Ricoh Group actively endorses and participates in domestic and international initiatives and statements related to Sustainability, and it collaborates proactively towards achieving a sustainable society. As of April 2024, we are participating in the following initiatives;
Since advocating environmental management in 1998, Ricoh Group has been working on climate change measures from a scientific perspective in line with international treaties and bodies such as The Paris Agreement and IPCC. We prioritize these basic measures that guide us in our drive to introduce necessary climate change policies and activate corporate climate change measures by participating in domestic and international initiatives on climate change that go beyond the scope of existing economic or industry organizations.
Ricoh Group will engage in proactive policy advocacy activities through external organizations and initiatives to realize its approach and strategy for addressing climate change. In cases where there is a discrepancy between Ricoh Group's position and approach to climate change and the stance or activities of the participating organizations or initiatives, or if there are perceived shortcomings in climate change mitigation within those organizations or initiatives, Ricoh Group will collaborate with other companies to advocate for strengthened measures. Additionally, we will regularly verify the consistency and alignment of activities between Ricoh Group's climate change strategy and external organizations or initiatives, and if significant deficiencies or discrepancies are found, it will consider the possibility of withdrawing from the respective organization or initiative.
Ricoh Group not only complies with regulations related to climate change and energy use reduction at each domestic and overseas location but also actively supports policies and institutional designs that promote decarbonization, and aids in their realization.
<Evaluation of Ricoh's Advocacy in the Climate Change Sector>
In September 2023, Ricoh's advocacy efforts in the field of climate change were recognized, and Ricoh was selected as one of the 27 companies worldwide with influence on climate change policy in "An Influence Map Report" issued by Influence Map, an independent climate risk think tank based in the UK.
Source:Influence Map Website, “Corporate Climate Policy Engagement Leaders, 2023”
<Major Activities in 2024>
In July 2024, Jake Yamashita, its Chairperson and Co-Chair of the Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP), has delivered a JCLP policy proposal on Japan's next Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Targets and Strategic Energy Plan to bipartisan parliamentary group, the Association for Achieving Carbon Neutrality. Yamashita also handed the proposal to Ken Saito, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and exchanges opinions and Yoshimasa Hayashi, Chief Cabinet Secretary.
JCLP calls on the Japanese government to raise its 2035 targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions to be more than 75% versus 2013 and renewable energy to exceed 60%. It believes that Japan's decarbonization policies must be further strengthened in order to enhance energy security and win the international competition for a decarbonized transition.
<Major Activities in 2023>
In April 2023, Japan Climate Initiative (JCI), a network of various entities such as companies, local governments and NGOs including Ricoh, released a message titled "Overcoming Two Crises with Renewable Energy and Carbon Pricing." Ricoh expressed its support for this message, with Ms. Mikako Suzuki, the corporate officer in charge of ESG, conveying a video message through JCI, expressing the hope for further leadership from the G7 to avoid the climate crisis.
In June 2023, Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP), of which Ricoh Chairman Yoshinori Yamashita is a co-chair, proposed to the Undersecretary-General of the Ministry of the Environment to "revitalize scientific analysis (* event attribution) to clarify the link between extreme weather events and climate change. JCLP called for expansion of the research system in Japan (budget, structure, and cooperation among ministries and agencies) as well as enhancement of its preliminary report, comprehensiveness, and dissemination capabilities.
(*) Event attribution: A method to reproduce extreme weather events using a supercomputer to elucidate whether or not global warming is the cause.
In November 2023, Mr. Yoshinori Yamashita, Chairman of Ricoh, in his capacity as co-chair of JCLP, presented recommendations titled "Acceleration of Decarbonization by GX" to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, who is also the Minister in charge of GX implementation, and engaged in discussions.
Given the current situation where measures to avoid the climate crisis and the practice of decarbonization significantly affect the international competitiveness of companies, Mr. Yamashita proposed the following recommendations to ensure competitiveness and improve energy security and trade balance by reducing dependency on fossil fuels:
For more detailed recommendations, please refer to the following link on the JCLP website: "Recommendations for Accelerating Decarbonization by GX."
Source:JCLP Website, "Recommendations for Accelerating Decarbonization by GX"
In December 2023, JCLP hosted a seminar titled "Business Transformation Plan Towards a Future Envisioned by the 1.5°C Roadmap" at the Japan Pavilion of COP28 in Dubai, UAE. Mr. Yoshinori Yamashita, Chairman of Ricoh, appeared as co-chair of JCLP. The seminar highlighted the 1.5°C roadmap developed by IGES (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies) and JCLP, which is intended to be shared between the public and private sectors. It emphasized that by sharing this roadmap, companies can confidently invest in decarbonization, leading to the creation of new business opportunities and a positive cycle.
In December 2023, Japan Climate Initiative (JCI), in which Ricoh participates, announced recommendations for the introduction of carbon pricing at an international level. Ricoh expressed its support for these recommendations. Ms. Mikako Suzuki, the corporate officer in charge of ESG, conveyed a message through JCI emphasizing the need to mobilize institutional and policy measures that contribute to achieving the 1.5-degree target and to support efforts by local governments, businesses, and citizens.
