100% Renewable Energy for A3 MFP

Ricoh Company, Ltd., (Tokyo, Japan) has announced that from FY2019 it will use electricity sourced from 100% renewable energy to cover its electric power needs in assembling core products A3 multifunction printers. The move is part of a commitment to the RE100^*1 goal of using 100% renewable electricity in operations.

All electricity at sites where Ricoh assembles A3 MFPs including reconditioned machines^*2, will be entirely from renewable energy.

*1) RE100:

A global initiative supported by companies agreeing to procure 100% of the electricity for operations from renewable energy sources.

*2) Reconditioned machines:

MFPs recycled using advanced technology, harnessing reused parts and meeting the same quality standards as new models.

Since announcing its participation in RE100 in April 2017, the Ricoh Group has undertaken energy-saving and other initiatives. It has also installed in-house power generation facilities and has switched to electricity sources from higher proportions of renewable energy. To date, it has switched to 100% renewable electricity at nine sales companies in Europe and for reuse/recycling processes in manufacturing in France. Other initiatives include acquiring third-party Nearly ZEB^*3 qualification at the Gifu branch of Ricoh Japan, a domestic sales company.

This latest initiative is based on purchase agreements for I-REC^*4 and J-Credit^*5 derived from renewable energy, matching the 37GWh of electricity that Ricoh is buying this fiscal year for all company facilities for A3 MFP assembly. Once power purchases for this fiscal year are finalized, the certificates will be redeemed and the credits retired.

*3) Nearly ZEB:

Nearly Net Zero Energy Building. A building conserving 75% or more of its energy, approaching zero energy consumption annually.

*4) I-REC:

International Renewable Energy Certificate

*5) J-Credit:

Procurement credit based on a government certification system, whereby the government certifies as a “credit” the amount of CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions reduced as a result of the introduction of energy saving devices or the use of renewable energy, or absorbed as a result of appropriate forest management.

As well as further increasing its use of renewable energy for business, the initiative enhances the customer attractiveness of Ricoh A3 MFPs owing to their lower environmental impact. Through this initiative, Ricoh aims to accelerate the realization of a zero-carbon society with our stakeholders.

(Originally published at: www.ricoh.com/)