Ricoh launches its first renewable energy self-consignment

TOKYO, December 8, 2023 – Ricoh announced today the launch of Group-first renewable energy self-consignment to its Tohoku Office in Japan with Ricoh Leasing Company, Ltd. from January 2024. This initiative is a part of Ricoh's efforts to achieve its 2030 target of 50% renewable energy in the overall electricity used for the business.

Self-consignment^*1 is a mean of procuring additional renewable energy power, entailing the development of new power sources outside the consumer's premises. Through self-consignment, Ricoh Group will transmit renewable electricity from Ricoh Leasing-owned photovoltaic power generation plant in Aomori Prefecture to Tohoku Office of Ricoh Industry Company, Ltd. in Miyagi Prefecture. Supply and demand management operations* of this self-consignment will be conducted by Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation^*2 on behalf of Ricoh Industry.

Photovoltaic power generation plant for self-consignment

As a MFPs and printers production site, the Tohoku Office has been promoting renewable energy use by introducing renewable electricity to power its A3 MFP production line and starting to operate the Group's first carport-type onsite Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). With this launch, the site's renewable energy usage rate is expected to reach 10.7%, which is equivalent to 0.4% of the Group's total renewable energy usage rate, and reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 823 tons/year.

Since becoming the first Japanese company to participate in RE100 in April 2017, Ricoh has been expanding renewable energy use with additionality, including onsite physical PPAs that make effective use of its site space and offsite virtual PPAs, in order to improve its renewable energy usage rate and ensure quality. Ricoh will continue to strengthen its response to additionality, which leads to greater penetration of new renewable energy sources, and further accelerate renewable energy implementation through a variety of means.

Ricoh aims to virtually eliminate GHG emissions across our value chain by 2050. By 2030, it seeks to cut Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 63% from fiscal 2015 levels. These ambitious goals satisfy the criteria of Science Based Targets, a global initiative for limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Ricoh also looks to lower Scope 3 supply chain GHG emissions by 40% by 2030 from fiscal 2015 levels and obtain 50% of its electricity from renewable sources (additional renewable energy accounting for at least 35%). Each goals have annual targets which the progresses are disclosed every year.

Overview of Ricoh Group self-consignment

^*1: Self-consignment is a power transmission service provided by general transmission and distribution utilities that those maintain and operate a photovoltaic power generation facility to transmit generated electricity through the transmission and distribution network owned by the general transmission and distribution utilities to another location, such as a factory of the company or its group. The service is institutionalized under the Electricity Business Act in Japan.
^*2: Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions will be responsible for “balancing responsibilities” to match generation plans with actual generation and demand plans with actual demand, and will submit generation sales plans and demand procurement plans to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators, Japan (OCCTO).

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Ricoh launches its first renewable energy self-consignment