Ricoh USA Inc. has announced it has received the 2022 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy. This recognition, which reaffirms a commitment made more than 45 years ago to conduct business in a manner that supports Earth's self-renewal capabilities, marks the seventh consecutive year Ricoh has been named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year and the fifth year with the Sustained Excellence distinction.  

"A top priority for Ricoh has always been to focus on people, prosperity and the planet, which includes bringing constant innovations to market while driving sustainability to benefit humanity," said Donna Venable, executive vice president of human resources and deputy general manager of shared services, Ricoh North America. "In the past year, we spearheaded new initiatives to reinforce our dedication to reducing our environmental footprint and made significant strides in aligning our sustainability activities with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is in sync with our keen focus on our work with the EPA supporting the ENERGY STAR program, an initiative we are fully behind. We are truly honored by this recognition."  

Ricoh, a longstanding ENERGY STAR partner for imaging equipment, pursued several notable efforts this year to further energy efficiency in its products and expand its overall sustainability initiatives, some of which include:

Continuing to work towards a circular economy: A central component to a circular economy is realizing a recycling-oriented society. With this in mind, in 2021 Ricoh proposed a "non-new" category to the EPA for the ENERGY STAR Imaging Equipment Program. As part of this first-of-its-kind achievement, Ricoh announced that nine multifunction printer (MFP) models in its third-generation GreenLine Series were the first remanufactured imaging equipment to achieve ENERGY STAR certification by the EPA.

Contributing to the achievement of a zero-carbon society: Ricoh continues to work on a variety of technological innovations that combine high energy-saving performance with ease-of-use, for industrial media with low CO2 life cycle emissions compared to conventional paper, and for solutions for equipment operation involving renewable energies. These energy-saving technologies are crucial when it comes to working toward the achievement of a zero-carbon society. One example is Ricoh's ENERGY STAR certified Smart Operation Panel devices, which have built-in energy management features, including green reports that help customers visualize their CO2 impact. In 2021, Ricoh updated, designed and marketed its ENERGY STAR-certified imaging equipment to encourage practical energy performance, while maintaining ease of use.

Outreach to customers and beyond: Ricoh has promoted the ENERGY STAR message and mission for several years, and 2021 was no exception. The company continued to elevate ENERGY STAR messaging across its customers and partners — nearly tripling its previous public relations and social media reach over the past two years. Ricoh also participated in ENERGY STAR-related activities, such as the celebration of ENERGY STAR Day when Ricoh announced its three-year lease agreement with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to provide its GreenLine Series, as well as its community engagement efforts with a disabled veterans organization in Arizona, where Ricoh provided ENERGY STAR-certified print equipment, including maintenance service and supplies.

Improved innovation: Ricoh continues to promote a more sustainable society with environmental technology innovations for practical energy savings that do not sacrifice business productivity. In June 2021, Ricoh launched the RICOH IM 2500-6000 Series, which is more energy efficient than its predecessor models (RICOH MP 2555-6055) anywhere from 4% to 10% when comparing typical electricity consumption (TEC) values. The increased percentage of Ricoh's Eco-Mode enablement rate (82.5%) has also been a strong indicator of its commitment to communicating the maximum benefits of the energy-saving technologies embedded in Ricoh's imaging equipment. Ricoh's sustainability efforts also extend across product manufacturing, supplies, service and education.

"We know it's going to take all of us working together to tackle the climate crisis, and the 2022 ENERGY STAR award-winning partners are demonstrating what it takes to build a more sustainable future," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "These companies are showing once again that taking action in support of a clean energy economy can be good not only for the environment, but also for business and customers."

Each year, the ENERGY STAR program honors a group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements. ENERGY STAR award winners lead their industries in the production, sale, and adoption of energy-efficient products, homes, buildings, services and strategies. These efforts are essential to fighting the climate crisis and protecting public health.