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Konica Minolta’s Environmental Activities

Christina Degener

International Marketing Division

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH

Introduction

As a leading manufacturer of office and production printing technology, Konica Minolta takes its responsibility as a corporate citizen seriously. Protection of the environment is one of the core challenges and an essential part of the company’s management philosophy – The Creation of New Value.

Green policy

Green product cycle

Green technologies

Green functionality

Green certificates

Green history

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Green policy

Green policy

“Konica Minolta’s management philosophy is the Creation of New Value. This does not just mean creating new products with innovative features never seen before. The ‘new value’ that is part of our mission also means new ways of caring for the environment.”

Masatoshi MatzusakiPresident and CEO, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.

Green policy

Eco Vision 2050 – for a sustainable earth and societyKonica Minolta formulated Eco Vision 2050 as its long-term environmental vision to achieve its future objectives and fulfil its responsibility as a global corporation by contributing to a sustainable earth and societyKonica Minolta created the Medium-Term Environmental Plan 2015 as a milestone marker toward the goals outlined in its EcoVision 2050

Green policy

Green policy

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Green product life cycle

Green product life cycle

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Green technologies

Green technologies

Simitri HD polymerised tonerToday, 99.6% of Konica Minolta’s colour toners and 96.5% of its monochrome toners are polymerised – the highest rates in the industry

Simitri HD polymerised toner has considerably less impact on the environment during its production, use and recycling

Its biomass content is actually CO2 neutral during recycling

Green technologies

Simitri HD – green toner productionKonica Minolta’s constant efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of its cutting-edge technologies while improving their efficiency are obvious in various earth-friendly innovations

Green technologies

Simitri HD – green toner productionConsiderably reducing environmental impact, toner production by polymerisation generates e.g. 33% less CO2 than conventional toner manufacture

Green technologies

Simitri HD – green toner usageBecause polymerised toner grains are so fine, a smaller amount of toner is needed than with pulverised toner, thus using fewer natural resources

Additionally, Simitri HD polymerised toner requires a lower fusing temperature

Both aspects contribute greatly to reducing the amount of energy used and the related CO2 emission

Green technologies

Simitri HD – green toner recycling - biomassAn important ingredient in Simitri HD toner is biomass, which is CO2-neutral during recycling and further reduces the carbon footprint of Simitri HD and the Konica Minolta office devices

From a carbon neutral viewpoint, emissions during toner disposalare significantly lower thanks to its plant-based contents

Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon emitted with an equivalent amount absorbed

As biomass contents of polymerised toner absorb CO2 before becoming raw materials, the amount of CO2 emitted is equal to the amount bound

biomass

Green technologies

Simitri HD – green toner recycling - deinkabilityThe International Association of the Deinking Industry (INGEDE) tested in an independent test the deinkability of materials for several Konica Minolta office and production printing machines

The test results show that the key process in paper recycling – the deinking process – works especially well with Simitri HD polymerised toner

That clarifies that Konica Minolta support effective paper recycling with Simitri HD polymerised toner

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Green technologies

Simitri HD – green toner recycling

Green technologies

IH fusing technologyKonica Minolta adopted IH technology to design an energy-efficient fusing unit

With conventional heating the standby temperature must be kept high to ensure a short warm-up period to the required fusing temperature - this consumes a significant amount of energy in standby mode

Heating the fusing unit by applying induction heating remarkably reduces energy consumption

The required temperature is reached much faster and can be controlled precisely, resulting in minimised energy loss

The short warm-up time enabled by IH technology lets users take maximum advantage of the bizhub systems’ different power-saving modes

Green technologies

Toner recycling systemThe majority of Konica Minolta’s b/w devices are equipped with an efficient toner recycling system, which collects, recycles and reuses the toner that is not fused to the paper during the printing process

Saving the toner for re-use, this system not only increases cost efficiency but considerably reduces toner consumption and lowers related CO2 emissions

