Ricoh Chairperson hands policy proposal on accelerating decarbonization through green transformation to Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry as Co-chair of JCLP

22 Nov 2023

TOKYO, November 22, 2023 – Ricoh announced today that Jake Yamashita, its Chairperson and Co-Chair of the Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP)* has delivered a policy proposal on accelerating decarbonization through green transformation to Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and Minister for Green Transformation of the Government of Japan, on November 20, 2023.

The proposal recommends improving Japan's energy security and trade balance by guaranteeing competitiveness and reducing dependence on fossil fuels, based on the recent circumstances where efforts to avert climate crisis and decarbonization practices centered around renewable energy procurement of companies significantly affect their international competitiveness. The two recommendations of the proposal are: 1. Accelerate Japan's green transformation to reach the 1.5°C target by strengthening measures to expand the penetration of technologies already in practical application, such as building insulations, roof-mounted photovoltaics, and Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV), and 2. Ambitious target setting, roadmap development, and utilization of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) for the rapid implementation of floating offshore wind power, and expand the scale of each implementation project.

The JCLP is a coalition of 247 Japanese companies who hold the firm belief that economic prosperity and sustainability go hand in hand, as of November 2023. 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.

Ricoh will continue to promote the realization of a sustainable society through active participation in global sustainability-related initiatives in addition to those in Japan, such as JCLP, and advocacy activities.

Ricoh Chairperson hands policy proposal on accelerating decarbonization

Left to right: Akira Hayakawa, Managing Director, Investor Relations and Sustainability Department, ORIX Corporation; Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and Minister for Green Transformation; Jake Yamashita, Chairperson, Ricoh; Kazuya Eto, Executive Officer CFAO, Asuene Inc.

* JCLP is a coalition of businesses in Japan launched in 2009 to encourage the business sector to develop a sound sense of urgency on climate action. It aims to become leading companies necessary on the pathway towards a decarbonized society. As a cross-sectoral business group, it has a membership of 247 including major companies in Japan (as of November 2023), its total sales are estimated to be ¥168 trillion, and electricity demand together amounts to approx. 79 TWh (including overseas businesses). Since April 2017, JCLP has been the Climate Group's Regional Delivery Partner on RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives in Japan. The group is actively working on collaboration with various actors from local governments to international organizations as seen in the signing of a comprehensive partnership agreement with Yokohama City and co-hosting of RE Action, Japan's unique initiative to support small and medium enterprises and other organizations to declare 100% renewable electricity.