Ricoh Products Ltd Biodiversity Report

RICOH UK PRODUCTS LTD
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Ricoh UK Products Ltd
Biodiversity Report

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Compiled by: Ashlee Savage, Andy Whyle, Carl Griffin
Reviewed: 16/01/2014
Amended:
Amended by:
With thanks to Ricoh Eco-Ninjas:
Carl griffin, Tania Willoughby, Stu Mapp, Alan Gwilt, Andy Whyle, Ian
Cheshire, Jon Oakley, Mark Anderson, Scott Pardoe, Paul Wiggets,
Tim Jones and Rob Beech.

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Contents
Foreword 4
Introduction 5
Background 10
Proposed Actions and Recommendations for site 11
Completed Actions against plan and other activities 13
Species Identified 17
Conclusion 20
Appendix 1- Site maps 21
Appendix 2- Project breakdown of hours 24
Appendix 3- Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity 27
Appendix 4- Projects 2009 33

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Foreword
The word 'biodiversity' has been with us since 1985. Biodiversity
simply means variety of life on Earth. However, its importance to
global ecology has made it one of the most profound concepts in
modern science. It includes all species of animals and plants,
and the natural systems that support them. Biodiversity matters
because it supports the vital benefits we get from the natural
environment. It contributes to our economy, our health and it
enriches our planet.
The ecosystems that contain our biodiversity are the basis for all
life. Their services are indispensable for the continuity of
mankind. However, biological diversity in our world is
disappearing at an alarming rate. If we continue to destroy the
environment, we will not only eliminate the basis of our future
existence, but also of our future economy.
To reverse this trend it is essential that stakeholders pool resources in order to
combat the global loss of biodiversity. There is an urgent need for international and
national cooperation, making the transposition from the “Think Global - Act Local” to
a “Local-Physical-Targeted” approach. The partnership of business organisations
working with non-government organisations (NGO’s) can support the development of
science, influence political strategy and develop economic systems.
Humans, economy, and ecology are not opponents, but are interdependent, as
recognised in Ricoh’s People-Planet-Profit sustainability philosophy.
With the increasing loss of biodiversity, there is an increase in risk for both society
and business. The scope of business risk is broad, ranging from higher procurement
costs, to restrictions through government regulation, to customer defection.
However, the risk of reducing concerns about biodiversity would mean ignoring the
considerable business opportunities that it offers. Until recently these possibilities
have been largely ignored, yet they have the capacity to give companies a
competitive advantage.
The goal of a business case for biodiversity is both to conserve biodiversity and to
increase the economic success of the company. This goal can be achieved through
targeted, biodiversity conservation measures that go beyond the legal requirements.
This is often aided by intelligently complying with existing and future government
regulations (i.e. Water Framework Directive) and improving efficiencies such as site
waste water costs.
This approach has resulted in Ricoh working with The Wildlife Trusts to jointly
develop corporate biodiversity as a strategic management tool. In joint projects,
these organisations have made use of their networks to contribute new information,
developing strategies and ideas for new products and services.
In addition, the reputation of both organisations have been enhanced and recognised
by other businesses, other NGO’s, and importantly, their customers.
These activities support the existence of our business organisation, improve the
natural capital of our site and local community, act as an exemplar for others to
follow, sharing what we have learned, developing business excellence and redressing
the balance of biodiversital decline.
The path to Sustainability is a journey that is meaningless when taken alone.
Deploying and sharing the corporate biodiversity partnership model we have
developed here is key to a future in which we appreciate both the ecological and
economical value of our biodiversity, before these natural assets are lost to us.
Andy Whyle
Ricoh Environment Officer, Chair of BESST, Shropshire Wildlife Trust Trustee

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Introduction
The Ricoh Group connects environmental conservation activities and business
management. We view conservation of the global environment as the natural
responsibility of a global citizen. Society has developed thanks to the earth's
abundant natural resources. However, Ricoh recognises that the very diversity of life
that has supported our environment is in decline.
Ricoh Group Biodiversity Policy
To respond to this decline, in 2009 Ricoh introduced its Group
Biodiversity Policy to specify our objectives:
Basic Policy
Given that we gain a lot of benefit from living things and pursue business activities
that have an impact on biodiversity, we will reduce the impact of our activities on
biodiversity and engage proactively in its protection.
1. Management tasks: Treat biodiversity
protection as essential for ensuring the
sustainable growth of the company, and
implement sustainable environmental
management.
2. Understanding and reducing impact:
Assess, grasp, analyse, and set numerical
targets for the impact on biodiversity of all
our business activities, including raw
materials procurement, and work continuously to reduce this impact.
3. Implementation: Give priority to measures with a high degree of impact and
effectiveness from a biodiversity and business perspective.
4. Developing new technologies: Aim to realize a sustainable society, develop
technologies that make use of biological resources, learn from the mechanisms of

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ecosystems and the nature of living things, and employ the knowledge gained to
develop technologies and sustainable production processes.
5. Working with local communities: From the perspective
of sustainable development, work not only with government
organisations, but also with local residents, NGOs, and other
stakeholders to promote the protection of the precious global
ecosystems and of the biodiversity of countries and regions
where we conduct business.
6. Involving each person: By getting executives to
take the lead and implementing Group-wide educational
initiatives, enhance recognition of the importance of
biodiversity among all employees to enable them to act
independently.
7. Expanding the scope of our activities: By collaborating with
customers, suppliers, other companies, NGOs, international
organisations, and so on, share information, knowledge and
experience concerning biodiversity, and expand the scope of our
protection activities.
8. Communication: Contribute to raising awareness of biodiversity protection
among people at large by sharing the experience of our activities and achievements
proactively.

