Our Approaches for Low Carbon

RISO assigns five stages -- from element development to mass production.
In each of these five stages, RISO sets targets for such items as environmental considerations, product quality, costs and schedule. By monitoring the progress of these targets, we make decisions on whether we can proceed to the next stage.
Stage targets for environmental considerations include energy and resource saving, reuse, recycling and disposal.

ORPHIS is an environmentally friendly high-speed color printer. In addition to its overwhelming printing speed, it has excellent durability, making high-volume printing operations more efficient. An inkjet method eliminates the need for a heater, which is necessary for thermally fixing toner, to reduce maximum power consumption.

*The ORPHIS FTseries is a brand for RISO full-color high-speed inkjet printers in Japanese domestic market.

RISO is adopting vegetable-based ink which is made from rice bran oil. RISO was the world's first to develop and commercialize rice bran oil ink for digital duplicator.

Rice bran oil ink
The rice bran oil ink contributes to environment sustainability. Rice bran, which would be otherwise wasted, is a raw material with no VOCs, so after the oil is extracted for the ink. It can subsequently be used as fertilizer or animal feed.

Streamline recycling
In Japan, RISO collects and recycles used ink bottles. They are recycled and processed into plastic raw material.

Adhering to the concept of manufacturing products in demand in a timely manner and in required volume, RISO's production departments engage in lean manufacturing operations that effectively use resources and energy.
Also, RISO avoids introducing high-volume, high-speed production facilities at the same time. Instead, when necessary, the Company introduces facilities in a stepwise manner to respond to the exact demand level while developing in-house facilities as much as possible based on its know-how and expertise.

RISO started the modal shift where conventional transportation by trucks or airplanes has been switched to mass transportation means, such as railway or marine transport, because these are more environment-friendly.

*Modal Shift
It generally indicates the change of means of transport; it specifically implies shift from trucks or airplanes transportation to rails or sea transportation to reduce of green house gases or nitrogen oxides to the environment.
RISO and Cleanup Co., Ltd. together started the implementation of a consolidated transport strategy based on the Strategic Logistics Information Model (SLIM)* in October 2003. This joint initiative has contributed to improved transport efficiency, effectively reducing fuel consumption per unit of freight transportation (tkm).

*SLIM (Strategic Logistics Information Model):
Based on this model, the Strategic Logistics Partners (SLP) Community Information Center centrally manages delivery and other information collected from corporate clients to improve the full load ratio and the operational efficiency of logistics operations in general. Corporate clients can check delivery time, shipment weight and volume and other information via the Internet. (Source: Cargo News No. 3071)

In Japan and at our overseas plants, we have switched from having each supplier deliver materials and parts to RISO plants to a system called Milk Run System in which a RISO truck goes around to multiple suppliers to pick up or deliver these supplies. This system not only improves loading efficiency but also reduces transport costs. In addition, it reduces the amount of CO2 emissions from delivery trucks, and thus reduces environmental impact.

We support environmental education for the community on environmentally friendly printing by letting them experience printing using digital printers or mimeographs.

As part of everyday methods toward conserving energy and helping to prevent global warming we cultivate a green curtain at the Ube Plant. The curtain consists of bitter gourd and morning glory vines. The 15m wide by 6.5m tall curtain, which covers the entire south wall of the administrative building up to the second floor, received an award for excellence in the businesses division of the 2013 Green Curtain Contest sponsored by Ube City.

A variety of capital investments are carried out at our manufacturing sites to raise the energy efficiency of facilities and equipment. This includes introducing heat-reflecting paint for building surfaces to prevent temperature rises caused by the powerful rays of the sun. The paint, which was first applied to the Tsukuba Plant in 2012, has now been applied to the Ube Plant as well.