The Carbon Protocol of South Africa (CPSA), an independent third party verifier has again certified Konica Minolta South Africa, a division of Bidvest Office, as carbon neutral in 2016. This is the third year in a row that the leader in business document imaging and management has achieved this status, which was earned through calculating its carbon footprint, the implementation of company-wide energy efficiency initiatives and the subsequent offsetting of the remaining emissions.
To ensure the credibility of the claim, the organisation submitted both its carbon footprint and offsetting reports to the Carbon Protocol's Carbon Neutral Programme and is allowed the use of a standardised carbon neutral logo for the year it has been awarded.
Since 2008, Konica Minolta South Africa has worked through South Africa's first environmental social enterprise, Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) to plant more than 25 000 fruit and indigenous trees across South Africa, as well as 4 600 bamboo canes. This year it has committed to planting an additional 1,861 trees across the country.
"We are proud to achieve carbon neutral status for a third year as it reflects our commitment to run our business as efficiently as possible, while protecting the environment in which we operate and allows us to partake in climate change mitigation," says Alten Hulme, chief marketing officer at Konica Minolta South Africa. "These programmes, which have been effected to mitigate our carbon impact and reduce energy usage, are key components of our responsibility to the communities in which we operate."
Konica Minolta South Africa's carbon offsetting commitment for the year 2015 has equalised greenhouse gas emissions estimated at 4 361 tonnes of CO2 and a carbon footprint of 1 609 tonnes of CO2. The company has gone a step further by also offsetting its energy indirect (Scope 2) emissions, relating to electricity consumption even though most organisations usually offset only their direct greenhouse gas emissions – which are known as Scope 1 emissions – and include items such as fuel consumption.
"We aim to lead by example by running our business in an environmentally responsible manner," adds Hulme. "Konica Minolta South Africa is also working to encourage collaborative responsibility within our branch and dealer community and beyond to further highlight best practices and solutions related to sustainability," he concludes.
Konica Minolta South Africa Recently named as international Konica Minolta Distributor of the Year for the ninth time, Konica Minolta South Africa is a leader in advanced document management technologies. A division of Bidvest Office, the company focuses on complete business solutions, including production print systems, digital presses, multifunctional products (MFPs), managed print services, vertical application solutions and related services and supplies. Konica Minolta is one of the only manufacturers in the digital imaging industry, over the past 20 years, to have been awarded the Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI) ‘A3 MFP line of the year' award for four consecutive years. | |
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