Ricoh USA Inc. has announced it has received the 2023 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy. Supporting the company's commitment to the environment made more than 45 years ago and its mission to realize a sustainable future, Ricoh was recognized for new initiatives that reinforce the company's dedication to reducing its environmental footprint through actions demonstrating leadership in energy efficiency and the ENERGY STAR program — including a new version of its carbon calculator.

Three notable efforts pursued by Ricoh to further energy efficiency in its products from an ENERGY STAR perspective include:

1. Updating, designing and marketing new energy-efficient "ENERGY STAR-certified" imaging equipment: By incorporating the "ENERGY STAR-certified" designation, Ricoh promoted its ENERGY STAR-rated products, which meet or exceed the ENERGY STAR standards for imaging equipment. This includes aggressively low typical electricity consumption (TEC) values, energy-saving features such as Sleep Mode and Quick Startup, and resource-saving options like Automatic Duplexing.
2. Continuing to work toward a circular economy: A central component to achieving a circular economy is contributing to a "recycling-oriented society." As such, Ricoh's GreenLine Series consists of remanufactured multifunction printers (MFPs), reflecting its commitment to produce more efficient, eco-friendly product life cycles that minimize environmental impact. A selection of Ricoh's third-generation GreenLine Series MFPs include the first remanufactured imaging equipment to achieve ENERGY STAR certification under the revised specification (V3.1).
3. Updated carbon calculator: The new version of Ricoh's carbon calculator shows the impact of having devices set to the most energy efficient settings — Eco Mode — in terms of reduced kilowatt-hour and associated costs, and visualizes proposed carbon output results via easy-to-understand PDFs — illustrating how devices and software can help organizations meet sustainability objectives and conserve energy.

"Ricoh has kept its focus on people, prosperity and the planet, which includes driving sustainability for a better future, and we're honored to receive ENERGY STAR recognition for the eighth year in a row," said Donna Venable, executive vice president of human resources and deputy general manager of shared services, Ricoh North America. "We will continue to advance and develop environmental technology for practical energy saving and pursue new green initiatives, while helping customers measure and lower their carbon footprints."

Beyond innovative product developments, Ricoh has continued support of its Eco-Excellence platform, which promotes the company's environmental and sustainability commitments and actions to sales channel partners, third-party analysts, vendors, membership organizations and employees through the sharing of sustainability-focused marketing materials including ENERGY STAR content. To provide greater access to more than 100 materials, Ricoh transitioned to a new, content-rich platform. Additionally, the company created a new community discussion group centered on its GreenLine Series and launched a new section in its employee intranet, titled "Environment & Sustainability Toolkit," which highlights ENERGY STAR in a major way.

"As we accelerate historic efforts to address climate change, public-private partnerships will be essential to realizing the scale of our ambition," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "I applaud this year's ENERGY STAR award winners for working with EPA to deliver a clean energy future that saves American consumers and businesses money and creates jobs."

Each year, the ENERGY STAR program honors a group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements. ENERGY STAR award winners lead their industries in the production, sale and adoption of energy-efficient products, homes, buildings, services and strategies. These efforts are essential to fighting the climate crisis and protecting public health.