Ricoh has once again been recognized in the "Clarivate Top 100 Global Innovators 2024" list as announced today by Clarivate Plc. This recognition is given to organizations that demonstrate consistent, above-the-bar innovation excellence and sit at the very top of the global innovation ecosystem. This marks the fifth selection of Ricoh, in addition to 2012, 2014, 2022 and 2023.

To select the Top 100 Global Innovators, Clarivate performs a thorough comparative analysis of global invention data to assess the strength of every patented idea, using measures tied directly to their innovative power. To move from individual idea strength to identify the organizations that create them more consistently and frequently, Clarivate sets two threshold criteria that potential candidates must meet and then adds a measure of their patented innovation output over the past five years.

Intellectual property is a fruit of technological development and regarded as one of Ricoh's most vital management assets. As Ricoh transforms into a digital services company, it is engaged in utilizing intellectual property to its business and technology strategies. Ricoh also collaborates with multiple stakeholders to innovate and acquire intellectual property and promotes its utilization.

In the 21st Mid-Term Management Strategy, which has begun from fiscal 2023, Ricoh will further develop data-driven intellectual property process and foster people capable of implementing it, while strengthening patent acquisition in the digital domain. ESG target by fiscal 2025 is for digital services-related patent applications to account for more than 60% of the total number filed. That goal is the same percentage as the targeted contribution of digital services to Ricoh's sales by that year.

Ricoh will continue to demonstrate innovation excellence through creating intellectual property based on its business and technology strategies, and acquiring and utilizing intellectual property that contributes to the protection and growth of our business.

In other news, Ricoh is celebrating International Women's Day (IWD) through a series of global and regional events reinforcing its commitment to creating a more equitable world through this year's IWD theme of "Inspire Inclusion."

International Women's Day is a global day, marked annually on March 8, celebrating all women's social, economic, cultural and political achievements, and raising awareness for accelerating gender parity. To highlight the importance that Ricoh places on diversity, equity and inclusion, one of the pillars of Ricoh's management strategy and launch global celebrations this year, Ricoh celebrated IWD 2024 through its first groupwide livestreamed event from Tokyo on March 5. Titled "2024 Ricoh Global IWD Symposium — Inspiring Inclusion Across Ricoh," this global event featured external guest speaker Hanna Helin, global head of technology innovation at the London Stock Exchange Group sharing her journey as a woman leader, talks from Ricoh business and HR leaders, a panel discussion with Jody Ono, specially appointed professor at School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University Business School in Tokyo, and interaction with 100 in-person audiences plus 500 remote participants joining virtually from 25 countries.

As a company with a diverse workforce and customers worldwide, Ricoh supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 5, to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls," which lie at the heart of Ricoh's business strategy. Ricoh has committed itself to the goal of 20% of global management roles to be filled by women by fiscal 2025.

"As we look to create more value for colleagues, customers and all stakeholders, we all must embrace inclusion," said Akira Oyama, president and CEO, Ricoh. "Inclusion, particularly of gender as celebrated through IWD, but including all facets of diversity, is paramount to us in executing our business strategy. It will also help us achieve our mission and vision: fulfillment through work by encouraging greater collaboration among more diverse and inclusive teams, leading to enhanced innovation."

Summary of Ricoh Group IWD 2024 Celebrations
2024 Ricoh Global IWD Symposium - Inspiring Inclusion Across Ricoh

• Live, hybrid event held on March 5 and streamed to Ricoh organizations worldwide and a curated external audience
• External guest speaker Hanna Helin, global head of technology innovation at the London Stock Exchange Group, shared her story of success and challenges overcome as a woman business leader. External panelist Jody Ono, specially appointed professor at School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University Business School in Tokyo, shared her perspective how leadership and professional development serves to foster diversity and inclusion both at individual and organizational level. They provided inspiration to allow all employees and leaders across Ricoh to break down barriers.
• Ricoh business and HR leaders shared their perspectives and support for the IWD 2024 theme of Inspire Inclusion.
• An in-person audience of 100 participants in Tokyo were invited with 80/20 female/male ratio, which is the reversal of current gender representation in Ricoh in Japan.

Regional Celebrations

Asia Pacific: IWD video message from regional leadership on March 8 and local celebrations in each country on March 8. 

Europe: IWD live event on March 7 featuring a panel discussion among leaders from across the region. Each country in the European region is also celebrating with its own plans.

Japan: An in-person audience joins the Global IWD event on March 5 and participates in a follow-on networking session.

Latin America: A live event featuring internal and external speakers broadcast from Brazil on March 8.

North America: A live event featuring external guest speakers broadcast on March 6.