Themes and Policies
| Theme |
Resource circulation 
|
|---|---|
| Policy | Amid concerns over the tight supply and demand for resources and energy, efforts to sustainably manage natural resources, make efficient use of resources, and drastically reduce waste are urgent issues.The Ricoh Lease Group will contribute to the realization of a recycling-oriented society by promoting the reuse and recycling of facilities and equipment for which the lease contract has been terminated, and by realizing the reduction through sharing of rental equipment. |
Ricoh Leasing Group's goal of resource circulation
We believe that leasing companies have responsibilities regarding leasing, just as manufacturers have responsibilities regarding manufacturing. Our strength lies in our system for steadily promoting the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), including the Comet Circle, the Ricoh Group's system for reducing environmental impact.
The consistent collection of leased equipment is an important responsibility of leasing companies. To prevent environmental pollution due to illegal dumping of equipment after lease/rental contracts end, as well as leaks of personal information, we strive to ensure collection and proper disposal of such equipment and to promote effective use of resources through reuse and recycling. After a lease expires, customers can select either to re-lease the equipment (reuse), which allows them to continue using it, or return the equipment.
Returned equipment is consigned to an appropriate and fair partner company for proper disposal (recycling).
The Group has set "74% equipment collection rate" and "100% PC reuse/recycling rate" as non-financial targets to achieve resource recycling in its Mid-term Management Plan.
As a result of working with suppliers to enhance equipment collection, the equipment collection rate for FY2023 was 71.8%. Meanwhile, the reuse/recycling rate for PCs was 98.8%. To meet the information security needs of our customers with respect to IT equipment, we have established a system to ensure the safe and secure return of equipment by providing ITAD services that reliably dispose of any confidential data contained within. We will also enhance asset management and assessments, and establish systems that allow for the reuse and recycling of more equipment.
Efforts to Improve Recycling and Collection Rates
For Ricoh products, the implementation of Comet Circle, a system to reduce the environmental impact of products over their life cycles, has allowed us to maintain a high recycling rate on a unit basis regarding equipment for which the lease has expired. The overall recycling rate for FY2023, including non-Ricoh products, was 89.3%. Currently, we are actively promoting collection activities for leased equipment other than Ricoh products, and have established a total of 36 collection sites. These collection sites are being optimized in anticipation of the "2024 problem" in the logistics/transportation industry, which is expected to face a shortage of drivers and a decline in transportation capacity.
Recycling rate of equipment after end of leasing contract (unit basis)
| Recycling rate (%) | Recycling rate breakdown(%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of equipment re-leased, sold or reprocessed※ into parts and materials, excluding equipment not yet collected | Reuse | Reuse of components and recycling | |
| 2021 | 90.8 | 97.4 | 2.6 |
| 2022 | 89.7 | 97.0 | 3.0 |
| 2023 | 89.3 | 97.0 | 3.0 |
- ※"Reprocessed" refers to the reuse of parts and materials from collected equipment that has been recycled through Ricoh’s recycling process.
PC reuse/recycling rate
As the number of shipments of IT equipment such as PCs, servers, and smartphones has increased in recent years, there is public demand for safer and more secure final disposal of IT equipment that contains confidential data, due in part to the trend toward stronger information security. In response to these social needs, we provide value-added services to properly erase important data on IT equipment. By establishing a safe and secure return system, we will contribute to increasing the recovery rate for such equipment. In FY2023, we established a system to promote the 3Rs at a higher level of quality by also standardizing reuse methods for PCs belonging to our Group company, Techno Rent.
Selection of appropriate and fair partners
The Ricoh Leasing Group conducts business with companies involved in logistics, including transportation and storage, sales, and disposal. We carry out regular on-site inspections of these companies to ensure that they understand our approach to sustainability, and that they are conducting appropriate and lawful business activities. Once we have confirmed that they meet our rigorous standards, we conduct business with them through fair competition. We will continue to contribute to the realization of resource circulation by collaborating with our partners through sincere business activities.
Compliance with the Plastic Resource Circulation Act
The Plastic Resource Circulation Act, which went into effect in April 2022, calls for reducing waste of products that use plastics (office supplies and other consumables) in business activities and for recycling of end-of-lease equipment when it is disposed of as industrial refuse. Although the Ricoh Leasing Group does not qualify as a high-volume emitter because the multifunction copiers it handles are recycled under the Ricoh Group's Comet Circle, we will continue to contribute to the recycling of plastic resources by promoting the 3Rs, particularly for our leased equipment.