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The RICOH Way
Production System
12 Key Fundamentals
1. Think Safety; Act Safely
2. Embrace 5S
3. Foster Employee Development
4. Be Environmentally Responsible
5. Model Corporate Social
Responsibility
6. Deliver Quality
7. Breathe Fact-Based Decision-
Making
8. Show Visual Management
9. Deploy Standardization
10.Live KAIZEN
11.Pursue Super Low Cost
12.Implement Synchronization
S
E
Q
C
D
Ricoh corporate strategy
If the corporations of the world stick to their business-as-usual approach and
continue to increase their environmental impact, then sooner or later the Earth will
become too seriously damaged to retain its self-sustaining capability and we will find
ourselves heading down an irreversible path of destruction. With this in mind, the
Ricoh Group formulated the Year 2050 Long-Term Environmental Vision in 2005. In
doing so, we recognized that advanced nations need to reduce their environmental
impact to one-eighth of fiscal 2000 levels by 2050 and concluded that it was
necessary to set up specific action plans under this vision.
The Ricoh Group’s Sustainable Environmental Management strategy has four pillars:
conserving energy and preventing global warming, conserving and recycling
resources, preventing pollution and preserving biodiversity. Thee first three pillars
aims to reduce the environmental impacts of our activities (reducing damage to the
planet) while the fourth supports the Earth’s self recovery (repairing the damage to
the planet).
Globally each of Ricoh’s offices, whose site is on their own ground, has actions
defined under the business strategy for 2011 - 2013 to ensure that local
biodiversities are preserved and developed. As part of “The Ricoh Way “, RPL takes
the knowledge developed from working with local Non Government Organisations on
these actions and uses it to support the local community and other business
organisations.
The Ricoh Way-Production System
The Ricoh Way is a strategy which provides an organised
approached to ensure excellence in manufacturing.
The corporate biodiversity projects undertaken by Ricoh
employees fit in with the Ricoh Way Key Environmental
Fundamentals (KF#) 3, 4 and 5. Our staff engagement is of a
recognised high standard, which fulfils Employee Development
(KF3#) and continuous improvement. By being Environmentally
Responsible (KF4#) and Modelling Corporate Social
responsibility (KF5#) we are fulfilling the requirements of these
Ricoh standards.

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This ultimately benefits Ricoh by providing a model for other businesses to aspire to,
and for customers to admire. It also positively impacts on site conservation and
aesthetics.
Ricoh Employee engagement
Ricoh began undertaking conservation projects with Shropshire Wildlife
Trust volunteers in 2009. For the first project (Pied Flycatcher Nest box
scheme) employees carried out all building and installation of the nest
boxes during Ricoh works time. A small level of training and skill (but a
lot of sweat!) was required to carry this project out.
The second project in 2010 (Small Mammal Surveys) required volunteers to
undertake weekend specialist training sessions, and
performing surveys in more and more of their own time.
This required far more commitment and goes beyond the
traditional viewpoint of Corporate Biodiversity.
To recognise the extra commitment given by these
employees, they were given the name of Ricoh Eco Ninjas.
Since then, the ranks of the Eco Ninjas have grown, they
have undertaken more specialist biodiversity training, and
gone on to carry out conservation activities both on the
Ricoh site and in support of the local community.
Business Benefits
The goal of a business case for biodiversity is both to conserve biodiversity and to
increase the economic success of the company. This goal can be achieved through
targeted, biodiversity conservation measures that go beyond the legal requirements.
This is often aided by intelligently complying with existing and future government
regulations (i.e. Water Framework Directive) and improving efficiencies such as site
waste water costs.
Working with NGO’s (i.e. The Wildlife
Trust) on targeted biodiversity often
means employees need to learn a new
skill set. This can range from building
nest boxes (supporting) to becoming
part of a trained and licensed
biodiversity survey team (specialist).
Theses skills can be utilised off site to
carry out conservation surveys and
activities in the local community. This
extends the resources available to
NGO’s, matching their expertise with
available corporate manpower to
jointly work on targeted projects.
Ricoh’s Eco Ninjas have also presented at community events, extolling the value of
natural capital and assisting in the formulation of community conservation groups
(environmental leaders). Ricoh has also supported The Wildlife Trust in the

