Environmental Conservation Activities
Production (Pollution Prevention)
(tons/year)
Environmental
Amount
impact
Amount Emission into air consumed
coefficient 3
Substance*
Zinc oxide2
Amount Amount transported
reduced (waste taken off-site)
Amount
recycled
1
99.8
—
96.9
—
0.8
2.1
10
38.2
—
36.3
—
—
1.9
Antimony oxide2
100
12.4
—
11.6
—
0.0
0.7
Xylene (mixture)
10
16.4
14.4
0.0
0.2
—
1.8
Dichloromethane
100
199.7
165.7
2.0
—
0.1
32.0
N, N-dimethylformamide
100
24.3
1.3
—
—
—
22.9
Tetrachloroethylene
100
4.2
0.3
—
—
—
3.9
Copper I oxide2
10
2.4
—
2.4
—
0.0
—
Copper II oxide2
1
76.2
—
73.6
—
0.8
1.8
Zinc chloride2
Toluene
10
1,250.9
291.7
95.4
363.6
1.1
499.2
100
29.5
—
17.5
—
2.9
9.1
Barium sulfate2
1
2.4
—
2.2
—
0.1
0.1
4, 4-isopropylidenediphenol
1
23.7
—
21.0
—
—
2.7
100
7.3
0.6
—
4.6
—
2.2
10
23.3
0.1
21.2
—
—
2.0
Cellosolve acetate
100
6.6
0.4
—
—
6.2
—
1.3-dichloro-2-propanol
100
9.9
9.9
—
—
—
—
10
135.9
54.7
—
25.9
—
55.3
Tetrafluoromethane
100
1.7
1.2
0.5
—
—
—
Hexafluoroethane
100
2.9
2.0
0.9
—
—
—
Lead solder
100
36.8
—
23.3
—
0.9
12.6
Nickel sulfate2
Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether
Glyoxal
Tetrahydrofuran
* Substances listed are those amounting to at least 1 ton per year. “—” indicates no entry.
Substances discharged into public waterways and sewage systems are not listed because they amounted to less
than 0.1 ton annually.
1. PRTR substances are those designated by four electric/electronic organizations surveyed. Technical terms used
are also pursuant to guidelines set by the aforementioned organizations. Substances listed may differ slightly from
those provided by the PRTR Law.
2. The amount of metallic compounds are converted into metal.
3. The environmental impact coefficient is set by Ricoh taking toxicity, oncogenicity, and ozone destroying possibility
into consideration.
The amount of PRTR substances used and discharged is calculated using the following formulas:
Amount used = Σ {(amount – amount consumed) × environmental impact coefficient}
Amount discharged = Σ {(amount treated emitted into the air + amount discharged into water
+ amount discharged onto the soil) × environmental impact coefficient}
Changes in the Amount of PRTR Substances Used and Discharged by the Ricoh Group
Amount used
Amount discharged
60,000
20,000
41,907
47,668
10,000
21,894
30,000
26,136
40,000
49,929
50,000
30,638
* Under the PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) system, the release of potentially harmful environmental pollutants into the air, water, and soil; product
contents; and the transfer of waste are assessed by business, among others. The results are totaled and released
by a third-party organization. Member countries of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), such as the United States, Canada, the
U.K., the Netherlands, and Japan, have adopted this system. The PRTR Law in Japan was based on this system.
In fiscal 1997, Ricoh participated in the PRTR system
that Keidanren (the Federation of Economic Organizations) independently started prior to its legislation by
giving it a summary of the PRTR data of all Ricoh business sites. We continued to report the PRTR data of all
Group companies in fiscal 1998 and thereafter began
reducing the consumption and emission of PRTR substances.
Survey Results on PRTR Substances1 in the Ricoh Group
29,949
The Ricoh Group established RECSIS
(Ricoh Environmental and Chemical
Safety Information System) to control
the chemical substances contained in
products and used in the manufacturing
process. RECSIS categorizes substances that fall under Japan’s PRTR* Law
as well as substances that are regulated in other parts of the world according to whether they are to be prohibited,
reduced, or controlled. In line with its
severe self-regulation policies, the
Ricoh Group endeavors to control as
well as to re-duce the amount used,
emitted, and disposed of. The Group is
striving to establish a system that will
provide answers to inquiries from customers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and civil organizations regarding their usage of chemical substances.
The Ricoh Group has also dealt with
soil pollution caused by chloric organic
solvents through the use of surveys,
improvement planning (since 1992),
and the subsequent publication of the
Ricoh Group Soil Improvement Manual
in 1999, which outlines stricter selfregulation measures than the environmental standards set by the Japanese
government. The Group is currently
conducting surveys and carrying out
improvements at Ricoh Group production and research and development
sites.
