Ricoh branching out for climate change

Office equipment giant Ricoh has announced plans to help customers reduce their carbon footprint as well as improve conditions in the developing world through the planting of fruit trees in Africa.

The announcement is in tune with a concerted move by the IT industry towards greener ways of working. And with printing traditionally seen as a source of massive waste, forward thinking printer companies and their customers are looking for ways to mitigate the negative effect on the planet.

The scheme builds on a previous one Ricoh had running in Europe and will see the printer and copier giant planting a fruit tree in Africa for every 100,000 copies or print-outs its customers make.

Chas Moloney, associate director of marketing at Ricoh, said dealing with climate change is now at the top of Ricoh's corporate and social responsibility agenda.

But the choice of fruit trees means not only is carbon balance restored, the scheme also provides food and goods to trade.

Moloney added: "We have already dedicated thousands of trees through other programmes. This scheme takes it one step further by supporting local communities."

Ricoh is working with charity Seeds for Africa which offers education programmes on how to farm fruit and vegetables. The company is also providing local communities across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with water pumps to irrigate orchards and vegetable patches.

Ricoh's strong commitment to corporate social responsibility has also seen the company become the main sponsor behind a scheme to get recycled computers into Kenyan schools, being run by CNET Networks UK, publisher of silicon.com.