Green technologies

Konica Minolta’s office products stand out with their very low TEC valuesThe TEC value represents an electrical product’s typical weekly electricity consumption (TEC) based on average office use

Our latest product generation switches to energy-saving mode faster and consumes considerably less power in sleep mode than previous products

This helps to save running costs and supports the eco-friendly operation of all Konica Minolta office products – true to our objective to continuously improve technology for minimised power consumption and an ever-lower carbon footprint

Green technologies

Low TEC values - Example of a colour MFPIn recent years, energy consumption could be reduced enormously

The presently marketed bizhub C452 uses less than half the energy than its predecessor bizhub C450

The main reasons for this dramatic reduction in energy consumption are SimitriHD toner technology and IH fusing technology

Green technologies

Low TEC values - Example of a colour MFPComparing the C652, this model is 20 pages faster than bizhub C450 and still uses only half the energy

In other words, energy consumption could be halved while printing speeds in the last few years have increased by 20 pages/minute

Green technologies

Smaller Packaging - Example 1: Colour printer toner cartridgesIn comparison to the predecessor the toner cartridge has been considerably reduced in size

The advantages of the smaller size become more obvious when considering that 4.5 times as many cartridges now fit onto a palette

In other words: The new cartridge requires less material during production, less packaging material and less space for transport – which all ads up to lower CO2 emissions!

Green technologies

Smaller packaging - Example 2: Colour MFP bizhub C360/C280/C220Konica Minolta always strives to reduce machine size and the number of parts required for construction This not only reduces CO2 consumption during productionIt also means that less space is needed for machine transport and storage so that one lorry can take more machines – which again helps save CO2

Green technologies

Optimized replacement cyclesIn comparison to their predecessors, some latest generation bizhub products feature separate developing and drum units

This significantly extends the life of the consumables and optimises their replacement cycle

On previous models, the whole imaging unit had to be replaced when the drum unit reached the end of its life, even if the developing unit was still usable

The separate drum unit and developing unit increase energy efficiency, help save resources and reduce the cost of imaging considerably

Additionally, longer-life consumables increase product efficiency in terms of enhanced yields – more pages can be produced – and reduced service effort

While lowering printing costs as well, this also reduces the carbon footprint related to Konica Minolta products and services

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Green functionality

Green functionality

Duplex printing & copyingAlmost all Konica Minolta devices support duplex printing and copying, most of them at full rated speed, saving time, paper and money by printing/copying on both sides of a sheet

Example:The copy/print volume is 250 pages per weekDuplex printing and copying can help save up to 6,500 sheets per yearThat corresponds to 13 reams of paper of 500 sheets each

Green functionality

N-up printing & copyingThe feature offers the possibility of combining several pages of a document on a single sheet of paperIf used for draft documents and archiving, this clever feature can help save toner and paper and with that save resources

Example: If in addition to duplex printing also two pages are printed or copied onto each front and back of one A4 sheet, paper consumption can be further reducedThis brings savings of 9,500 sheets per year

Green functionality

Proof & printUsers can produce a single test page or set before printing or copying the whole job

A most efficient feature to avoid wasting paper and toner which saves paper, time and money

Skip blank pagesDocuments often contain blank pages, for example to fill up booklets or to ensure that chapters in a book begin on a right-hand page

To prevent blank pages from being printed and wasting paper, the print controller can be set to delete blank pages from the document automatically

Green functionality

Re-use of one-sided printsToday, many documents are printed for instant and one-time use, for example e-mail information, web pages etc.