The recommendations aim to realize carbon pricing in Japan by 2030, enabling a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and opening the path to a competitive economy. The main recommendations include:
These recommendations were also presented in the Government's "Task Force for Comprehensive Review of Regulations on Renewable Energy, etc."
In January 2024, Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP) held a COP28 inspection report meeting with the aim of strengthening collaboration to accelerate policies and practices to achieve the 1.5°C goal based on the Paris Agreement, in preparation for the consideration of the next Basic Energy Plan and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Mr. Yoshinori Yamashita, Chairman of Ricoh and co-chair of JCLP, expressed the desire to leverage corporate actions to support policies for the examination of Japan's future greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and Basic Energy Plan.
<Past major activities>
Mr. Masamitsu Sakurai, who was president of Ricoh at the time and the representative secretary of Keizaidoyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) from 2007 to 2011, published a policy proposal stating that Japan should set high reduction targets for COP15 and that the industrial sector should actively engage in achieving the targets. In 2009, Ricoh participated as a founding member in JCLP (Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership), a cross-industry group of companies that proactively tackle climate change, and has been making various policy proposals on climate change as a core member ever since. In 2017, Ricoh announced its participation in RE100, the first Japanese company to do so, and Mr. Yoshinori Yamashita, who was president of Ricoh at the time, visited the Ministry of the Environment, where he requested the environment minister to strengthen policies on introducing electricity from renewable energy sources. We continued to promote the participation of Japanese companies in RE100 and engage with the Japanese government while also cooperating in the establishment of JCI in 2018 and working to create momentum towards decarbonization in Japan. In 2021, Mr. Yamashita, who was president of Ricoh at the time, was appointed as the co-representative of JCLP, and visited the Prime Minister's Office to hand over JCLP's opinion paper on climate change policies to the Prime Minister. We are advancing dialogue and policy involvement with the Japanese government and international organizations.
Ricoh is actively engaged in collaborative efforts towards achieving a sustainable society through participation in domestic and international initiatives related to sustainability, as well as advocacy activities.
Science Based Targets (SBT)
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD)
Japan Climate Leader's Partnership(JCLP)
Japan Climate Initiative(JCI)
Business for Nature
Japan Business Initiative for Biodiversity(JBIB)
30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity
Responsible Business Alliance (RBA)
Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG)
United Nations Global Compact
April 2002 | Becomes the second Japanese company to sign the UN Global Compact |
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June 2007 | Signs Caring for Climate: The Business Leadership Platform of the UN Global Compact |
May 2008 | Signs the Japan Business Initiative for Biodiversity |
December 2008 | Signs the CEO Statement for the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN (Ricoh) |
July 2009 | Participates in the Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP) as a founding member |
December 2010 | Announces its support for The Cancun Communiqué on Climate Change |
November 2012 | Announces its support for The Carbon Price Communiqué to counter climate change |
September 2014 | Announces its endorsement of the Initiative to Support the World Bank Group's Carbon Pricing |
September 2014 | Announces its support for The Trillion Tonne Communiqué, a call to keep cumulative CO2 emissions below a trillion tonnes |
April 2017 | Becomes the first Japanese company to join the RE100, a collaborative, global initiative of influential businesses |
August 2018 | Commits to recommendations of Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures |
September 2018 | Ricoh President & CEO delivers keynote speech at the Climate Week NYC opening ceremony |
October 2018 | Signs Japan Climate Action Summit declaration |
June 2019 | Ricoh Corporate Officer in charge of ESG names board director of Japan Business Initiative for Biodiversity (JBIB) |
August 2019 | Commits to tackling inequality by joining Business for Inclusive Growth coalition |
November 2019 | Joins the Responsible Business Alliance, the World's Largest Industry Coalition Dedicated to CSR in Global Supply Chains |
January 2020 | Becomes the only Asian company on RE100 Advisory Committee |
March 2020 | Revises Environmental Goals for 2030 and obtains “1.5°C” approval by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) |
June 2020 | Endorses Uniting Business and Governments to Recover Better |
June 2020 | Ricoh President & CEO attending a meeting with Japan's Minister of the Environment to exchange views about climate change issues |
October 2020 | Commits to Business Ambition for 1.5°C and Race to Zero |
November 2020 | On behalf of Ricoh as a Japan Climate Initiative member, Ricoh President & CEO proposes renewable energy deregulation to Japan's Minister for Regulatory Reform |
November 2020 | Joins “30% Club Japan” aiming to increase the ratio of woman executives in companies |
March 2021 | Joins WIPO GREEN, an international platform to promote environmental technology exchanges |
October 2021 | Ricoh President & CEO names Co-Chair of Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP) |
April 2022 | Participates in the 30 by 30 Alliance for Biodiversity |
April 2022 | On behalf of Ricoh as a Japan Climate Initiative member, Jake Yamashita, Ricoh President & CEO, urges Prime Minister Kishida to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy and introduce carbon pricing to overcome climate crisis |