As of February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol will come into effect, requiring developed countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. For corporations, this means further regulation of resources use, and more work on energy saving products. 

The survey was carried out with the assistance of Nikkei Research. It was based on seven categories (or six categories for non-manufacturing industries), including the recycling and reuse of resources, and global warming countermeasures such as energy savings. The ranking was calculated based on the total achieved by each company. Ricoh achieved a particularly high score in the reuse and recycling of resources category. The company collects end of life copiers and reuses their parts, as well as collecting and reusing waste from the manufacturing processes. These operations are considered extremely cutting-edge. Ricoh has also managed to make its environmental activities more and more cost effective. Source: Nihon Keizai Shinbun Environmental Management Survey 2004.