Most of these are printed single-sided and usually on just one page

As most Konica Minolta devices have the capability of duplex printing, they can also process used media and print on the blank side of the page

To prevent used paper from being accidentally chosen for official purposes, one of the paper trays of the printer can be set exclusively for single-sided printing

The re-use of paper helps save considerable resources in everyday business

Green functionality

Combining print and copy jobsSmall print and copy jobs cause frequent reheating cycles that are in direct conflict with maximum energy efficiency

It is therefore advantageous to collect print and copy jobs in the personal user box

When convenient, the stored jobs can be easily printed all at once

Another advantage is that all stored data is already pre-processed, preventing long idle times and permanent reheating between the print jobs

Green functionality

My TabThe My Tab feature available on most newer office models adds extra operation ease, letting users individually combine their frequently needed features in a single setting screen

Eco-friendly settings such as duplex or n-up printing can be individually included

Example:N-up (2-in-1)

Toner save mode

Skip blank pages

Duplex mode

Green functionality

Timer & calendar functionTo avoid the inadvertent shutdown of a device, Konica Minolta’s Low Power and Sleep Modes each have a timer and calendar function that facilitates activating the system on a daily or weekly basis or according to the calendar date

For example, normal business days can be defined with an automatic start and shutdown time

For Sundays or specific dates like Christmas, a total power-off mode can be selected

Overlay functionKonica Minolta products offer letterhead printing based on stored overlay files

These files contain the complete corporate information and can be printed automatically on selected pages

If changes occur, the stored file is quickly and easily updated, avoiding large quantities of pre-printed company stationery going to waste

Green functionality

FSC-certified mediaKonica Minolta recommends print media certified by the FSC for all of its office systems

The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification indicates that paper manufacturers adhere to responsible forest management practices

Paper qualities with the FSC certification only have a minimal environmental footprint in production but do not lack in terms of quality and reliability

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Green certificates

Green Certificates

Blue Angel markLaunched in Germany in 1978 as the world’s first environmental labelling system, the Blue Angel Mark is awarded to certify products and services that have a smaller environmental impact than averageSince receiving the world’s first Blue Angel certification in the field of copiers in January 1992, Konica Minolta has continued to receive certification for new products by clearing the certification bar each time it has been raised

Benefits to Environment and Health Minimised pollutant impact on indoor air quality Low energy consumption in idle modes for enhanced climate protection Low-noise operation does not interfere with user’s concentration Uses recycled paper Duplex unit for double-sided printing on high-end appliances

Green Certificates

Energy StarProducts that meet certain standards can be registered as Energy Star devices as part of an energy-saving program for office equipment

Implemented in 1995 through an agreement between the Japanese and US governments, the international program has since expanded with the participation of the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and other countries

Green Certificates

BLI Outstanding Achievement awardThe bizhub C452 and bizhub 363 received this award from BLI (Buyers’Laboratory Inc.) thanks to their significantly lower than average projected annual energy consumption

Green Certificates

ISO 14001To ensure efficient implementation of environmental management throughout the Group as a whole, Konica Minolta operates its management system based on ISO 14001, and adopts as its basic policy that all Group production sites around the world obtain ISO 14001 certification

RoHS (Restriction of use of hazardous substances)Konica Minolta fully commits to RoHS and not only avoids the listed substances in the RoHS-designated products but has discontinued the use of these substances in all office products

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Green history

Green history

1980 Launch of the first Konica Minolta copier with toner recycling system

1984 Implementation of organic photoconductive drums (OPC)

1992 First Blue Angel mark for copiers worldwide

1995 Konica Minolta joins the Responsible Care Initiative

2000 1st manufacturer to introduce polymerised toner for use in a monochrome MFP

2001 Clean Planet Program

2002 Start of production of Simitri colour toner

2003 First digital multifunctional device certified by Germany’s “Blue Angel” certificate

2004 Introduction of CSRC – CS Remote Care

Green history

2007 Induction Heating (IH) fusing technology

2007 bizhub C650/C550 win the Energy Conservation Grand Prize

2008 Improving distribution routes and systems

2008 United Nations Global Compact

2009 December – COP15

2010 bizhub C452 – BLI Outstanding Achievement in Energy Efficiency

2010 Simitri toner with biomass celebrates its 10th anniversary

2011 bizhub 363 – BLI Outstanding Achievement in Energy Efficiency

Thanks for your attention

For more information about Konica Minolta’s eco related activities please visit our green website:

www.konicaminolta.eu/environment