Ricoh 2014 Annual Report Download - page 73

Overview Action Data & Prole
Environmental Conservation
Ricoh Group Sustainability Report 2014 72
Use of renewable resources
Biomass toner
Ricoh has been working for several years on
biomass*5 toner, which uses recyclable, plant-
based resin as a primary material in the toner
formultifunctional copiers. In November 2009,
Ricoh released the world’s rst MFP equipped
withbiomasstoner—the“forEtoner”—witha
biomass content*6 of 25%. Creation of the biomass
toner involved the development of a new plant-
based resin, since unlike conventional plant-based
resins used for plastic parts, the resin used for toners
musthaveexcellentchargeabilityanduidityaswell
as low-temperature xing and heat resistance.
*2 Recycling rate for MFPs and
printers exceeds 99.5%. The
volume of parts that cannot
be recycled is reduced,
averting the landfill, and
properly disposed of.
*3 TheBritishStandards
Institution
*4 PublishedbytheEllen
MacArthur Foundation
*5 Biomassresourcesare
organic resources that are
biologically reproducible,
excluding fossil resources.
*6 The percentage of plant-
derived resins contained in
parts is considered biomass
and is denoted as “%.”
Reuse of products and parts
Marketing recycled products in Japan and Europe
At Ricoh, resource conservation and recycling has
been a pillar of our environmental conservation
activities since the early 1990s, and we have empha-
sized measures to recirculate resources, primarily
MFPs collected from the market as well as printers,
toner cartridges, ink cartridges and consumable
parts.About170,000usedRicohproductsare
collected each year in Japan and all are reused
orreapplied*2, mainly as recycled equipment or
recycled materials, to effectively utilize resources.
Sincethesaleofourrstrecycledproductin1997,
we have led the industry in expanding the lineup of
recycled ofce equipment. Currently, we are able to
meetdiversecustomerneedswithaselectionof17
models from nine series, delivering output from 28
to50pagesperminuteincolorandfrom25to75
pages in black-and-white. In 2011, we began enhanc-
ing our domestic recycling sites and have steadily
increased the number of recycled products sold.
We are also working to globalize the product
reuse business to address the needs of customers
not only in Japan but around the world and to
provide recycled products matched to specic
marketrequirements.RicohEuropePLC,ourEuro-
pean sales headquarters, is actively engaged in the
sale of pre-owned products. The company offers its
GreenLine label
Biomass toner
Petroleum
resources
Biomass resources
like plants
Recycling
Toner collected by
de-inking
（ Industrial waste）
Combustion
(Thermal recyling)
Combustion
（Thermal
recycling）
Recycled
paper
CO2
Just buried or burned
CO2
absorbed
H 2 O・CO 2
Only paper is recycled
Photo synthesis
➤WEBProducts—Resource Conservation/Recycling : www.ricoh.com/environment/product/resource/
customers the GreenLine series of MFPs, which are
collected, selected and renewed according to a
common standard before being placed with custom-
ers again. The number of recycled products sold is
steadily increasing. The quality standard for these
products is set at a level consistent with the same
models currently available on the market, and each
and every collected product is carefully checked to
ensure quality. Necessary parts are replaced and
software is appropriately updated, and only prod-
ucts that meet the established quality standard are
certied with the GreenLine label before shipping
out to new customers. The GreenLine recycling
process has been audited and certied by the global
businessstandardscompanyBSI*3, underpinning
external conrmation of product reliability. In
addition, the process has been highly rated, includ-
ing recognition as a best practice for sustainable
businesses as reported by the consulting rm
McKinsey & Company in its “Towards the Circular
Economy”report*4. P. 31