Ricoh has announced that it has received the 2019 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for continued leadership and superior contributions to ENERGY STAR. This year marks the fourth consecutive year Ricoh has been named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year, and the second consecutive year with the Sustained Excellence distinction, which is presented to a partner at the EPA’s discretion. This latest accolade acknowledges Ricoh’s hard work to foster environmental sustainability in its own operations and evangelize on behalf of sustainability to customers, employees and the larger business community. Ricoh’s accomplishments will be recognized by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., April 11.
“Ethical responsibility to our society and our planet has been absolutely fundamental to Ricoh’s identity for decades, and we strive every day to live up to and build upon that legacy,” said Donna Venable, executive vice president, human resources and deputy general manager, Shared Services, Ricoh Americas. “At a time when environmental sustainability is a top concern for millions ““ and affects billions ““ it is incredibly important for companies to take sustained action. As a large, multinational corporation, Ricoh aims to do its part, striving to ensure our own operations embody sustainability while empowering digital workplaces to work smarter ““ and use energy smarter ““ with improved processes and ENERGY STAR-certified devices.”
Ricoh, an ENERGY STAR partner for imaging equipment since its inception, will be honored for:
- Technology services in support of ENERGY STAR ““ Ricoh designs and develops products with ENERGY STAR specifications in mind. As part of this initiative, Ricoh launched 16 new devices that are ENERGY STAR certified, and 94 percent of all eligible new Ricoh products in 2018 were ENERGY STAR certified.
- Assisting ENERGY STAR product specification development ““ Ricoh worked closely with the EPA to establish Version 3.0 of the ENERGY STAR imaging equipment specification, offering insights from manufacturers’ and customers’ points of view. The company provided direct input in shaping Drafts 1 and 2 of the standard.
- Encouraged all employees to take the ENERGY STAR pledge ““ Ricoh once again emphasized total buy-in, at all organizational levels, for sustainability initiatives. This included encouraging all employees to take the ENERGY STAR pledge, as well as continuing the training and education of approximately 20,000 U.S.-based employees in everyday ways they can contribute to sustainability.
- Evangelizing about ENERGY STAR at the U.N. ““ During the United Nations’ Climate Week 2018 event in New York City, Jake Yamashita, President and CEO of Ricoh Company, Ltd., was invited to keynote. Mr. Yamashita was the first Japanese executive invited to do so in the event’s 10-year history, a potential nod to Ricoh becoming the first Japanese company to sign on to the RE100 pledge to source 100 percent of the company’s energy from renewable sources. During his time in New York, Mr. Yamashita emphasized Ricoh’s work with ENERGY STAR and its Partner of the Year wins during interviews with major media outlets.
- External outreach: customers and beyond ““ To further help spread ENERGY STAR’s message, Ricoh issued nine ENERGY STAR-related press releases in 2018, a 28 percent increase since the previous year, reaching an estimated 742 million readers. Ricoh’s website mentions ENERGY STAR 594 times ““ nearly double as often as it did in 2017 ““ and Ricoh webpages featuring ENERGY STAR content earned 724,778 views.
- Commitment to continued progress ““ Globally Ricoh has committed to eliminating its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as part of the RE100 pledge to rely on 30 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. Further, Ricoh has joined the EPA SmartWay® Transport Partnership, an innovative collaboration between the EPA and industry to provide a framework to assess the environmental and energy efficiency of goods movement supply chain. Ricoh’s work will contribute to the Partnership’s overall savings of 248.8 million barrels of oil, $33.4 billion in fuel costs, and 119 million tons of air pollutants, the equivalent of eliminating a year’s worth of electricity use in more than 16 million homes. All Ricoh manufacturing and production sites worldwide are ISO 14001 certified for their environmental management system.
“I applaud the 2019 ENERGY STAR Award Winners,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Bill Wehrum. “Their innovation and leadership enhance America’s economic competitiveness. Reducing costly energy waste improves air quality and public health while protecting the environment.”
The highest honor among ENERGY STAR Awards is the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year””Sustained Excellence Award. EPA presents the Sustained Excellence Award to partners that have already received ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year recognition for a minimum of two consecutive years and have gone above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition. Winners hail from small, family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 organizations ““ representing energy-efficient products, services, new homes, and buildings in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors.
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