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development of corporate membership strategy, developing communication tools
(Ref: Appendix 3: Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity) and acting as an exemplar to
other business organisations (advocate).
The knowledge transfer from NGO’s such as Shropshire Wildlife Trust can also be
utilised at business sites, with the trained employees playing an active part in site
management.
The Eco Ninjas have worked with the Ricoh Site Maintenance department and
developed Biodiversity Buffer Zones on site, which have a much reduced cutting
program resulting in lower costs. They have also been learning tree management
methods (felling, copicing and pollarding) to create open glades and hybernacular
environments to promote site biodiversity
These management methods can be captured in the form of Process Guide
documents. These enable the developed knowledge base to be made available to a
wider team and then deployed to other business organisations with similar
aspirations.
This knowledge transfer,
developed through the
expertise and different skill
sets of both the Shropshire
Wildlife Trust and Ricoh, sets
the basis for other
organisations (Including
other Wildlife Trusts) to
begin and grow their
biodiversity programs,
ultimately improving wildlife
corridors and conservational
aspects across a much wider
scope.
This partnership approach, engaging with stakeholders to improve local community
targeted biodiversity issues, provides evidence of Social Responsibility.
This evidence can used to show existing and potential customers the ethical stance of
an organisation, and is becoming an increasing requirement of during the tendering
for contract stage during the procurement process. Improving site management
aspects and supporting the local community shows that you run a responsible
business, in which you accept stewardship of your assets and physically care for the
surrounding area.
Ricoh are advocates of business
excellence and have adopted the
Business Excellence Model as a
framework to measure and
benchmark the organisation.
Developing this symbiotic
partnership and then sharing the
learned processes show leadership
and societal attributes, which apply
directly to the framework.

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SWT Initial Site Biodiversity Survey: 2009
Background
On Monday 2nd
November 2009 the BESST group visited RPL Telford site in order to
identify potential on-site biodiversity enhancements and conservation project
opportunities for Ricoh employees.
The RICOH site boundary is marked by a mixture of natural screening, fencing, banks
and ditches. Internally the site divides into a number of level platforms on which sit
existing production buildings or may in the future be built on to increase production
capacity. Bearing in mind this potential change in the use of the internal space we
focussed on the boundary features and a significant hedge and ditch feature which
ran from North to South across the western half of the site.
The following areas were identified as “areas of value in generating biodiversity
enhancement and staff engagement”:
1. Black Poplars [Populus nigra]- bordering University
2. Old boundary hedge and ditch – bordering University
3. Young Woodland - back of RPL2
4. Hedge Enrichment – by security hut
5. Boundary hedge - adjacent to motorway.
Please see attached diagram (Appendix1)
It was noted that:
“The RICOH site offers a great number of opportunities to plant new woody shrubs,
trees and wild flowers. Most of the wildlife friendly measures are easy to plan and
execute, and are small scale making them cheap to fund and avoid time consuming
and complex projects.
The key contribution that all the suggested avenues for biodiversity gain is that they
all improve wildlife connectivity. As was mentioned above Telford despite its great
natural resources is in danger of slowly but surely isolating its wildlife hotspots by
severing the lifelines which bind them together. RICOH can make a positive
contribution to preventing this fragmentation.”
Pete W. Lambert
Shropshire Wildlife Trust 2009

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Proposed Actions and Recommendations for site
1. Black Poplars- bordering University
The proposed actions and key activities aimed to protect this rare and vulnerable
tree included the following.
 Confirm the identification of the tree and register it under the local
authority’s Tree Protection order register.
 Ensure the continued health of the Black Poplar trees by avoiding root
compaction and inappropriate ground disturbance in their vicinity.
 Commit to a once-a-year visual tree assessment in order to monitor the
tree health and safety issues.
 To register the tree on the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Hunt website in
order for the Shropshire Wildlife trust to gather accurate local records.
The proposed actions and key activities aimed to protect this old boundary hedge
include the following:
 To connect the hedge habitat to other similar habitats by planting up the
gaps in order to increase the variety of species the live here.
 To plant a number of adjacent trees down its length in order to support
more biodiversity and give the hedge more structure.
 Further suggestions were made regarding the adjacent trees. Instead of
mowing around the trees, connecting strips of grassland will be
incorporated into a much broader grass corridor.
 Further trees are to be planted in order to produce a linear woodland along
this border.
3. Young Woodland – back of RPL2
The proposed actions and key activities aimed to protect these native trees and
poplars that make up the young woodland include the following:
 To undergo gentle incremental thinning of the poplar trees over the next
few years in order to release the native slower growing trees that are
beneath.
 The wood arising from these operations will be stacked on the ground in
order to build up the deadwood community of invertebrates and fungi on
site.
 Erection of nest boxes for birds and bats in this wooded area in order to
increase the population and variation of these species.
 Further trees to be planted in this wooded area to increase population and
woody shrubs added such as Guelder rose, Hazel and Wych Elm.
The proposed actions and key activities aimed to protect and enrich this perimeter
hedge include the following:

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 It was noted that in three locations around the perimeter fence the hedge is
either very gappy or non-existent. Hedge should be planted in these gaps
in order to create a shelter and nesting place for many species of wildlife.
 Ensure planting of a mixture of woody species is done in a double row, and
individual plants are protected from rabbit damage by a spiral guard.
 Ensure the planted hedge is well maintained by water over the next few
summers and weed control until the hedge is established.
The proposed actions and key activities aimed to protect and enrich this boundary
hedge and to strengthen the ecological connectivity of the site include the following:
 It was noted that this boundary is marked by a fence, a line of standard
specimen trees and a beech head. Enhanced planting of small shrubs was
suggested in order to help the vegetation to screen pollution from the
motorway, capture dust, reduce noise and improve the effectiveness of the
strip as a wildlife corridor.
 Planting woody shrubs such as hazel and the addition of spring bulbs will
look much better and make it a much more bird-friendly habitat.
 Berry bearing shrubs are to be added in order to increase the foraging
value of the hedge and support a wider range of biodiversity.

