Photo of Ricoh employees planting a plant in a garden.

Biodiversity and Environmental CSR

Respecting and cherishing all living species on our planet

Biodiversity — plants, animals and micro-organisms — all rely on each other, as well as the air, water and soil ecosystems. Both businesses and humans are negatively affected by biodiversity loss, and the risks of jeopardizing the health of our critical ecosystems are great.

At Ricoh, we support a sustainable society. This includes not only reducing our environmental impact, but working to conserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystems. We believe these activities will not only heal the present environment, but set the stage for future repair and recovery.

Conserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystems

The following activities highlight Ricoh's commitment to supporting a sustainable society.

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Aquatic debris is one of the biggest threats currently facing our oceans and waterways: it impacts ecosystems, animals, and people from coast to coast. Now in its 22nd year, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup enlists more than 54,000 volunteers annually for one of the largest direct-action conservation programs in the country, picking up litter from shorelines before it can get into those waterways.

In January 2015 Ricoh Canada signed on as a National Sponsor of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. Ricoh Canada employees have diverted over 6,600 pounds of garbage from lakes, ponds, and parks across Canada.

Tree Planting to offset carbon footprint

In 2009 our Calgary and Mississauga offices began partnering with customers in local Tree Planting Events. The initiative started in Calgary when a large customer approached us requesting our assistance in helping to offset their carbon footprint – Ricoh responded by planting a tree with every machine they purchased. The following year our corporate headquarters in Mississauga joined the initiative and we partnered with our customer once again to plant trees in that region. To date, we have planted over 2,500 trees!

Peace Ranch

Since 2010 employees from Ricoh Canada’s Headquarters volunteer to participate in the United Way Day of Caring held at Peace Ranch in Caledon, Ontario.

Peace Ranch’s mission is to help house and support adults suffering from serious mental illness and addictions, by providing a peaceful environment for individuals to work through their illnesses. The psychosocial rehabilitation and therapeutic programs are fundamental to the experience provided by Peace Ranch within a twenty-five-acre farm.

Our support for Peace Ranch over the years has grown with many employees returning year after year to contribute their time and efforts in making Peace Ranch an even better place for its residents. Ricoh Canada volunteers work in groups in a variety of activities that included weeding the garden, organizing seeds, fertilizer, and salt, clearing the land of wood, and planting new seeds in the greenhouse.

Illustration describing biodiversity and environmental impact on the planet.

Think and act globally and locally

To coincide with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Environment Day, we initiated Ricoh Global Eco Action Day in 2005. On June 5 every year, all members of the Ricoh Group worldwide are encouraged to think about and take environmental actions, wear green to show their commitment, and share eco-mindfulness with a larger audience. Additionally, we turn off our billboards and signage — except for our solar- and wind-powered ones — for the day.

Some of the local actions taken by Ricoh employees include:

Cleaning up parks and shorelines.
Planting trees and native plants.
Hosting learning programs on environmental sustainability.

To further underscore the importance of sustainability, we work with partners from government and non-government organizations, as well as our stakeholders, to achieve shared goals.

We hope we inspire you to do more, too.

National Green Team Program

Ricoh Canada announced its first National Green Team program in April 2015 (Earth Day). The ‘Ricoh Eco League’ consists of 26 green teams operating out of Ricoh branches from across Canada - from the shores of Newfoundland to interior British Columbia. The 112 volunteers who make up our green teams act as Eco-champions in our offices, helping reduce office waste and managing energy consumption.

Ricoh Canada Supports Earth Week

Each year during Earth Week we help to raise environmental awareness with various green initiatives throughout our Canadian offices.

Common activities include e-waste drives, battery recycling initiatives, ‘Greening Your World’ seminars, Healthy Commute initiatives, Litterless Lunches, and 20-minute outdoor clean-up sessions.

National Sweater Day for Climate Change

National Sweater Day is a fun way to learn about the importance of saving energy and to inspire you to use less heat all winter. In February Ricoh Canada celebrates National Sweater Day with a twist – we call it ‘Bad Sweater Day’ and encourage staff to put on their best "bad" sweaters and turn down the heat in recognition of climate change.