Eco-friendly cloud: Sustainability without sacrificing productivity

Most businesses today know that being environmentally friendly is important, but they may struggle with how to implement practices that are both good for the environment and good for business productivity. Ricoh brings both together, helping you be more productive and environmentally friendly at the same time. Using the cloud helps achieve your sustainability goals – including waste reduction, resource conservation and emission reduction – without sacrificing business productivity.

Cloud-based processes instead of paper

Working in the cloud can be more environmentally friendly than traditional ways of working. For a start, using cloud workflows can help you reduce your reliance on paper. This is the perfect example of an environmentally friendly practice that also helps you improve how you do business. Digital processes handled in the cloud are not only faster than paper, but going paperless creates less waste too.Distributing documents electronically uses less paper and eliminates toner, compared with the substantial environmental footprint you leave behind when you make hard-copy duplicates and send them via mail, courier or delivery service.

Monitor your sustainability

You can also use the cloud to unite your printer utilization data – even when your locations are geographically widespread – so you can get the information you need in real time from a cloud-based management portal. Some cloud solutions have tools that help you do more than just make better business decisions. The cloud also helps with decisions that affect the environment. With increased insight into your document practices, you can quickly identify print trends, track paper and toner usage and take action to lower your environmental impact.

Stay informed with green reports

Ricoh's monitoring and management software solutions collect data from your output devices and use it to calculate the environmental impact of your organization's printing habits. These Green Reports measure your paper consumption, track paper saving methods like duplex printing and show corresponding cost savings, trees saved and resulting CO2 reductions. With this valuable information in hand, you can take measurable steps toward preventing waste and printing efficiently. After making changes, you can run new reports to measure the difference and notate improvement.

Eliminate waste with cloud-based printing

When you need to print to paper, cloud-based mobile printing can still help conserve resources and save trees. Secure Print Release protects your information by holding your documents in a print queue in the Cloud.

To release your files to print, you must authenticate or enter a release code at the output device of your choice. However, Secure Print Release does more than just protect your documents – it also prevents waste. Before printing, you can review your print queue and delete unwanted documents, such as old iterations of a file or documents accidentally sent to print.

By deleting these unwanted print jobs, you save paper, toner, electricity and time, and you eliminate the waste created when printed documents are forgotten and never picked up.

Greener processes from start to finish

The office equipment you choose also impacts your sustainability efforts. Look for products that are capable of digitizing and uploading your information to the cloud to print documents. For example, Ricoh's Multifunction Products (MFPs) are Energy Star certified and feature built-in Auto Energy Saving timers, paper and toner reduction modes and imaging equipment recycling programs – just to name a few.The equipment to scan and print, the digital processes and the cloud-based information all work together to create an efficient and environmentally conscious system.

Driving sustainability for the future

An expert in green business practices, Ricoh's sustainability efforts extend across product manufacturing, supplies, service, education and final equipment disposal procedures. We've been recognized by a number of environmental honors programs, including being named one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (Corporate Knights, Inc.) and one of the World's Most Ethical Companies (Ethisphere Institute).With Ricoh as your partner, you have access to cloud technologies that are great for the environment and, coincidentally, great for business too!