Sustainable Environmental Management - Ricoh

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Top Message About us Our Activities Data Sustainable Environmental Management Innovations in manufacturing processes ● Cart production line An eco-friendly production system that can respond flexibly to production volume and equipment model changes In this system, multiple carts are lined up in a row and powered by air cylinders. The carts move along the production line carrying products. Because huge, high-energy consuming conveyors are not required, this system has brought large reductions in environmental impact and energy costs;* moreover, because the layout can be freely changed, the formation can be rearranged on a case-by-case basis to suit equipment models and production volumes. In-process inventory, lead time, space, and maintenance are all reduced by 70–80%. In addition, because of the reduction in space, reductions in air-conditioning and lighting costs are also achieved. * Air cylinders are used to move the carts, enabling a reduction in electricity consumption of 99% compared with conventional conveyor line motors. ● On-Demand Toner Filling Machine Small and portable toner-filling machine To cope with limited production of a wide range of toner products, Ricoh has developed an “On-Demand Toner Filling Machine” based on conventional machines that is designed to fill a large amount of toner at high speed. Compared with the conventional toner filler systems, the new machine takes only 1/40 of the time to switch between product types, requires 1/40 of the installation space, and uses 1/4 of the electricity. Introducing this toner filling machine into toner production bases and also into logistics bases and sales companies allows toner cartridges to be manufactured at and shipped from sites closer to customers in the same manner as at plants. This has resulted in a reduction in environmental impact from the transportation of cartridges collected from the market for reuse and a shorter lead time. Conventional toner filling machine Newly developed “On-Demand Toner Filling Machine” ● Downsized production lines for a photoconductor Substantial reduction in air-conditioned clean room space Production of photoconductors, a component of MFPs and printers, must be conducted in a clean space containing no dust. Traditional large production lines required large air purifying and conditioning systems, which inevitably entailed big financial and environmental impacts. To address this issue, we have developed a new production line system where one or two units are manufactured at a time and air purifying and conditioning systems are used in that small area, instead of putting several dozen units on a pallet. The new system requires only about 1/6 of the production line length, 1/16 of the equipment installation space*, 1/92 of the clean, air-conditioned area, and 1/3 of the capital investment of the conventional lines. * Ratio of facility area to per-unit production capacity Small-lot production lines able to meet market demand for multipurpose, high-quality products Ricoh Group Sustainability Report 2012 66
Sustainable Environmental Management Resource Conservation and Recycling To achieve the goal of reducing the new input of resources by 25% by 2020 from the 2007 level, we work to utilize resources in the most effective way possible and minimize the use of non-recycled virgin resources during production. To this end, we are actively engaged in the development of alternative materials, use of renewable resources, reuse of used parts, recycling, waste reduction, and other efforts. We believe that these efforts are important initiatives that play a part in mitigating the risks of resource depletion and deforestation. In addition, we are taking initiatives to develop technologies for recycling water and resources used during production processes. Promotion of the recycling business Recycling efforts are worthless if they result in increases in related costs and environmental impact. The Ricoh Group develops products and components that are easy to recycle and reuse, develops new recycling technologies, develops and expands the network for collecting used products, and conducts many other activities while aiming to improve profitability and decrease environmental impact in this business area. Recycled copiers Extensive lineup of recycled copiers: 17 models from 9 series Ricoh has adopted resource conservation and recycling as one of the pillars of its environmental conservation activities since the early 1990s, and has been working on the recycling of collected MFPs, laser printers, toner cartridges, and supplies. More than 200,000 units of our used products are collected each year, and fully recycled or reused. Since the release of its first recycled copier in 1997, Ricoh has expanded its lineup more actively than any other company to offer a wide variety of recycled machines. The latest recycled full-color copier, the imagio MP C4000RC/C2800RC series, was launched in May, 2012. To meet the various needs of customers, Ricoh offers 17 models from 9 series of recycled copiers with a copying capacity ranging from 28 to 50 pages per minute (color) and from 25 to 75 pages (monochrome). ■ imagio MP C4000RC ● LCA (CO2 emissions) Approx. 17% 400 less emissions 362 300 301 CO2 emissions (kg/year) 200 100 0 imagio MP imagio MP C4000 C4000RC (new copiers) (recycled copiers) Line up of recycled copiers WEB www.ricoh.co.jp/imagio/rc/ 0 * As of May 2012, assessed by Ricoh ● Environmental impact caused by manufacturing (CO2 emissions) 150 146 CO2 emissions (kg/year) 120 90 60 30 Approx. 82% less emissions 27 imagio MP imagio MP C4000 C4000RC (new copiers) (recycled copiers) From customers (collected copiers) Assessment Disassembly Cleaning Washing and drying Collecting used products, then reusing and recycling parts To customers (recycled copiers) Finish Testing Fine-tuning Testing and assembling parts 67 Ricoh Group Sustainability Report 2012
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Sustainable Environmental Management - Ricoh

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