55,237
5
0
(FY)
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001 target
(set in 1998)
Changes in the Amount of Substances Discharged Following the
Ricoh Group’s Implementation of Pollution Prevention Measures
Air (NOx, SOx)
Water (BOD)
(tons/year)
100
(tons/year)
60
NOx
80
60
50
88
69
67
40
62
38
37
1997
1998
1999
30
40
SOx
20
33
20
30
23
19
10
0
0
(FY) 1997 1998 1999 2000
53
41
1997 1998 1999 2000
(FY)
2000
Figures for NOx and SOx have been changed as a result of a minor revision to the calculation method. Therefore, the figures
differ slightly from those in the 2000 report.
31
Procurement Production
Logistics
Marketing
Use
Environmental
Conservation Activities
Recycling
Social Activities
Economic
Performance
Environmental
Accounting
Environmental Safeness of Supplies
(Toner Cartridges, Thermal Paper, etc.)
Ricoh Environmental
and Chemical Safety
Information System
(RECSIS)
Database of
laws and
regulations
Database of raw
materials used
in chemical
products
Database of the
environmental
safeneass
of supplies
Material safety
information sheets
Publication
system
(information
disclosure
system)
Information on the
environmental
impact of products
Environmental Safeness of Machine Products
Database of the
environmental
safeness of
chemical
substances
Database of the
environmental
safeness of
machine materials
Database of
product
emissions
management
Design section:
Machine products
● Energy consumption
● Discharge of ozone,
dust, and styrene
● Noise
● Ionizing radiation
● Removal of parts
and materials
● Banned substances
Report on the
chemical
content of
products
Database of the
environmental
Information on
impact of
the environmental
products
safeness of products
Model-specific
environmental
impact information
on manufacturing
Environmental Safety at Business Sites
Database of the
management of
handled
substances
Business sites
handling chemical
substances
● Report on purchase, use,
and waste amount
● Data on air and water
discharge
● Energy used
RECSIS
There are many substances that, while useful for a product’s manufacturing process,
have undesirable effects on the environment. The use of these substances needs to
be controlled so that they can be properly
disposed of, collected, or phased out.
RECSIS contains data on 164 ISO-based
items, such as those for the more than 2,000
types of chemical substances listed, environmental hazards, toxicity, and emergency
procedures. RECSIS also covers laws and
regulations, including amendments, concerning the use of these chemicals in other
countries. In addition, we have begun collecting data on the chemical contents of
parts and materials purchased by the Ricoh
Group and managing data on the amount of
chemicals used and discharged. We are also
monitoring the chemical waste at the manufacturing sites of our suppliers. Through
these efforts, we are now able to improve
our products and business sites enough to
achieve our pollution prevention targets.
Information on the
environmental impact
of products
Government authorities
Green procurement network
Large companies
Consumers
● Evaluation of
environmental safeness
● Preparation of product
material safety
information sheets
● Evaluation of compliancy
with laws and regulations
Development section:
Supplies
Materials
and parts
manufacturers
Material safety
information sheets
Sales bases
Database of
model-specific
environmental
impact information
on manufacturing
Corporate
Environment Division
Production sites
Corporate evaluation questionnaires for PRTR reports
● Man-hours applied
● Number of production units
● Shipping unit price, etc.
Government authorities
Environmental
management evaluation
organizations
● Total PRTR
● Total data on the
environmental impact of
manufacturing processes
Soil Contamination Surveys and
Improvements
All domestic production and research and
development sites of the Ricoh Group conducted surveys of the presence of chloric
organic solvents in soil and underground
water and reported their findings to relevant
local governments. Business sites that
needed improvement conducted more
detailed surveys and cleanup activities. As
a result, there were no problems in the surrounding areas of any site. Hasama Ricoh
completed its cleanup activities in fiscal
2000. Heavy metal pollution surveys are
currently underway and there will be
detailed follow-ups and cleaning, if
necessary.
Response to Chloric Organic Solution Pollution in Soil and Underground Water*
History of the use of relevant substances
Current status
Gotemba Plant
Fukui Plant
Yashiro Plant
Ikeda Plant
No pollution
Atsugi Plant
No pollution
No pollution
Research and Development Center
Applied Electronics Laboratory
Hatano Plant
No pollution
Cleaning completed
Numazu Plant, South Plant
Cleaning completed
Numazu Plant, North Plant
Cleaning completed
Cleaning underway
Omori Office
Ricoh Unitechno
Ricoh Microelectronics
No pollution
Ricoh Optical Industries
Cleaning completed
Hasama Ricoh
Cleaning completed
Tohoku Ricoh
Cleaning underway
Ricoh Elemex, Okazaki Plant
Cleaning underway
Ricoh Elemex, Ena Plant
Cleaning underway
Ricoh Keiki
Cleaning underway
= Used
= Not used
No pollution:
No pollution exceeding environmental standards was detected inside or outside the business site.
Cleaning completed: Pollution exceeding environmental standards was detected, and site was cleaned.
Cleaning underway: Pollution exceeding environmental standards was detected, and site is being cleaned. However the
areas surrounding business sites were not affected.
32