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Completed Actions against plan and additional activities
Over the past 4 years many projects have been undertaken in order to support and
increase the diversity of wildlife and to provide a sustainable ecosystem for these
species on the RPL Telford Site.
1. Black Poplars [Populus nigra] – bordering University
As requested, the Black Poplar trees were positively identified and registered on the
Tree Protection Order Register and the woodland trust’s website by the ground
maintenance team.
In regards to the Black poplar trees, measures have been put into place in order to
reduce root compaction and ground disturbance. These include introducing a buffer
zone surrounding this area. The buffer zone is an area of land in which public access
and maintenance is limited in order for the natural ecosystem to thrive.
The old boundary hedge has been traced as far back as 1889
in local ordinance maps; this had led to it being labelled as an
“ancient hedge”. This makes it highly important as a species
rich ecosystem and is protected under the 1997 Hedgerow
legislation.
The hedgerow is also included in the buffer zone. This buffer
zone allows growth of many wild flowers and grasses as well
as a natural
undisturbed
habitat for
small
mammals,
Birds and
invertebrates.
Along this
hedge way, a

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number of small mammal boxes were introduced in order to record and attract small
mammals in this area.
The old boundary hedge is marked as 3 on the adjacent map.
3. Young Woodland – back of RPL2
Due to the fast growing trees that were planted around the native growing trees such
as oak by the council many years ago, there has been competition for light and food
sources by the species in this area. This had led to many of the slower growing
native trees to die off and begin rotting. Another issue is the proximity of these trees
to each other; as many trees were planted in close proximity, it was not sustainable
for all of them to survive.
Work is ongoing by the grounds maintenance team in trimming the larger trees and
removing the dead trees surrounding them. So far they have removed 50+ dead and
self-setting trees but plan to work on this project for many years to come in order to
make the trees sustainable and reintroduce the native trees back into the woodland
area.
In addition to this nest boxes for birds have been made to record and increase the
number of settled birds in the area.
The following map shows the location of Small Mammal boxes and Robin nesting
boxes in the young woodland area
Hedgerows are listed as a priority habitat in
the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). This
means that they have been identified as an
important habitat and actions are being taken
to increase the quantity and quality of hedges
in the UK, so that they continue to support a
wealth of wildlife.
In order to support more wildlife and increase
site security long term, without the need for
metal fencing, the hedge has been enriched
with many berry wielding species in order to

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support wildlife over the winter. A total of 275 bare root stock were planted in
November 2011 including Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Hazel (Corylus avellana), Wild Rose Red (Rosa
rugosa 'Rubra'), Spindle (Euonymus europaeus). These species should mature in 5-
10 years and should incorporate themselves into the ancient hedgerow lasting many
years.
It was suggested that the boundary hedge adjacent to the motorway is to be planted
with woody native shrubs. This area underwent planting with the following:
Cotoneaster (conspicuus) Spotted Laurel, Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Sage, Juniper,
conifers, Cotoneaster (horizontalis), Lavender, Phormium (New Zealand species)
Periwinkle (Vinca) Hebe (Genus). These plants aid pollution screening and provide
shelter and food for small mammals and such during the winter months.
In addition to this planting, Bird and mammal boxes were placed along this linear
feature in order to provide more sheltering and increase the number of species
present. 11 Blue Tit and 5 Robin nesting boxes were set up along this perimeter,
along with one bug habitat.
6. Bird and Bat box erecting
A total of 27 blue/grey tit boxes, 13 robin boxes, 2 bug habitats and one bat box
were erected on site. From these we found that 6 blue tit nests had eggs in them; an
obvious indication that they had been used by local wildlife and were actively
supporting the increase in local birds. Many of the other nest boxes were found to
have food stores in; an indication that they were being used by birds for winter
storage.
A Site map showing the location of bird nesting boxes.
T- Blue/Great Tit R- Robin

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The singular bat box was erected in the Black Poplar trees bordering the University
as a trial to see if there were any bats in the area as they are quite hard to find.
Although no bats were seen due to it being
to hard to get inside the bat nesting box;
several droppings were spotted on the
exterior of the box which is a positive sign.
A total of 40 mammal boxes were also
placed on site, some containing camera
traps. These were placed on the top
hedgerow near the security hut and the
back area of woodland behind RPL2. During
a survey of these nest boxes in
November 2010 we found evidence of a
number of small mammals including the following:
 Bank Voles
 Rats
 Shrews
 Yellow Neck mice
 Pygmy shrews
This was considered an excellent find as pygmy shrews are listed as an endangered
species.
Effects/Results
As a result of these conservation projects we have managed to attract a much wider
variety and population of species. We have tried to introduce many different habitats
from bug hotels to thick hedge growth in order to support a whole ecosystem on our
own site. Since 2009, many surveys have been undertaken in order to measure the
success of our conservation projects and to gain more knowledge on the local wildlife.

