Ricoh recognised for green printers Nov 30, 2011 14:00 by Chris Rails

Printer and toner cartridges manufacturer Ricoh has won one of the top prizes at the International Green Awards 2011.

The Ricoh Sustainability Optimisation Programme scooped the silver award in the Best Green Service Innovation category, recognising a service that the company says minimises resource use and is “truly sustainable”.

Accredited by the British Standards Institution (BSI), the programme is available as a part of Ricoh’s Managed Document Services and builds upon its Pay Per Page Green consultancy. In two years, Ricoh says it has helped more than 4,300 customers reduce their carbon emissions by an average of up to 35 per cent. At the same time, businesses have been able to reduce the total cost of ownership of Ricoh devices by 28 per cent.

It is the third award Ricoh has picked up this year for the programme. It won the top prize in the EFQM Sustainability Good Practice Competition and was recognised by NIMA, the Dutch Institute of Marketing in the Sustainable Business category.

Olivier Vriesendorp, marketing director for Ricoh Europe, said: “As the COP17 summit in Durban, South Africa approaches and government leaders consider the best approach to global action, Ricoh is committed to go beyond simply meeting regulatory requirements.

“We are committed to making a difference through our technology innovation, process improvement and services such as the Sustainability Optimisation Programme. In addition to meeting all ecological obligations we are also reducing environmental impacts and increasing profitability at our customer sites.”

The Sustainability Optimisation Programme was recently implemented for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.

In addition to this programme, Ricoh has launched a series of eco-friendly printers using its GELJET technology. First released in 2007, these printers boast a maximum energy consumption of less than 35 watts per hour. The devices, such as the Aficio GX 2500, use pigment-based printer ink.

Posted by Huw Carrington