Ricoh’s base in Telford, England
The OEM is aiming to examine how it can change its own practices to save energy and reduce waste.
ITWeb reported on the OEM’s plans to utilise “green” printing as a “business tool” both within its own business and those of its customers. Ricoh is buiding a carbon balance printing business unit at its manufacturing plant in Telford, England to “reduce the environmental impact of printing and to educate its customers that green practices reduce costs”.
The different areas the OEM is looking at reducing energy includes “examining what type of paper is being used”, the weight of the paper, printing volumes and studying how companies “prioritise relevance of printing jobs to avoid wasteful printing”. As part of this, it will be reusing its own customers’ waste paper in “some of its printing processes”, whilst it earmarks toner cartridges as another “key green area” where it will disassemble cartridges and components for reuse and recovery.
At the Telford site, the company has different teams working on numerous green technology projects, with one in particular remanufacturing old devices “ranging from printers, photocopiers and faxes” for resale. Craig Lewis, Ricoh’s Corporate Printing Business’ Development Manager for Europe, stated that the challenge for the OEM is that commercial customers “love the idea” of helping the environment, but their business demands “cannot accommodate it in most instances”.
He continued: “We have analysed our production processes to detect which areas need focus in terms of CO2 emissions, and use the same methods to encourage our customers to follow suit. Another tool we have employed is the online Carbon Calculator, which calculates carbon dioxide emissions per print job, and calculates water saving from using recycled jobs and the amount of toner used.
“Remanufacturing and recirculating equipment gives another life to multifunctional products (MFPs). These products offer cost savings and a reduced impact on the environment. However, to ensure consistent high quality, Ricoh has strict standards for its certified pre-owned devices across Europe, and only when these high standards are met is the product released to the customer.
“Government demand for the use of recycled paper has helped drive demand in other companies but it’s a slow process. [I]t’s not only about the bottom line, but making a meaningful, lasting impact.”