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Species Identified
Fauna
Birds
Buzzard Greater spotted woodpecker Goldfinch
Canada Geese Jay Greenfinch
Partridge Pheasant Pied Wagtail
Robin Long Tailed Tit Grey Wagtail
Fieldfare Blue Tit Wheatear
Thrush Coal Tit Sparrow
Blackbird Great Tit Starling
Pigeon Common Gull Heron
Swallow Kestrel Mistle Thrush
Mammals
Fox Weasel Rabbit
Rat Squirrel Hedgehog
Mole
Insects and other
Dragonfly Damselfly Sawfly
Wirlygig Beetle Diving Beetle Lily Beetle
Freshwater Shrimp Daphnia Cyclops
Caddisfly (larvae) 10 spot ladybird Common Ladybird
Ants Frog Toad
Newt Slow Worm
Moths
Common Swift Common Marbled Carpet Silver-ground Carpet
Green Carpet Flame Shoulder Seraphim
Brimstone Moth May Highflyer Peppered Moth
Clouded Silver White Ermine Pale Prominent
Heart & Dart Ingrailed Clay Common White Wave
Poplar grey Dusky Brocade Scalloped Hazel
Ghost Moth Figure of eighty Common pug
Iron Prominent Willowherb hawk Elephant Hawk
Lime Hawk Deaths head hawk
Without the knowledge gained from doing the projects, training
and working with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust we would not
have been able to identify these species let alone recognize the
signs that they were around site. A prime example of this is the
spotting of Badgers on site. Without the knowledge and
expertise gained from the Wildlife Trust we would not have been
able to set up camera traps or even recognize that the holes
found on site were from badgers digging for worms.

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Flora
Since the Action Plan 2009 was issued a survey has been undertaken on site and all
species of tree have been noted. Many endangered species of tree have been located
and registered on the Local Authorities Tree Protection Order and on the Woodland
Trust’s Ancient Tree Hunt Website. RPL currently has a tree preservation order for 84
semi and mature trees on site. This was introduced in 2005 by the Wrekin Council
town and planning Act 1990 & Tree preservation order 2005. This means RPL has a
responsibility to maintain and protect these trees and if guidelines are not followed
the local Authority can fine up to £20,000.
The below map shows the
location of the various tree
species.
T1: Oak (mature)
T2: Alder (mature
T3 : Oak (Mature)
T4 : Blue Atlas Cedar (semi
mature)
T5 : Blue Atlas Cedar (semi
mature)
T6 : Ginkgo (semi mature)
G1: Group of 10 Horse
chestnuts (Semi mature)
(bleeding canker disease on
G1 / G3
G2: x3 Turkey Oak (mature)
G3: Group of 13 Horse
Chestnuts (Semi mature)
G4: Group containing 4 sycamores (mature), 3 Beech (mature), 4 Limes (mature), 2
black Poplars (mature), (black poplars are the most endangered native timber tree in
Britain.)
G5: Group containing 12 Limes (Semi mature)
A1: A1 Lime (Tilia) Japaneese Cherry Blossom Tree (Prunus) Cedar (Cedrus)
Rhustyphina sumach
A2: Lime (Tilia) Weeping Silver Birch (Betula Pendula)
A3: Limes (Tilia) Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) Cherry (Prunus)
A4: Limes (Tilia) Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) Cherry (Prunus)
A5: Small Variety of conifers (Pinophyta),Firs (Abies)
A6: Cherry Blossom Tree (Prunus)
A7: Willow (Salix) Silver Birch (Betula Pendula) Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
A8: Willows (Salix)
A9: Lime (Tilia) Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
A10: Willows (Salix)
A11: Limes (Tilia) Cherry Blossom Tree (Prunus) Silver Birch (Betula Utilis) Conifers
A12: Silver Birch (Betula Utilis) Populus(tremula) Alder (Speckled & Alnus glutinosa)

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A13: Oak (Quercus robur) Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
A13a: Leylandii Cypress (Conifer) Japanese Red Maple
A14: Alder (Alnus Glutinosa)
A15: Variety of Silver Birch (Betula Utilis) Populus(tremula) Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
A16: Variety of woodland area consisting of Silver Birch (Betula Utilis)
Populus(tremula) Alder (Speckled & Alnus glutinosa) Oak (Quercus robur) Beech
(Fagus sylvatica) Field Maple (Acer campestre) Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
A17: Variety of woodland area consisting of Silver Birch (Betula Utilis)
Populus(tremula) Alder (Speckled & Alnus glutinosa) Oak (Quercus robur) Beech
(Fagus sylvatica) Field Maple (Acer campestre) Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
A18: Cherry Blossom Tree (Prunus)

