First carbon neutral office equipment co in NZ

NEWS RELEASE
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
For immediate release

Ricoh; the first office equipment company in New Zealand to be certified “carbon neutral”

Ricoh New Zealand has set the sustainability standard for the office equipment and document solutions industry by achieving carbon neutrality through Landcare Research’s carboNZero programme.

What makes this unique is that Ricoh has voluntarily extended the scope of measurement more broadly than for the normal organisation boundary by choosing to offset the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions[1] from their customers’ use of Ricoh’s energy efficient multi-functional devices and printers.

This voluntary extension is in addition to the carbon emissions generated from Ricoh’s business operations including their head office and nationwide branch network.

Managing Director, Mike Pollok says that Ricoh could have excluded its customers’ machines from its calculation and still been in accord with international standards, but this did not sit comfortably with the company’s sustainability objectives.

“It’s Ricoh’s goal to consistently maintain an industry leadership position in the area of environmental sustainability, and build on the fact that we were the first photocopier company in New Zealand to achieve ISO 14001 and Environmental Choice accreditation.

“To demonstrate our continued leadership, we’ve chosen to measure and offset the emissions associated with our customers’ electricity use from our energy efficient multi-functional devices and printers.

“We see this as a practical way we can assist our customers’ in reducing their own carbon footprints.”

Mr Pollok believes Ricoh staff will also stand to benefit.

“Being carboNZero certified will further embed Ricoh’s culture of sustainability with our people and enhance our commitment to the environmental sustainability of our operations.

“The certification process has enabled us to formally demonstrate how we are reducing our GHG emissions and to put in place a robust reduction plan that challenges us to try and reduce our emissions even further,” he says.

Ricoh offset its remaining unavoidable carbon emissions by purchasing credits from renewable energy sources approved by Landcare Research.

Ann Smith, Technical Manager of Landcare Research’s carboNZero programme, is delighted that Ricoh has chosen the carboNZero programme to gain carbon neutral certification for their business operations and for their service.

ENDS

About Ricoh
Ricoh New Zealand (Ltd) (Ricoh) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd., Japan. The company’s New Zealand head office is located in central Auckland, with branch offices in the five main regional centres including: Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. In addition, there is a national network of dealers and service agents to provide sales, service and support in all areas of the country. Ricoh products and services provide customers with tools to lower the cost of ownership by providing guidance for using fewer consumables and saving energy while enhancing productivity. Ricoh recognises environmental sustainability as an integral part of all business activities on a company-wide basis.
www.ricoh.co.nz

About the carboNZero programme
The carboNZero programme encourages and supports individuals and organisations to measure, manage (reduce) and mitigate (offset) their greenhouse gas emissions. Established in 2001 by Landcare Research, the programme is based on over a decade of research in greenhouse gas measurement and carbon monitoring. The programme’s goal is to provide credible tools to reduce GHG emissions to the atmosphere.
www.carbonzero.co.nz

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