The Ricoh Group's policy is to “Align ESG with business growth.” We position ESG initiatives as future financial targets because we look for them to bear financial fruit three to five years hence. ESG and business growth are not pursued separately. We believe that ESG and business growth are the two wheels that work in tandem.
We are advancing the “Align ESG and business growth" by resolving social issues through our business activities, such as helping customers improve productivity and enhance creativity through the delivery of digital services, and providing environmentally friendly products and services.
The Ricoh Group has identified seven material issues to realize a sustainable society. The four key issues of “Creativity from work," “Community and social development," “Zero-carbon Society," and “Circular economy" are “Resolving Social Issues through Business," and together with the three important social issues of “Robust management infrastructure" to support them.
Key social issues are linked to the issues at workplaces, such as offices, frontllnes, and society. By accumulating solutions to these issues one by one, we can simultaneously solve social issues and achieve business growth. Ricoh Group will continue to accelerate business growth by resolving social issues and contribute to the creation of a sustainable society through business.
To provide digital services that transform how customers work and help them with productivity improvement and value creation
To contribute to the maintenance, development, and efficiency of community and social systems. We leverage our technical expertise and customer connections to expand areas where we provide value
To decarbonize the entire value chain and create business opportunities by contributing to carbon neutrality
To create business opportunities by building a circular economy business model for ourselves and our customers
Increasing productivity is a pressing issue in Japan, where the labor force continues to shrink. DX must be accelerated by promoting the use of ICT.
On the other hand, the shortage of digital human resources to promote DX has become a problem, and that is one of the reasons why ICT utilization is still insufficient, especially for SMBs.
Provision of packages of solutions for each type of business to SMBs. Ricoh supports the DX for small and medium-sized enterprises by taking advantages of Ricoh's strengths.
Promoting a shift in sales structure from selling goods to the selling of service.
We will respond in a timely and accurate manner to contribute to greater operational efficiency and creativity and continue to change as a partner to our customers
In this way, we will accelerate the creation of new recurring revenues in the growth area of digital services and achieve medium-to long-term profit growth.
In industries involving on-site work, such as construction, addressing long working hours and labor shortages is a pressing issue. However, on-site tasks such as site surveys and construction management are extensive, making it challenging to achieve significant productivity improvements. The transformation of on-site workflows and productivity enhancement through DX (Digital Transformation) is an urgent necessity.
By utilizing 360-degree images, we digitize on-site conditions. Through collaboration with partner companies offering industry-specific solutions, we cover the entire workflow, contributing to information sharing, productivity improvement, and better working conditions.
Although some industries are already adopting the Ricoh solution—such as construction, real estate, and used car sales industries—we aim to create new markets by targeting other industries facing challenges in on-site verification, including healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing. Strengthening collaboration with our global sales network will further drive expansion.
Japan's healthcare industry is undergoing rapid structural changes accompanied by advanced technological innovations, and there is a need to improve operational efficiency by introducing highly innovative devices and systems with digital and AI technology, and to respond to the accompanying reform of working styles.
In this context, ensuring the quality of medical equipment installation and connections to networks, as well as on-site responses such as periodic inspections after starting operations and repairs in the event of a failure, is becoming increasingly important from the viewpoint of the quality and efficiency of medical care as well as the safety of patients and medical professionals.
Customer Engineer’s re-skilling activities. We are contributing to the maintenance of infrastructure for safe and secure medical care by expanding the scope of our maintenance activities from conventional offices to medical devices.
Doubling the number of medical device service personnel by the end of FY2025. We will continue to enhance our business by acquiring new customers by expanding our medical device partners and by cultivating relations with customers by medical device maintenance.
We will further promote customer engineers re-skilling and expand the scope of maintenance to non-medical devices (ex, solar panels, and smart locker). We will expand the scope of value delivery from offices to workplaces and society.
In regional cities, depopulation, labor shortages, and industrial hollowing-out are advancing. Employees in small municipalities, working with limited budgets and personnel, are burdened with various daily tasks, leaving them little time for new initiatives. Therefore, the introduction and promotion of digital transformation (DX) remain key challenges.
We support municipality DX by providing various solutions, including document management, resident service improvements, and internal network enhancements.
With government support through the "Digital Rural City National Concept" (a subsidy budget of approximately 100 billion yen*), the municipal DX market is expected to grow. Leveraging Ricoh Group's strengths, we aim to expand our business further. Additionally, we collaborate with local governments to hold events that encourage regional businesses to promote digital transformation (DX) by utilizing IT implementation subsidies. (As an IT introduction support provider, we hold a top-class record in subsidy applications and approvals.)
*Based on the FY2024 budget, sourced from the Cabinet Secretariat and Cabinet Office Integrated Local Revitalization Website.
