methods, and will strive to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy.

Promoting energy saving activities
We will promote improvement of manufacturing processes, introduce high-efficiency and energy-saving equipment, and electrify facilities at our production sites. At non-production sites, in Japan, we will expand the number of ZEB office buildings, and at overseas sites, we will promote the office relocation to energy-efficient offices. As for company vehicles, we will work to ensure that all company vehicles are driven in an environmentally friendly manner, and we will promote the conversion to Electric Vehicles (EVs), Fuel Cell Vehicles, and other energy-saving vehicles. Additionally, we will address Scope 1 issues where electrification is challenging, such as using steam from boilers, and strive to introduce future technologies like hydrogen.

We will work together with the entire value chain, including suppliers, customers, and transportation contractors, to achieve a Scope 3 reduction.

Scope3 reduction scenario for 2030

The Ricoh Group calculates the GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) from its own business activities and sets environmental targets to reduce these emissions. On the other hand, GHG emissions increase with business growth and entry into new businesses.　 However, for example, society's GHG emissions can be reduced by improving the energy-saving performance of newly developed MFPs, reducing their power consumption and replacing older models, and the digital printing presses that Ricoh is aiming to expand sales of meet the market needs for high-mix, low-volume lots, and can save resources and energy by reducing inventory compared to conventional offset printing presses, resulting in a reduced environmental impact on society as a whole. Thus, the greenhouse gases reduced in society by Ricoh's products and solutions are referred to as "Avoided Emissions".

Target：1,400 kt-CO2eq （End of FY2025）
Performance：

For other achievements related to realizing a Zero-Carbon Society, please see below.