KM pledges 90% circulated resources by 2050

Konica Minolta has revealed a set of significant environmental goals such as making its products from over 90% circulated resources by 2050.

The manufacturer of office and production printers and printheads has pledged to minimise its environmental impact with these new goals.

Included in the goals are to achieve net zero in Scope 1, 2, and 3 by 2050 and make its products from more than 90% recycled materials and biomaterials.

Olaf Jonas, general manager of Environmental Social Governance at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe explains how Konica Minolta published its EcoVision 2050 in 2009 with the targets in line with what were strict standards at that time.

However, as the climate crisis becomes more of a priority and focus, he explains that these goals are no longer appropriate. Therefore, the company has set out stricter climate protection targets to fulfil its responsibility as a global company with almost 40,000 employees globally.

These goals work to minimise Konica Minolta’s ecological footprint and also helps its customers and suppliers to achieve their own environmental goals.

Currently, Konica Minolta’s multifunctional printers (MFPs) use up to 44% recycled materials and biomaterials, the production printing systems use up to 15% recycled materials, and toner bottles up to 61% recycled materials.

Some countries in Europe also offer refurbishment programmes for MFPs to be refurbished and part of the collected toner bottles and cartridges are refurbished and refilled too.

According to the manufacturer, 11,200 tonnes of end-of-life office equipment was taken back in the 2021 fiscal year with 99% of this being recycled. In the UK, the World on Loan programme sees discarded consumables collected and recycled.

One material in particular with poor environmental credentials is styrene foam and Konica Minolta is looking for packaging solutions to replace it. The manufacturer developed a new air cushioning material for packaging and transporting MFPs and production printing devices in 2019.

These lighter, more compact air pillows enabled the company to reduce the weight of shipments by 75% and packaging volume by 99%.

In addition to this goal of using circulated resources, Konica Minolta is also committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In line with this, the company is continuously working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions through the product lifecycle and eliminate waste.

Back in 2005, Konica recorded 2,067 thousand tonnes of Co2 emissions and in 2021 this figure had reduced to 790 thousand tonnes of C02 – a reduction of 61%. In 2050, the manufacturer aims to reach net zero target in Scope 1, 2, and 3.

In printing, the largest energy consumption occurs (over 60%) when the toner is fixed to the paper. With polymerised Simitri V toner used in the bizhub i-series, the latest MFP generation, Konica has been able to reduce the fixing temperature by around 15°C compared to previous models.

The company also plans to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy and has been a member of RE100 since 2019. With this in mind, Konica is committed to using 100% renewable electricity by 2050, and 30% by 2030.

Other areas in which the manufacturer is striving to improve its environmental impact is across its transport by shifting from air and road to rail or water; and though its visual Remote Service AIRe Link which since being introduced in 2020 has saved around 310,760km in 8,900 customer visits across Europe to 2022.

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