Ricoh Europe Launches Carbon Balanced Printing Programme

Toner News Mobile Forums Latest Industry News Ricoh Europe Launches Carbon Balanced Printing Programme

Date: Thursday March 8, 2012 08:27:20 am
Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
  • Author
    Posts

  • Anonymous
    Inactive

    Ricoh Europe Launches Carbon Balanced Printing Programme

    Ricoh Europe is launching a Carbon Balanced Printing Programme, designed specifically for print service providers. It helps them to reduce the environmental impact of printing using Ricoh Pro production printing systems, and to provide a carbon neutral service to their clients. The programme, which is the first of its kind in Europe, is aimed at commercial printers and corporate print rooms and is accredited by the British Standards Institution (BSI).

    The Carbon Balanced Printing Programme builds on the success of Ricoh’s award winning Sustainability Optimisation Programme, which offers carbon balanced printing to the office market. The new programme follows a three step process, enabling print service providers to; 1) analyse the carbon footprint of each print job; 2) optimise it by improving the way they work and; 3) neutralise the remaining, unavoidable emissions through carbon credits.

    The first step involves an in-depth analysis of printing activity, to determine annual carbon emissions. Areas of analysis include the operation of Ricoh production systems, the paper used, energy consumed, delivery distances of supplies and travelling distances of our service engineers.

    The second step involves optimisation of the print environment to make it more sustainable. A carbon calculator available through ‘Ricoh’s Business Driver Programme’ determines the carbon generated per print job. More environmentally responsible ways to print are then identified and implemented, such as using different types of recycled media. And through a carbon assessment, Ricoh consultants review the entire production process on an ongoing basis. As a result they will suggest further ways to minimise energy consumption, reduce waste and improve the recycling practices of both output and machine supplies.

    The final step involves neutralising the remaining and unavoidable carbon emissions with Certified Emission Reductions. These carbon credits have been generated by clean energy projects in which Ricoh has invested. Print service providers are then certified as a ‘Ricoh Carbon Balanced Printer’ and provided with tools and documentation they can use to confirm to end customers that their print job is carbon neutral.

    Graham Moore, business development director, Production Printing Business Group, Ricoh Europe PLC said, ‘Print buyers are increasingly seeking to purchase services that use sustainable materials and play their part in helping to reduce their organisations carbon emissions. The print industry has already made positive steps to be more sustainable, through recycled paper stocks, plant-based inks and reduced waste thanks to digital printing on demand. At a time when print service providers are differentiating their businesses to offer a wider range of services to their clients, carbon balanced printing offers a unique way to reduce environmental impact, attract new customers and to add more value to existing ones.’

    MultiCopy Leeuwarden is part of a commercial print business with 80 locations in The Netherlands and benefiting from Ricoh’s Carbon Balanced Printing Programme. Bram Boekema, Director of MultiCopy Leeuwarden said, ‘Ricoh continues to help us differentiate our business and the new Carbon Balanced Printing programme will open up new markets for us, while offering customers unique ways to be more environmentally responsible with their printing’.

    Another early user of the programme is Nextprint based in Rosmalen, Netherlands, who specialise in online print fulfilment via Web-shops. Their CTO, Giel van Boxtel said, ‘We see an increasing demand from print buyers for carbon neutral printing and through the Ricoh programme we are differentiating ourselves to offer a complete carbon neutral production process’.

    Hans Breuker, senior manager, BSI, the global independent standards body renowned for its vigorous testing, says: ‘Ricoh’s Carbon Balanced Printing Programme is transparent and robust, as our independent audit confirms. Through the programme, Ricoh is offering a best practice way for production print businesses to be more environmentally responsible in their own activities, in turn sharing that responsible approach with their own customers.’

    Moore concluded, ‘Ricoh is delighted to be able to extend our service portfolio to include Carbon Balanced Printing, which supports our longstanding commitment to reduce the environmental impacts of our own operations and at our customer sites while at the same time allowing print service providers to offer a carbon neutral service to their clients.’

    Ricoh’s three step Carbon Balanced Printing Programme is available throughout Europe now. Visit: http://www.ricoh-europe.com/carbonbalanced for details.

    Ricoh will be showcasing the Carbon Balanced Printing Programme at drupa 2012, Dusseldorf, Germany in Hall 8a from 3 – 16 May. Visit: http://www.ricoh-europe.com/drupa2012 for news and updates.

    About Ricoh’s environmental governance
    Ricoh goes beyond compliance to take a responsible approach to the environment.

    It combines ecological commitment with best business strategies simultaneously achieving conservation and profitability at its customer sites as well as its own operations

    Ricoh environmental awards
    In 2012 Ricoh was named one of the ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ by Corporate Knights for the eighth consecutive year. In 2011 recognised by oekom research as one of the ‘World’s Best Office Electronics Companies in Social and Environmental Performance’, awarded top prize in the Sustainability Good Practice Competition’ for its customer focused Sustainability Optimisation Programme, named one of the ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ by the Ethisphere Institute for the third year running, listed for the eighth consecutive year in the FTSE4 Good Index.

Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.