Commercial, Finance, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  April 25, 2017

Solar project to save Ricoh $1.9M over 10 years

Ricoh USA Inc., the North and South American arm of Tokyo-based Ricoh Co. Ltd., recently announced a series of energy-related sustainability milestones, including the installation of a 608 kW grid solar array that will help power its Caldwell, N.J., offices. 

The project is expected to generate more than 790,000 kWh per year, providing more than half of the office facility's electricity needs, the imaging and electronics company said in an April 24 news release. Ricoh partnered with EnterSolar on the solar array installation, which is expected to result in energy savings of more than $1.9 million over the next ten years. 

The office facility, Ricoh said, already had a strong history of sustainability features; on the energy side of that coin, it has received U.S. EPA Energy Star designation for three years in a row. 

"Since Ricoh established its Environmental Promotion Group more than 40 years ago, we have worked hard to foster sustainability from the top down and the bottom up," Donna Venable, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Deputy General Manager, Shared Services, Ricoh Americas, said in a statement. "It's what drove us to undertake this solar array project, it's what drives our emissions reductions as a global company, and it's what drives our individual employees to do their part in fostering sustainability through corporate and external programs."

Ricoh said it recently marked several other environmental sustainability milestones, including being named Energy Star Partner of the Year for the second year in a row; committing to using at least 30% renewable energy by 2030, and 100% by 2050, as announced by its parent company April 21; and becoming the first Japanese company to join the RE100. Since 2014, the company says it has reduced its energy consumption by 6.3% and its CO2 emissions by 7%.

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