Ricoh´s programs for contributing to betterment of the environment and society

Any business enterprise is not only a constituent of industry, but also an important member of society. This means that each individual business enterprise is supposed to contribute to the reduction of load on the environment as it engages in both business activities and social activities. On the basis of this concept, the Ricoh Group has been active in establishing cooperative relationships with environmental NGOs and staging campaigns, involving all its employees, to contribute to betterment of the environment and society. Two of Ricoh\´s characteristic programs are outlined below. (1) Environmental Volunteer Leader Training Program Started in June 1999, this is an employee training program which consists of "Ricoh Nature Class" and "General Meeting of. Environmental Volunteer Leaders" (follow-up training). More than 100 employees have already been through the training and registered as leaders. These leaders have been playing the key role in various voluntary, activities (six during fiscal 1999, 21 during fiscal 2000, 22 during fiscal 2001). As more and more families and friends,of employees are also participating in the activities, the group of volunteers is steadily expanding. With the aim of enhancing the qualities of volunteer leaders, Ricoh added an advanced course to Ricoh \´Nature Class at the beginning of this fiscal year. This new course has already produced 15 advanced volunteer leaders. They focus on giving environmental education to children with community forests as the field of educational activities. (2) Forest, Conservation and Society Betterment Program There. are many endangered species of living things around the world. This program is a joint project of Ricoh and environmental NGOs to conserve and restore the forests in which they live in order to delay the extinction of those species as far as possible. At present, the project focuses on conserving the tropical forests in Asia and restoring the disrupted community forests in Japan. We also place no small emphasis on providing the community, people with environmental education. The General Meeting of Environmental Volunteer Leaders mentioned above and the Ricoh Environment Month\´s Commemorative Lecture Meeting started from this fiscal year afford the Ricoh Group\´s employees opportunities to recognize the present conditions of the forests around the world. In addition, officers and employees of the Ricoh Group often make a study tour and participate in voluntary activities overseas. Furthermore, through Ricoh\´s publicity activities, we strive to make people inside and outside the company, recognize the importance of conserving the forests as ecosystems. All these are characteristic of this program