"When Konica Minolta published its environmental vision in 2009 - EcoVision 2050 - the objectives were clear and in line with the standards of the time. As the climate crisis deepens, those objectives are no longer appropriate. Therefore, we have stricter climate protection targets to fulfill our global corporate social responsibility of significantly reducing our ecological footprint. At the same time, we support our customers, partners, and suppliers in achieving their own environmental goals." explained Olaf Jonas, General Manager of Environmental Social Governance at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe.
True to its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Konica Minolta considers Climate Action the most urgent measure to be applied. The company continuously works to eliminate waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life of the products developed.
The company recorded more than 2.067 million tons of CO2 in 2005, and by 2021, the figure has fallen to 790,000, which represented a 61% reduction. Thus, by 2050, the company aims to reach Zero Net Emissions in Areas 1, 2, and 3:
1. Avoiding energy consumption and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
2. Replacing energy sources that emit GHG with renewable energy
3. Compensation for unavoidable GHG emissions
Specifically, the energy consumption of Konica Minolta printing devices has continuously decreased in recent years. The highest power consumption, over 60%, occurs when the toner is fixed to the paper. With the Simitri® V polymerized toner in the bizhub I series of equipment, the latest generation of MFPs, Konica Minolta has managed to reduce the fusing temperature by around 15oC compared to previous models.
In addition, Konica Minolta aims to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, as burning fuel to generate electricity produces massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.
The company has committed to using 100% renewable electricity by 2050 and 30% by 2030. As a result, Konica Minolta is sourcing 8.3% of its electricity from renewable sources worldwide as of the fiscal year 2021. The headquarters of Konica Minolta and 11 other subsidiaries already use 100% renewable electricity. Two of the factories in China use the same kind of electricity, which means that more than 50% of MFPs and all print production devices for the European market are produced with renewable electricity. In addition, the European toner factory in France uses 100% renewable electricity.
In Europe, Konica Minolta offsets unavoidable emissions and supports climate protection projects to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, such as wind farms, together with its partner – Climate Partner. All projects must meet the Gold Standard VER criteria - a standard established in 2003 by WWF and other international NGOs to ensure that projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions exhibit the highest levels of environmental integrity and contribute to sustainable development. Gold Standard VER projects go beyond climate aspects, as they also fundamentally take social aspects into account. Konica Minolta offers its customers the opportunity to offset unavoidable GHG emissions for office and production digital printing devices through the Enabling Climate Compensation program. Since 2015, more than 50,000 tons of emissions have been offset.
With the help of remote services, Konica Minolta managed to save 310,760 kilometers and "visit online" 8,900 customers in Europe from 2020 to 2022. This means a reduction of 140,000 tons of GHG emissions.
Where possible, the company tries to shift transport from air or road to rail and sea. At the moment, 90% of the transport of goods in the Netherlands is carried out on the Rhine, and 40% of the transport is already carried out by rail in Italy.
Konica Minolta aims to use more than 90% of recycled resources for its products by 2050. These resources are recycled materials and biomaterials. With this goal in mind, the company aims to enable the reuse and recycling of materials as often as possible to minimize waste and consumption of material resources.
In the fiscal year 2021, 11,200 tons of end-of-life office equipment were returned. Of these, 99% were recycled. As part of the Clean Planet Programme, end-of-life consumables are collected and recycled from all over Europe.
