Document-Imaging Companies Make Top 100 Most Sustainable Companies List

Four document-imaging companies – HP Inc., Konica Minolta, Ricoh, and Xerox – were recently listed among the “2023 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World” (2023 Global 100).

The Global 100 is announced annually by the Canada-based Corporate Knights at the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), known as the Davos Meeting, which was held last week. 

The 2023 Global 100 corporations that excel in sustainability were selected based on a rigorous assessment of more than 6,000 public companies with more than $1 billion in revenue around the globe based on an evaluation of environmental, social, and governance indicators as well as the ability to promote diversity and innovation, and the percentage of sales of eco-friendly products. 

Konica Minolta

Commenting on its inclusion on this list, Konica Minolta said its inclusion will mark the sixth time and the fifth year in a row, following its listing for 2011 and 2019-2022.

Since its integration in 2003, Konica Minolta says it’s placed sustainability at the core of its management, and that it’s continued to deliver products and solutions to address social and environmental issues focusing on the SDGs, by offering energy-efficient products to reduce CO2 emissions at customers’ sites, as well as by helping customers transform their production processes and promote workstyle reform.

When developing a new product, Konica Minolta said it identifies the impact the product would have on the environment at each stage of its lifecycle, from manufacture and transportation to use and disposal, and assesses the items the company has set for this purpose. In doing so, Konica Minolta endeavors to reduce environmental burdens across the lifecycles of its products. This product assessment system allows the company to release only those products that have met the standards of environmental labeling schemes of various countries, including the International ENERGY STAR Program, Blue Angel Mark of Germany, and Eco Mark of Japan, while complying with the latest environmental laws, properly managing chemical substances, and improving the environmental performance of its products without fail.

In addition to meeting the standards of environmental labeling schemes mentioned above, Konica Minolta noted that it certifies products that comply with the criteria for resolving environmental and social issues under its own Sustainable Solutions Certification System in an effort to further reduce environmental impact. This system is designed to promote the creation of products and solutions that help to resolve social issues from the perspective of the SDGs.

For its fiscal-year In 2021, the sale of Konica Minota products certified under the Sustainable Solutions Certification System accounted for 77 percent of the total sales of the entire Konica Minolta Group.

Ricoh

Ricoh also commented upon its inclusion in the list, noting that it marks its 11th selection, as Ricoh was selected for 10 consecutive years from 2005 to 2014.

Ricoh President and CEO Jake Yamashita commented: “In 2020, we positioned ESG initiatives as future financial targets, one of the dual company-wide management targets along with regular financial goals. This ranking is a testament to Ricoh’s continuous and accelerated commitment to sustainability, such as incorporating ESG indicators into our executive compensation and actively lobbying for climate change action by joining the conversation on renewable energy with the Japanese government.”

Ricoh’s approach to sustainability is to pursue a sustainable society through a Three Ps Balance—Prosperity (economic), People (society), and Planet (environment). To realize this, Ricoh has identified seven material issues in two areas, “Resolving social issues through business” and “Robust management infrastructure,” and has set 17 ESG targets in linkage with the material to work toward solving these issues.