In September 2014, Ricoh changed the power source for the advertisements on the roof of the San-ai building in the historical Ginza 4-chome crossing to 100% renewable energy. We use wind turbines and solar panels set up on top of the advertisements, and are able to provide illumination without relying on outside electricity.
The advertisements still light up at night or during bad weather because we use a storage battery, but the light can fade if bad weather continues. However, we believe that the true significance lies in not just promoting the company name but spreading the word about consideration of the environment, and that is why we switched to have an advertising tower that uses renewable energy.
We at the Ricoh Group have set ourselves the high goal of reducing our environmental footprint to one-eighth its current size by 2050, and we have launched many strategies over more than 30 years. Our attitude has been recognized - we are the only Japanese company to be recognized as one of the world's 100 most sustainable companies at the Davos Meeting for ten years in a row. By switching the advertising tower, known to be a major landmark in Ginza, to an eco billboard powered by 100% renewable energy, we hope that we can convey the importance of reducing energy consumption to a larger audience.