Today, the world faces myriad challenges ranging from environmental degradation through poverty and human rights, to energy and resource supply issues. The causes of these challenges are too complexly entwined to be solved by efforts of state governments, international organizations, or civic society acting alone. The expectation then in addressing these social issues is that business corporations, which have a variety of resources available on a global scale, will also contribute.
Based on the RICOH Way, the Ricoh Group pursues its mission-to develop and offer new value-in order to make active contributions to improve the quality of living and to drive sustainability. To achieve this goal, we work in cooperation with a variety of stakeholders in our efforts to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Our CSR measures are implemented mainly in the following three areas: “fundamental obligation to society” and “Commitment to and responsibility for social contribution and Resolution of social issues through business activities (Creating Shared Value: CSV)” By working more profoundly in these areas, we will pursue our goals of creating a sustainable society and improving our corporate value.
■ CSR framework
Our measures are taken in response to the expectations and requests of various types of stakeholders in a timely and precise manner. We adopt CSR frameworks stipulated by the international community in a proactive manner and properly disclose information through reports and websites.
Businesses are required to take on an increasingly greater breadth and depth of responsibilities to help build a sustainable society. Public expectations and demand for these initiatives from global corporations operating worldwide have been increasing more than ever before. To meet these social expectations accurately and promptly, the Ricoh Group actively introduces internationally established CSR frameworks.
In 2002, the Ricoh Group became one of the first Japanese companies to announce participation in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). We promptly endorsed this global platform out of recognition of its alignment with our long-standing practice of listening to our many stakeholders and incorporating their feedback into our business operations based on global perspectives. In 2004, we established the Ricoh Group CSR Charter, which reflects the UNGC’s 10 principles, as well as the Ricoh Group Code of Conduct.
In addition to the UNGC, there are many other CSR guidelines, including ISO 26000, the international standard for social responsibility, which was formulated in November 2010.
Operating in more than 200 countries and regions worldwide, the Ricoh Group is committed to fulfilling its social responsibilities and meeting and exceeding the expectations of an increasingly wider and more varied stakeholder base. To this end, we review the CSR activities of our own as well as of our partner companies and key members of our global value chain, against international CSR frameworks and make continuous improvements.
These CSR activities along with our performance and other related information are disclosed through our publications and website and other communication tools.
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 |
July 2009 | Participates in the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership as a founding member |
December 2010 | Announces its support for the Cancun Communiqué on Climate Change |
February 2011 | Signs a statement of support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles by the UN Global Compact |
November 2012 | Participates in the Carbon Price initiative to counter climate change |
September 2014 | Announces its support for the World Bank Group’s Put a Price on Carbon Statement |
September 2014 | Announces its support for the Trillion Tonne Communiqué, a call to keep cumulative CO2 emissions below a trillion tonnes |
April 2017 | Ricoh becomes the first Japanese company to join RE100, a global initiative that advocates 100% renewable energy. |
The UN Global Compact, launched in July 2000, proposes ten principles in the fields of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Ricoh joined the Compact in 2002, as one of the first Japanese companies to do so and has been serving as one of the directors on the Global Compact Japan Network since fiscal 2008.
Stakeholder engagement is an essential part of CSR management. We listen carefully to our customers, suppliers and all other stakeholders, take their feedback seriously and incorporate their input into our internal reform efforts. We also collaborate with NPOs, NGOs and other social sector organizations in planning ways to solve social issues.
Engaging stakeholders
Value to customers | Customers | Increase customer value through products and services Offer safe and reliable products and services |
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Business partners | Build partnerships based on mutual trust and fair trade Promote socially responsible activities across the value chain |
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Value to shareholders | Shareholders and investors | Increase corporate value by achieving sustained business growth Provide timely and appropriate information disclosure and communication |
Value to employees | Employees | Provide workplaces that motivate our diverse employees Maintain a culture that fosters personal development and fair treatment |
Value to society | Society | Contribute to solving social issues through social contribution and business activities Respect the cultures and customs of the countries and regions in which we operate, and contribute to their development |
Global environment | Conduct business activities in an environmentally friendly manner and contribute to the reduction of environmental impact Contribute to the maintenance and restoration of the Earth’s self-recovery capabilities |
Our social responsibility efforts evolve in three stages: from assessing legal, regulatory and other external requirements; to mission- and responsibility-driven voluntary activities that proactively meet expectations from society; to the third stage, where we work to create shared value by solving social issues while concurrently accelerating our growth.
To govern and monitor Group-wide activity in each of the three stages, we deploy our CSR management cycle.
Under this system, the Head Office collects information and feedback from operating organizations on the ground to identify and provide necessary support. The Head Office and operating units also hold periodic opinion exchanges and discussion forums to improve the quality of their respective CSR activities.
For the Ricoh Group, providing stakeholders with information about the Group's CSR-related vision, targets and specific activities is essential to improving its corporate activities and increasing its corporate value. In order to enhance the Ricoh Group Sustainability Report as one of the important tools to foster communication with stakeholders, we have been holding dialogue meetings with experts in the fields of CSR and integrated reporting. The results of these dialogue meetings, in which invited experts give their comments and advice and exchange opinions with Ricoh people, are reported to the management team and utilized for the improvement of the Group's management and communication activities.
Date | April 13, 2017 |
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Place | Head office of Ricoh Company, Ltd. |
Invited participants |
Experts:
Participants from Ricoh* : * The organizations and job titles are as of the date of the meeting. |
The dialogue meeting was the fifth held following the first meeting organized in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013-the year in which we published Ricoh Group Sustainability Report 2012 as an integration of the following three reports: Annual Report, Sustainability Report (Corporate Social Responsibility) and Sustainability Report (Environment).
In this fifth dialogue, experts shared their views on descriptions included in the Sustainability Report 2016, focusing on the overview of value creation, KPIs, negative information disclosure and governance.
Mr. Eiichiro Adachi
Mr. Eiichiro Adachi
Mr. Tsukasa Kanai
Mr. Tsukasa Kanai
Ms. Mariko Mishiro
Ms. Mariko Mishiro
Akira Oyama
We have worked to improve our reporting activities based on advice and suggestions provided by experts at the dialogue every year. We aim to fully achieve improvement goals, but this does not mean the end of improvement activities, as we also need to respond to the changing expectations of society. To understand relevant changes in social expectations, the annual dialogue with experts is very helpful. We deeply appreciate participating experts for offering extensive, insightful opinions and advice not only in terms of description and editorial methods but also fundamental management concepts and systems. We will utilize these opinions to improve our management practice.