Ricoh President & CEO hands policy proposal on climate crisis to the Prime Minister of Japan as Co-chair of JCLP

TOKYO, April 11, 2022 – Ricoh today announced that Jake Yamashita, its President and CEO and Co-Chair of the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP)*, has delivered a policy proposal for overcoming the climate crisis through a New Form of Capitalism released by JCLP. 

The proposals asking for the maximum use of renewable energy and carbon pricing use were presented to Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, on Wednesday 6 April 2022. The JCLP strongly hopes in the proposals that the grand design of the new form of capitalism will be rooted in the 1.5°C target.

Handing the proposal to Prime Minister of Japan.

The JCLP is a coalition of Japanese companies who hold the firm belief that economic prosperity and sustainability go hand in hand. Ricoh is a founding member of the JCLP and has continued to stress the importance of climate action through various events organized by the partnership. In addition to Jake Yamashita's keynote speech at the Climate Week NYC in 2018, Ricoh announced its support for the United Nations Global Compact's “Uniting Business and Governments to Recover Better” in 2020. The company is also actively disseminating information and collaborating to achieve this goal.

In April 2017, Ricoh became the first Japanese company to join RE100 – a collaborative group made up of the world's most influential businesses committed to using 100% renewable electricity. In March 2020, Ricoh updated its environmental targets in light of changes in trends regarding global warming by revising its GHG (greenhouse gas) reduction target for its own emissions from 30% to 63% in 2030 as compared to 2015. The revised target, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, aligns with the 1.5°C ambition of the Paris Agreement. In March 2021, Ricoh raised its renewable electricity target to 50% by 2030, up from the previous target of 30%. The company has also set an interim target of 30% by March 2023, accelerating its renewable electricity transition by eight years.

Climate change is one of the most pressing social issues facing our global society. Based on Ricoh's commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050, Ricoh will continue to promote the realization of a zero-carbon society throughout its value chain through intensive energy conservation activities, proactive renewable energy utilization, and active participation in international initiatives.

* Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP) is a coalition of businesses in Japan (206 companies as of April 2022) that aims to create a carbon neutral society, built on the idea that decarbonization is essential to economic development. The group’s total sales are 121 trillion JPY (US$1 trillion) and electricity demand together amounts to approx. 61TWh (including overseas businesses). Since April 2017, JCLP has been the Climate Group’s Regional Delivery Partner on RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives in Japan. JCLP has been expanding its network with various key entities to collectively halt climate change by co-organizing unique campaigns such as RE Action, an initiative to support local governments, small and medium businesses, and civil society to declare conversion to 100% renewable electricity.

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