Most organisations have a mission statement, an ethos or a philosophy which acts as a framework within which they conduct their business, but how many actually take those values and extend them beyond their own operations to positively influence the communities that they trade or operate in?
Konica Minolta is one such business that “takes its responsibility as a corporate citizen seriously”.
The global developer of print equipment operates within an eco-friendly philosophy titled “The Creation of New Value,” which relates not only to developing innovative new products, but in making those products valuable to users and to the environment.
As part of this, it has set strategic and challenging long-term goals to reduce the environmental impact of its products and the people who use them. The Eco-Vision 2050 project is ambitious. Among other things it aims to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 80% and make its machinery and consumables 90% recyclable.
2015 marks a review point in its long term plans and the company seems to be on target to realise its admirable goals.
Since the launch of Eco-Vision 2050 in 2010, the company have had at least 75 products certified under the Green Products Certification System including the Bizhub MFP range which is an eco-friendly and award winning printer that is a popular choice for all business users.
The variety of printers in the Bizhub range makes them suitable for small or large scale operations and although functions between models vary, their eco-friendly features include:
- Energy Star ratings
- Standardised duplex printing to reduce paper consumption by up to 50%
- Eco-Timers which analyse equipment usage and automatically modify sleep timers to reduce power wastage without compromising on performance
- Simitri® Polymerized Toner which reduces CO₂ emissions by around 40% during print production
- Induction Heating (IH) technology which cuts power consumption during production and equipment warm-up processes
- Optimal Power Controls which direct energy to the specific components that need it for each task
- Built-in Toner Recycling which reduces toner wastage by 20%
- Recyclable plastics which replace previous materials that were inefficient to recycle at the end of equipment life and which now generate 100 tons of recyclable plastics annually for use in new machinery
However, not content with managing its own environmental responsibilities, Konica have launched a campaign in Asia to encourage and inspire everyone to make small differences to their daily routines which, collectively, can trigger large reductions in the human impact on the environment.
The “Tomorrow in Mind” project offers simple suggestions that can be adopted in the home, at school, in work or on the commute between places.
Practical environmental tips include switching to energy saving light bulbs, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, duplex printing, car sharing and hard drive recycling among many other things.
To encourage participation, members of the public are being invited to make their own environmental pledges to share eco-friendly practices and demonstrate their commitment to living and working sustainably.
Konica’s commitment to its environmental philosophies are clearly evident in its in-house and social practices; could your business say the same?
To find out more about eco-friendly print solutions for your business or how you can work more sustainably, contact photocopiersupplier.co.uk, the UK’s supply partner of Konica Minolta equipment.
