Konica Minolta receives the German Sustainability Award

Konica Minolta has been awarded the prestigious German Sustainability Award (DNP) in the "Information Technology" category. With the award, the expert jury of 150 jurors honored the technology and managed service provider from Langenhagen as a role model for sustainable change in Germany in its industry.

Konica Minolta made it to the final thanks to its particularly effective, exemplary contributions to transformation. The prize was awarded for the company's outstanding commitment to reducing CO2 emissions, strengthening the circular economy and promoting sustainable procurement.

Konica Minolta's sustainability measures are embedded in an interlinked ESG strategy (Environment, Social, Governance). Within this strategy, Konica Minolta is committed to making a positive contribution to its own environmental impact and that of its customers and partners.

Focus on climate neutrality and avoiding emissions
Since 2015, more than 30,000 tons of CO2 emissions have been offset in Europe through "climate-compensated printing". This program also supports Konica Minolta customers in offsetting unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions caused by printing in office and production operations. Measures that promote the reduction of emissions in the manufacture of printing systems also contribute to the creation of climate-neutral business operations. Since 2005, this has prevented the emission of 108,000 tons of CO2 worldwide. Four Konica Minolta production plants have already achieved "Sustainable Factory" status. Remote services, i.e. visual remote support for customers, have also saved around 310,000 kilometers of travel and thus 140 tons of CO2 emissions on average in Europe by 2023.

"We are proud of this award! In addition to recognizing our efforts to make technologies sustainable and environmentally friendly, this award stands above all for the clear commitment in our market to use existing resources as sparingly as possible together with our customers," says Joerg Hartmann, Managing Director of Konica Minolta for Germany and Austria. "Our mobile work concept has enabled us to save numerous journeys to and from the office, significantly reduce on-site technician visits with remote service offers and make it much easier for our customers to participate in our Clean Planet program for taking back toner cartridges with our eCommerce portal.""Being named 'Winner of the German Sustainability Award' shows that we have taken the right path here - for our customers and for the environment," Hartmann continues. The award will be presented on November 23, 2023 as part of the two-day 16th German Sustainability Day.

Concrete measures for the circular economy
The expert jury paid particular attention to measures for circular solutions and business models. Konica Minolta impressed the jury with some interesting initiatives. For example, toner bottles for the company's printing systems are already made from up to 61% recycled milk bottles. Office printing system housings are made from up to 44% recycled PET bottles. And with the Clean Planet Program, Konica Minolta has set up an efficient take-back system for consumables. Currently, 99% of these are already reused or recycled.

As a member of RE100, the company has also committed to sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050. Konica Minolta's European headquarters and many subsidiaries already use 100% green electricity.

Ethical supply chains as a prerequisite for sustainability
A sustainable transformation of the IT industry today involves more than just the economical use of resources and the avoidance of climate-damaging emissions at a local level. Rather, supply chains and working conditions must be taken into account worldwide. Respect for human rights is therefore a key objective within the company's ESG strategy and a driving force for a sustainable and ethical supply chain. Konica Minolta has anchored the guidelines for this in its Human Rights Policy, which is based on the UN Principles on Business and Human Rights.

However, ESG-compliant procurement is more than just a social responsibility: improving working conditions worldwide helps to reduce business risk and increase quality throughout the supply chain.