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Conclusion
The Biodiversity Action Plan of 2009 can be deemed a success as many of the
proposed actions have been fulfilled and are ongoing. Many faithful employees have
volunteered their own time in order to complete these tasks; with more than 1100
man-hours being spent making, planting, surveying, training and much more.
(Appendix2)
These have positively impacted the range and population of wildlife in the local area
and have also allowed local groups such as the Shropshire Wildlife Group to record
the area.
Through this planning it has been possible to educate ourselves and Ricoh employees
on all aspects of conservation through training, practical sessions and research. By
doing this we have received many internal and external awards. In 2010, Ricoh was
awarded “SWM Top 50 Green Leaders” and “Environment agency Best Private Sector
Finalist”; and in 2011 received “Business Commitment to the Environment Premier
Award”. These awards have fuelled our thirst for more knowledge, action and
acknowledgement in this field.
As we continue our projects regarding the environment and conservation, with the
aid of many local conservation societies, we aim to continuously improve our effects
on the environment as individuals and as an organisation. We have many more
upcoming projects that aim to improve the aesthetics, conservation status and
wellbeing of many of the wildlife species on site as well as upkeep of our previous
projects that will take many years of care and attention in order to attain and
maintain the high levels of effectiveness planned.

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Appendix 1: Site Maps

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Appendix 2: Project breakdown of hours
Year Project Date Hours Volunteers Total
hours
Comments/
Information
2009
Pied
Flycatcher
Project
10/03/2009 6 5 30 Building nest
Boxes
17/03/2009 6 5 30 Building nest
boxes
24/03/2009 7 9 63 Installing nest
boxes
boxes
boxes
06/06/2009 4 2 8 Surveying
nest boxes
2010
Small
Mammals
Project
01/02/10 6 6 36 Building boxes
11/02/2010 6 6 36 Building boxes
15/02/2010 7 7 49 Installing
Boxes
17/02/2010 7 7 49 Installing
boxes
22/03/2010 5 4 20 Small Mammal
Training
13/07/2010 2 6 12 Training –
Ercall
14/07/2010 2 6 12 Training –
Ercall
01/09/2010 1 3 3 Small Mammal
Surveying
02/09/2010 1 4 4 Small Mammal
Surveying
10/09/2010 3 3 9 Wrekin
Summit
11/09/2010 3 3 9 Wrekin
Summit
14/09/2010 4 4 16 Trapping
Survey
15/09/2010 4 4 16 Trapping
Survey
24/11/2010 6 7 42 Wrekin Forest
Survey (clean
out)
2011
Presentations/
forums
19/07/2011 8 1 8 Ricoh UK
Support
Throughout
year
8 3 24 Forums
including
TGSP, SWF
Surveys 28/06/2011 7 7 49 Granville bird
nesting boxes
Early
September
6 4 24 Autumn
survey

25
Hedgerows
projects
09/11/2011 6 12 72 Hedge
Planting
30/11/2011 6 7 42 November
Maintenance
11/11/2011 6 3 18 Coppice
training
2012
National Nest
Box week
17/02/2012 2.5 6 15 Nest Box
Installation
Small Mammal
Survey
27/04/2012 4 6 24 Wrekin and
Ercall Small
mammal
survey
RPL Site Tour 11/05/2012 2 5 10 Checking
Small Mammal
boxes on site
RPL
Springwatch
x3
June 2012 1.5 12 18 Employee
biodiversity
tours
Lightmoor
community
small mammal
survey
09/06/2012 2 7 14 Small
mammal
10/06/2012 2 7 14 Small
mammal
SWT open day 04/08/2012 4 3 12 Representing
RICOH at
public events
RPL Site Walk 14/08/2012 2 3 6 Checking nest
boxes
Small mammal
trapping
30/08/2012 2 5 10 Mammal
trapping
31/08/2012 2 5 10 Mammal
Trapping
2013
National Nest
Box Week
15/02/2013 2 7 14 Checking Nest
boxes
Mammal
Tracking
Training
10/04/2013 3 10 30 Training-
Shropshire
Small Mammal
group
Wrekin Survey 26/10/2013 6 2 12 Checking Nest
Boxes
Small Mammal
Trapping
10/05/2013 2 5 10 On site
Trapping
11/05/2013 2 5 10 On Site
Trapping
Newt Hotel 03/06/2013 1 2 2 Building Newt
Hotel in Kibo
Garden
Camera Traps 07/06/2013 2 3 6 Setting up
Camera Traps
on Site
Springwatch 1 11/06/2013 1 3 3 Camera Traps
Moth Night 14/06/2013 3 4 12 Identifying
moths on site
Springwatch 2 18/06/2013 0.5 8 4 Nest Box tour
Springwatch 3 26/06/2013 0.5 12 6 Small Mammal

26
Trapping
BESST 17/09/2013 3 3 9 Site tour
End of Year
Survey
08/11/2013 6 5 30 Wrekin forest
nest box
survey
Moth Spotting 08/11/2013 2 1 2 Deaths head
hawk moth
found on site
SWT 20/11/2013 2 3 6 Annual
Biodiversity
Event
Camera Traps 22/11/2013 2 2 4 Suspected
Badger
Population
Breakdown of hours
57%
43%
Work Time
Eco ninja time

