EcoLogo™ is North America's most widely recognized and respected environmental certification program. Launched by the Canadian Federal Government in 1988, EcoLogo has grown to serve buyers and sellers of green products throughout Canada, the United States, and around the world.

EcoLogo is North America's oldest environmental standard and certification organization (and the second oldest in the world). It is the only North American standard approved by the Global Ecolabeling Network as meeting the international ISO 14024 standards for environmental labels.

The EcoLogo Program has recently provided new certification criteria to address increased environmental concerns. They have established new strict requirements for hazardous substances, energy and paper savings, and design for extended life, reuse and recycling. The net environmental benefit will be reduced human health impacts, less potential for smog formation and ozone layer depletion, improved use of resources, improved energy efficiency and reduced waste generation. Konica Minolta is proud to be the first manufacturer and distributor of Multifunction Devices awarded with EcoLogo's newest certification (CCD-035).

To be authorized to carry the EcoLogo™, office machines must:

• Be safe to use.
• Be accompanied by detailed information describing ambient ozone generation, noise emissions, electricity consumption, auto-duplexing and "n-up, and changing ozone filters;
• Not emit ozone at a concentration greater than 1.5 mg/hr (for multifunctional devices, copiers, laser printers, laser fax and integrated mailing machines);
• Not emit dust at a concentration greater than 4.0 mg/hr (for multifunctional devices, copiers, laser printers, laser fax and integrated mailing machines);
• Not emit total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) at a concentration greater than 10.0 mg/hr (for multifunctional devices, copiers, laser and ink-jet printers, laser and ink-jet faxes, and integrated mailing machines);
• Be energy efficient;
• Be equipped with automatic duplexing capabilities and be programmable by the end-user such that the duplexing mode may be set as the default mode;
• Be compatible with post-consumer recycled paper, and remanufactured printed cartridges;
• Be manufactured with efforts made to secure plastic containing post-consumer recycled content in at least the outer casing;
• Not be manufactured with or contain:
  • CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs,
  • Cadmium, lead, mercury or hexavalent chromium except for trace amounts,
  • Hazardous flame retardants in plastic casing parts (PBBs, PBDEs, chloroparaffins with chain length 10 to 17 C atoms, and chlorine content greater than 50% by weight and & Selenium or arsenic containing compounds in photoreceptors / photoconductors containing compounds;
  • Use only plastic parts that are marked to indicate the composition code and any added flame retardants;
• Have spare parts available for 3 years after sale;
• Not use hardware restricting replacement cartridges to those from the OEM; and
• Be offered with an end-of-life waste programs that:
  • divert consumables,
  • collect the office machine (except in those jurisdictions where diversion of office machines from landfill is a legal requirement and end of life machines are already included in an existing infrastructure),
  • and first evaluate components for reuse and then send components to recyclers practice environmentally sound management.

Click here for more information about EcoLogo and their Office Machine criteria.

The well-known label signifies that a product saves energy to protect the environment. New guidelines were introduced in 2007 making it more difficult for copiers, printers and multifunctional devices to earn Energy Star labels - but our bizhub and other imaging devices continue to achieve certification.

To earn the new Energy Star certification, a product must meet the following guidelines:

• 25% greater efficiency on average while delivering the same performance as less efficient conventional equipment.
• Consuming about half the electricity of standard models and powering down when not in use.
• Printing on double-sided (duplex) pages, reducing both copying and paper costs.
• Running cooler and lasting longer than conventional equipment, so businesses can also save on air conditioning and maintenance.

Germany's Blue Angel Mark is awarded to products and services that are beneficial for the environment and also fulfill high standards of occupational health and safety. Introduced in 1978 by the German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification, the Blue Angel was the world's first ecological label. Important factors for qualification include: economical use of raw materials, production, usage, service life and disposal.

The Eco Mark program is operated by the Japan Environment Association (JEA), founded in 1989. Products displaying the Eco Mark symbol are certified as being useful for environmental preservation.

The Eco Mark program makes it easier for consumers who wish to be more environmentally friendly to choose products that suit their needs and values.

It gives them the ability to compare similar products environmental impacts through the life cycle of the product, ranging from the production to the disposal of the products. Eco Mark Program is intended as a means of offering a choice of products with a lower environmental impact.

EcoLeaf is a Type III (as defined by ISO standard 14025) environmental labelling program operated by the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry (JEMAI) and supported by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Through this program, Konica Minolta quantitatively identifies and discloses the environmental impact of designated products throughout their lifecycle, ranging from procurement of raw materials to assembly, sales, use, disposal and recycling. Konica Minolta has also acquired "system certification," affirming that we have a mechanism for appropriately and efficiently identifying such environmental impact data for our copying and printing businesses.