In education, digital literacy and inquiry-based & STEAM education, which promote active and collaborative problem-solving, have become increasingly important. While the GIGA School Initiative has ensured one device per student, further development of student IT utilization skills, enhancement of teacher instructional abilities, and improvements to ICT environments remain challenges.
We provide total solutions, not only supporting ICT infrastructure development but also enhancing the use of devices. Additionally, we contribute to improving education quality by supporting inquiry-based STEAM education curricula that foster inquiry and creativity.
*CAI: Computer Assisted Instruction
Japan's education DX/ICT market is expected to grow to approximately 364.4 billion yen by 2030 (a 149.7% increase from FY2021)*. Ricoh Group will expand its business by leveraging its strengths to meet the replacement demand for devices in 260 municipalities supported under the GIGA School initiative.
*Based on research by Fuji Chimera Research Institute
Climate change issues such as extreme weather events such as heavy rain and heat waves, which are referred to as global warming, have become a matter of urgency throughout the world, and global warming is steadily advancing. In order to maintain a sustainable global environment, it is important to further strengthen efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to promote the effective system and technologies of utilizing limited resources throughout the entire life cycle of the company.
Utilizing our long-standing expertise in product manufacturing to reduce the environmental impact of the entire product life cycle (from procurement of raw materials to disposal and recycling), we use plastic recovered materials in collaboration with material manufacturers in parallel with product development.
We are strengthening our product lineup by making products in anticipation of trends in laws and regulations related to circular economy and human rights DD, as well as trends in demands for environmental performance.
In addition, we are helping our customers achieve better ways of working as edge devices that seamlessly connect analog and digital and support DX in our customers' operations.
*Calculations based on the EU ETS price from the World Bank's "State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024" report.
The depletion of resources due to global population growth and the issue of marine plastic waste have focused attention on the “Circular Economy.” Consequently, companies are now expected to work with stakeholders to promote transformation to a business model that does not depend on resource consumption.
Since 1996, we have been collecting used in-house multifunction printers and toner cartridges and reselling them as reused or recycled products. Items that cannot be regenerated as products are utilized as remanufactured parts or materials. These activities contribute to business growth.
The shift to a circular economy is expected to generate $4.5 trillion in revenue worldwide by 2030 (*1).
Ricoh promotes "LC Transformation" (*2) by providing regenerated devices that enhance security and usability, ensuring both customer convenience and resource circulation.
(*1) Source: Accenture website
(*2) Ricoh’s strategy to transition from a linear (L) economy—in which raw materials are procured, products are manufactured, used, and then discarded—to a circular (C) economy that recycles resources
In the printing industry, while environmental considerations are increasingly important, challenges such as labor shortages and an aging workforce make operational efficiency a critical issue. Additionally, as customer demands diversify, there is a growing need for personalized and small-lot, multi-variety printing solutions.
By providing automation solutions for printing processes, we simultaneously contribute to workstyle reform and environmental burden reduction. We also offer tools for visualizing CO2 emissions from printed materials. Furthermore, we promote digitalization through on-demand printing devices to enhance efficiency in small-lot, multi-variety printing.
With the industry-wide shift toward unmanned and digitalized printing processes, digital print volume is expected to grow. Additionally, the demand for decarbonization measures in printing is anticipated to increase further.
To achieve a sustainable society, it is increasingly expected that citizens, businesses, governments and other entities will voluntarily and proactively reduce their carbon footprint in all aspects of society.
Along with this shift, consumer awareness is changing, and ethical consumption is gaining momentum. Companies are being asked to develop products and change their business models in response to these changes in consumer attitudes.
We have developed a technology that enables direct printing on transparent film, resulting in label-less packaging. This technology helps reduce the carbon footprint by decreasing the need for labels and ribbons, reduces dead stock by standardizing packaging materials that vary by product, and increases productivity by eliminating the need to prepare and replace labels and ribbons.
Starting from the convenience store industry, the company has expanded to large and medium-sized supermarkets. In addition to food packaging, the company is also expanding into other industries such as pharmaceutical packaging and logistics packaging. In April 2023, we launched a new company, RN Smart Packaging Co. Ltd, and aim to achieve sales of more than 1 billion yen by 2025.
As companies strive for a carbon-neutral and circular economy, reducing environmental impact has become a key focus. Resource reduction in product packaging is particularly important. Additionally, regulations on chemicals with potential risk to humans and the environment are tightening, increasing industry awareness.
By offering the "Silicone Top Linerless Label," which eliminates liner paper, we contribute to resource reduction in packaging processes. We have also proactively introduced phenol-free products in the Japanese market ahead of regulatory changes.
In Japan, linerless labels account for approximately 40% of food POS label usage, with Ricoh holding a 60% market share (as of FY2024, based on internal research). Global adoption is also increasing, with further growth expected. Additionally, more major retailers are adopting policies against phenol-based materials.