27
Appendix 3: Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity
Shropshire
Wildlife Trust
Title: SWT approach to Corporate Support - The Hierarchy of Corporate
Biodiversity.
Author: Andy Whyle
Summary: Development of a strategy that visualises –
1) Corporate levels of conservational aspiration and projects
2) Wildlife Trust development of partnerships which adds resources.
3) Partnership working to meet the collective needs of both parties whilst targeting the
Living Landscape
Decisions required: Council sponsorship of Horizontal deployment of Hierarchy of
Corporate Biodiversity strategy to other Wildlife Trusts.
Content
1. Introduction and Context
2. Benefits
3. Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity
4. Application and Results
5. Summary
6. Recommendations
1: Introduction and Context
Business organisations and corporate bodies are becoming increasingly aware and
engaged in sustainability. Forward thinking organisations see this as a business continuity
issue, on the premise that unless you become a more sustainable operation then issues
such as raw material availability and energy security will create a feedback that will
ultimately mean that you cannot operate as a business.
This appreciation of sustainability has led to a holistic understanding of the balance that
this involves. Some organisations (i.e. Ricoh) now base their approach on the
understanding that we should not only stop damaging the planet (reduce environmental
impact) but also repair the damage to the planet (improving the self recovery capabilities
of the earth).
Business organisations are also being driven by customer demand to become more
responsible. This demand is met through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) where
Committee: Council
Date: April 30th
2013
Paper:
5.2.2013

28
organisations carry out activities which provide evidence that meets this requirement. For
many organisations these societal results are captured within the European Foundation
for Quality Management’s Business Excellence Model (http://www.bqf.org.uk/). This
model is used by many organisations to develop sustainable excellence, capturing
enabler and result aspects including leadership, employee engagement and adding value
for customers.
Businesses are also being driven by more environmental regulation and legislative
compliance (Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009,
Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010), The forthcoming Water
Framework Directive will introduce more challenges, but also business opportunities.
At the national level, there are DEFRA aspirations which aim to halt overall biodiversity
loss, support healthy well-functioning ecosystems and establish coherent ecological
networks by 2020.
There are also results showing that society and conservation charities are rising to the
challenge. DEFRA’s UK Biodiversity Indicators in Your Pocket 2012 shows that the
numbers of protected areas and volunteer conservation time have increased in recent
years.
Since becoming corporate members of SWT in 2008 Ricoh UK Products Ltd have been
developing corporate based biodiversity strategy with SWT. Together with Pete Lambert
they established 3 rules based on the “think global – act local” philosophy to ensure that
both party’s aspirations would be met –
 Local: the project should be carried out in the local area to enable employees to
appreciate the biodiversity aspects and conservational needs. These could then be
passed onto family members, further increasing awareness.
 Physical: The physical engagement develops ownership and awareness, leading
to increased engagement in biodiversity support by employees in their personal
time.
 Targeted: identifies clearly the conservational need (i.e. BAP target, species in
decline). This can then be used as evidence of meeting a societal aspect (CSR),
enhancing the Ricoh brand and developing sustainable business
With these rules established, Ricoh and SWT engaged in the following projects:
– 2009: Pied flycatcher nest box & surveys
– 2010: Small mammal nest box & surveys
– 2011: Byways-4-Biodiversity Hedgerow surveys
– 2012: Eco Ninja Community Surveys / Site biodiversity
These proved successful in developing and applying this strategic approach, and together
have supported the Telford Green Spaces Partnership and formation of the Telford
Wildlife Forum community group.
The Business Environmental Support Scheme Telford (BESST) is a business
environmental network (http://www.telfordbesst.co.uk/). Chaired by Ricoh, the group
shares and develops sustainability best practice with over 150 other organisations. In
2011 BESST held the first of what is now an established annual biodiversity event. These
events showcase member’s biodiversity activities which are carried out with SWT’s
leadership. These case studies (e.g. Tudor Griffiths, Ricoh, DENSO, EON, Veolia) show

29
how corporate resources are matched with the expertise of SWT, working together to
effectively target local biodiversity needs and collectively contribute to the Living
Landscape program. In 2012 BESST worked with SWT, Shropshire County Council,
Telford & Wrekin Council and other stakeholders to form the Local Nature Partnership
(LNP), to bring together and drive Shropshire’s biodiversity strategy.
Through these events BESST members now understand that supporting biodiversity
increases CSR, adds value to business sites, engages employees, and by extension, the
wider local community.
2: Benefits
The partnership of Corporate membership offers mutual benefit for both business
organisations and the Wildlife Trusts.
The Wildlife Trust receives annual membership fees, access to employees for individual
membership, corporate resources (manpower/ equipment), develops lobbying capacity
and support for local and national issues. As more corporate members develop
biodiversity on their own business sites, this collectively contributes to supporting wildlife
corridors and assisting the overall biodiversity within a targeted area.
Corporate members generate CSR evidence to support sales and contracts, and
business excellence model evidence in leadership, employee engagement and social
responsibility. These contribute to developing a sustainable business, whilst use of the
Trust’s logo shows partnership and commitment.
3: Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity
Communication of the benefits of adopting corporate biodiversity activities has proven a
challenge. Explaining the corporate benefits, appropriate levels of engagement and
aspirations are best portrayed to
corporate bodies in a visual
representation so that the
business facing aspects can be
understood. Communications at
boardroom level tend to be time
constrained, so conveying
qualitative aspects can be
improved by explaining them
through a hierarchy.
To reflect this Ricoh, BESST
Steering Group and the SWT
Membership Development team
have developed the Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity. This hierarchy shows a strategy
which enables organisations to visualise and plan the level of engagement appropriate to
their business.
The hierarchy has several levels of engagement whereby an organisation can assess the
best starting point for them, and then decide the level that they want to target.
 Corporate Membership: at the lowest level, an organisation can join and the
membership fees are used to support the Wildlife Trust’s activities.
 Support for local conservation projects: This level allows organisations who
want to begin their biodiversity journey or don’t have the manpower resources to
lead a project to contribute to biodiversity. From a BESST perspective this answers

