Ricoh sign joint statement to align COVID-19 recovery with climate goals - Ricoh

TOKYO, June 10, 2020 – Ricoh Company, Ltd., announces that it has signed the joint statement entitled “Uniting Business and Governments to Recover Better”, made by companies that support the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” campaign headed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)*1 and the United Nations Global Compact. The statement is urging Governments around the world to align their COVID-19 economic aid and recovery efforts with the latest climate science. As of June 5, 171 top executives, mainly from global companies, have endorsed this campaign.

In March 2020, Ricoh set new emissions goals for 2030 as science tells us that action over the next 10 years will be particularly important. Its new target aims to reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions by 63% from the 2015 level. This has met the SBTi criteria for setting emissions reduction goals which will help limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Although life and the economy are greatly affected by COVID-19, it supports the aim that the recovery of the economy should be in line with the 1.5°C target, in order not to loosen the trajectory for climate change, and it also encourages governments not to ignore their climate change policies.

In accelerating its transformation post-COVID-19, Ricoh will continue to contribute to the achievement of a zero carbon society. It will do this by accelerating energy-saving initiatives and renewables usage, as well as providing digital services for customers to support new ways of working, such as remote working and distance learning.

^*1 The SBTi is a joint initiative of CDP, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund that aims to enable leading companies to set ambitious and meaningful corporate greenhouse gas reduction targets.