Konica Minolta MFPs Certified by Hong Kong Green Label Scheme; First MFPs in the Trade Certified with the Environmental Label
Tokyo (March 23, 2011) – Konica Minolta Business Technologies Inc. is pleased to announce that Konica Minolta Business Solutions (HK) Ltd., its sales subsidiary in Hong Kong, has been certified by Hong Kong Green Label Scheme (HKGLS) for its three multi-functional peripherals (MFPs*1). These are the first MFPs in the trade that are certified with the environmental label.
The Hong Kong Green Label Scheme is environmental criteria and certification organized by the Green Council*2 of Hong Kong. The certification requires meeting strict criteria including not only reduction of toxic materials but also important consideration to the environment throughout multiple stages of the product life cycle, such as the production of raw materials and components, the assembly into finished products, the use of products, the transportation, and the waste disposal.
The Konica Minolta color MFPs "bizhub C360," "bizhub C280," and "bizhub C220" are the first MFPs to be certified by HKGLS. All of the three models are designed under the Konica Minolta Group's aggressive initiatives to reduce environmental footprint, such as CO2 emission, through the entire life cycle of the products. Innovative technologies supporting the efforts include: aggressive energy-saving design to reduce CO2 emission; significantly compact packages for toner bottles to conserve raw materials; Konica Minolta's proprietary "Simitri toner with Biomass," adopting plant-based biomass material, to reduce the use of materials derived from petroleum, as well as to reduce energy and material consumption in the manufacturing and use of the toner. Based on these initiatives, the certified bizhub series offers high standards of environmental performance required in a wide scope of businesses and offices.
The Konica Minolta Group has been actively promoting the acquisition of environmental certification labels certified by third-party institutions. Since 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. In 2009, Konica Minolta obtained EcoLogo certification, established by the Canadian government and known as North America's most widely respected environmental standard and certification system, for 12 of its MFPs ahead of the competition. Recently Konica Minolta has obtained China Environmental Labeling Low Carbon Product Certification, a newly introduced environmental label system by the State Department of Environmental Protection in China, for total 11 models of MFPs and a printer. Additionally, a wide range of Konica Minolta products meet the International Energy Star Program standards and have obtained Eco Mark certification in Japan.
The Konica Minolta Group positions environmental consideration as one of the most important management policies and strives to pursue energy efficiency, resource conservation and safety in every stage from product development and engineering through recycling and provide environmentally considerate products and services. Not only responding to environmental protection certification systems in countries, the Group will also continue driving initiatives for the protection of environment on a worldwide basis to fulfill its responsibility as a global corporation by contributing to a sustainable earth and human societies.
- *1
- MFPs: Units that support a variety of functions otherwise handled by separate equipment, such as copies, printers, scanners, and facsimiles.
- *2
- The Green Council (GC): A non-profit, non partisan environmental association of Hong Kong. A group of individuals from different sectors of industry and academics provides advice for the system and operation of the Hong Kong Green Label Scheme.
For additional information on Konica Minolta's MFPs, visit
http://www.biz.konicaminolta.com/
For additional information on Konica Minolta's CSR and environmental efforts, visit
//www.konicaminolta.com/about/csr/index.html