Environmental Impact Analysis

Environmental Conservation Activities
Environmental Impact Analysis
The Ricoh Group, using the Comet Circle concept1, identifies the overall environmental impact of its products and
business activities to bring about more
effective impact reductions. For this
purpose, the Ricoh Group constructed
an Eco Balance-based environmental
impact information system2 that makes
use of both LCA and Eco Balance
methods. The Ricoh Group adopted
both methods following a long-term
research on LCA, which indicated that
LCA was necessary in conjunction with
Eco Balance if the Group was to
respond to a variety of requests for
clarification on the environmental
impact of its products and business
activities.
(1) Eco Balance of Overall
Business Activities
Procurement of
Materials and Parts
Manufacturing
Resources and energy
Resources and energy
Logistics and
Marketing
Resources
and energy
Production
of raw
materials
Raw materials
Manufacturing
of materials
Manufacturing
of products
Manufacturing
of parts
Marketing
Products
Materials
Parts
1. See pages 9–10.
2. See pages 19–20.
Landfill Exhaust
gas
waste
• CO2
• NOX
• SOX...
Eco Balance* Evaluation
(2) Integrated Analysis
of Environmental
Influence of
Business Activities
(%)
100
Upstream
Chemical substances
contained in products
28.17
8.96
Exhaust
gas
• CO2
• NOX
• SOX...
Wastewater
• BOD
• COD...
NonproDomestic duction Overseas
Exhaust
gas
• CO2
• NOX
• SOX...
TransporSales
tation
10
1
0.01
0.001
(%)
Environmental Impact Item
Electric Power (kWh)
Water
usage
Resource input
Emission
into air
Water
discharge
7,730 (MJ)
0.13
1.06
0.18
0.37
Manufacturing
37.9
Transportation
0
167
381
—
3.65
0
Industrial water ( )
—
0
0
Underground water ( )
—
0
0
Principal resource (kg)
—
PRTR substances (g)
—
58.4
0
Volatile organic substances (g)
—
0
0
Transportation
Metal
Plastic and
rubber
Glass
Others
116
38.8
2.2
45.1
0
Preliminary Process
Manufacturing
CO2 (kg-C) Power consumption/others
250
6.03/3.20
0/7.0
SOX (g) Power consumption/others
3,460
10.2/13.3
0/31.5
NOX (g) Power consumption/others
Environmental Impact Item
Waste
Preliminary Process
1.05
Tap water ( )
Fossil fuel (MJ)
* See page 19.
21
Wastewater
• BOD
• COD...
0.1
Input
The Ricoh Group used an integrated analysis method [See (2) in the figure on the
right] to determine which of its business
activities had the most environmental
impact. It was discovered that upstream
activities and chemical substances contained in products had the highest values.
This means that the manufacturing of materials and parts and the chemical substances contained in products had the
most effect on the environment.
Therefore, the Ricoh Group, according
to its fiscal 2001 medium-term action plan,
will strive to (1) collect its products for
the recycling of materials and parts and
(2) reduce chemical substances, especially
lead, that have the most effect on the
environment.
Output
1
711
12.9/8.35
0/79.2
PRTR substances (g)
—
0
0
Volatile organic substances (g)
—
0
0
Amount ( )
—
3.65
0
BOD (g)
6,560
0.255 or less
0
COD (g)
7,570
0.236 or less
0
PRTR substances
—
0.00439
0
Recycled (kg)
—
0.697
14.9
Incineration (kg)
—
0.0294
0.845
Landfill (kg)
—
0.0008
0
Procurement
Production
Logistics
Marketing
Use
Recycling
* Explanations begin on the next page.
Environmental
Conservation Activities
Social Activities
Economic
Performance
Environmental
Accounting
LCA1
Use and Maintenance
Collection and Recycling
Resources and energy
Resources and energy
Smelting
Smelted metals
Oil
Disassembly
and sorting
Crushing
Solid-fuel
processing
Products
Recovered
products
Recovered
parts
Recovered
materials
Thermal energy
collection
Recovery
of parts
Recovery
of
materials
Exhaust
gas
• CO2
• NOX
• SOX...
Emissions
• Ozone
• Dust
• Noise...
Manufacturing
Power
2.00
Paper Maintenance of maintenance
parts
57.86
0.16
0.04
Wastewater
• BOD
• COD...
Disposal and recycling
0.007
LCA Information of the imagio MF 7070 (Type III Environmental Impact Disclosure)*
Use and Maintenance
Recycling and Disposal
3,494
13.7
2,569
—
0
0
0
0
2,219
0
12,200
86.7
Copy paper
Toner
Photosensitive
materials
Developer
Maintenance
materials
Others
3.63
10.0
Ricoh established an LCA research team in
1994 to conduct practical research on LCA
and has released a variety of case study
reports. With more case studies being conducted, such issues as the importance of
explaining the usage of LCA and the difficulties of collecting data and setting
research conditions are being clarified.
● Digital duplicator LCA
(Tohoku Ricoh)*
Making use of the knowledge obtained by
the LCA research team, manufacturing subsidiaries are also conducting LCA.
* (Japanese only) http://www.ricoh.co.jp/tohoku/lca/
datasheet.html
CO2 emissions (kg)
9,500
1,374
0
73.6
0
Use and Maintenance
291/45.4
Recycling and Disposal
1.11/0
412/3.63
1.23/0
568/20.6
1.78/0
1,374
0
73.6
0
2,219
0
0.31
0
—
0
0
0
11.2
177.4
37.9
LCA Research
Priport JP5800 Life Cycle Environmental Impact
0
27.9
27.4
0.864
1. LCA is a means of quantitatively determining the level of
environmental impact generated throughout a product’s life
cycle, from resource procurement to manufacturing, transportation, usage, maintenance, recovery, recycling, and disposal.
Even a partially determined level of impact can be used.
2. See page 62.
8.60
8,936.7
9,000
92%
8,500
600
400
571.4
Transportation of parts 2%
1%
Manufacturing of parts
2%
Manufacturing of
raw materials
4%
Ink
Electric power
47%
Master
200
0
Paper
Other 0.3%
51%
23.5
31.3
1.7
Recycling and Disposal
Recovery
of
products
Solid fuel
Reducers in shaft
furnaces, etc.
Use and Maintenance
After-sales
service
Transportation
Products
Cracked oil
Recycled chemical
materials
Manufacturing
Collection
and sorting
Preliminary Process
Use
(Customers)
LCA is used to quantitatively identify the
environmental impact made by a product
throughout its life cycle and the influences
a change in design or manufacturing process would have.
More effective environmental conservation activities will be the result of such
assessment. LCA information on copiers
was disclosed on Ricoh’s Web site2 in fiscal
2000.
Ricoh participates in government committees and other gatherings to help improve the LCA method and conduct research
with scholars and company representatives.
* See page 62 and http://www.ricoh.co.jp/ecology/e-/type3/index_e.html
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