Ricoh Americas Corporation is working to reduce their carbon footprint. Ricoh Company, Ltd. of Tokyo, aanounced that its jumbotron sign in Times Square that will be 100 percent powered by solar and wind power. This is the first ever electronic billboard to be totally powered by natural resources in Times Square. The sign will be will be at 3 Times Square (7th Avenue and 42nd Street).
The sign is 47 feet high by 126 feet long and will be lit by floodlights and powered by 45 solar panels and 4 turbines for wind generation. It is said that this byt this sign using all natural energy sources that Ricoh will reduce the amount of CO2 usage by 18 tons per year.
And there is no electirc backup, if there is not enough solar or wind power, the Times Square sign will simply not be illuminated. They also currently have an eco-powered sign in Osaka, Japan, that uses 100 percent solar and wind power.
This doesn’t appear to be a gimmick for these guys either. Ricoh has been environmentally conscious for over 30 years. In 1976 Ricoh established an Environmental Protection Group to keep their environmental goals and strategies a key consideration when planning, developing, designing and promoting new products and services.
It’s nice to see a company that is actually doing something because they care and not just because they know it will increase their sales.