30
questions raised by small to medium enterprises (SME’s) who only have the
capacity to release small numbers of employees for projects.
 Lead Off-site Conservation projects: Organisations who have the capacity to
supply several employees can work in partnership with the Wildlife Trust on
targeted local biodiversity projects. This partnership matches corporate resources
with the expertise of the Trust. The effects are that Corporate aspirations for
evidence are met (community partner etc.) whilst the Trust receives extra
manpower for work on nature reserves etc. Volunteers also need training and get
experience of the work required (i.e. small mammal Trapping and identification).
Corporate volunteers may eventually become autonomous, developing ownership
for a specific project (i.e. Wrekin Forest nest boxes) and data capture which can be
supplied to the Trust on a frequent basis to support strategic biodiversity action
planning.
 On-site Conservation: Corporate members who have larger sites can take the
experience and training developed off-site and use it to develop and improve their
own biodiversity assets and land value. Improved awareness and land
management adds value to business sites. Using employee’s specialist knowledge
trained by the Trust saves costs of surveys, and adopting management control
measures with less environmental impact can reduce future remediation costs.
 Integrated Biodiversity Partnership: Ultimately a Corporate member can reach
the aspirational position of turning an on-site conservation area into a community
asset (i.e. Local Nature Reserve). This has been achieved by Tudor Griffiths and
the Wood Lane LNR in managing the site for breeding birds whilst allowing public
access. This corporate exemplar has become a community asset and best practice
model for other businesses, working in partnership with SWT’s expertise to allow
public and employee access to nature.
The hierarchy also shows the level of engagement available to corporate members and
their employees. This can range from the contract basis at basic membership level, to
developing partnership with the Wildlife Trust on projects and ultimately as a biodiversity
advocate. This aspect improves both CSR and employee’s engagement and development.
Ricoh has shown evidence of this with the development of its Eco-Ninjas. Through
working with the SWT employees have grown from showing an interest in local
biodiversity issues, to volunteering for projects, undertaking specialist training, presenting
findings as a stakeholder to the local community, to ultimately being invited to join SWT
as a Trustee.
Business excellence model needs are also
matched within this strategy. Corporate
membership shows evidence of contributing
towards societal results, whilst higher levels
of engagement show community partnership
working and leadership.
Leadership values extol integrity, CSR and
ethical behaviour which enhances the
organisation’s reputation (adds brand value).
Partnership values show how parties work together to achieve mutual benefit for their
respective stakeholders, using collective knowledge in generating ideas and innovation.
Society values sustain outstanding results that meet the needs and expectations of
stakeholders.
The EFQM Business Excellence Model

31
4: Application and Results
The expected result of implementing the Hierarchy of Corporate biodiversity is to
generate targeted biodiversity projects, involving the expertise of the Wildlife Trust,
corporate resources and alignment to community stakeholders.
SWT and the LNP have GIS database access which shows areas of conservational need.
BESST have members who are also SWT Corporate members. There are also several
community groups who volunteer their own time on conservation projects but sometimes
lack resources and need assistance.
The intention is to utilise the data to overlay these groups, matching BESST members to
either their local biodiversity issue and/or their local community group. This will develop
awareness and ownership, increase biodiversity and contribute towards the Wildlife
Trust’s Living Landscape vision.
The process flow has been developed as part
of deploying this hierarchy and discussed at
a Telford Green Spaces Partnership forum.
The discussions were favourable and as a
result SWT staff created a Corporate
Volunteer Request pro forma to allow the
individual stakeholder groups to seek
corporate member assistance with local
biodiversity projects. This approach will help
the community stakeholder groups effectively frame (manpower/time/cost etc.) the project
or requirement, which will make it easier for corporate members to allocate resources and
“sell” the benefits to their respective senior management teams.
The development hierarchy strategy has already contributed towards a review of SWT’s
corporate membership package. The new membership matrix now differentiates levels of
support and engagement provided by SWT appropriate to the level of corporate
membership (Standard-Bronze-Silver-Gold) and matches the aspirational approach of the
hierarchy.
The hierarchy drives partnership working between businesses and Wildlife Trust’s, and
this has resulted in win-win scenarios as different viewpoints, approaches and aspirations
are pooled, resulting in innovation.
In this partnership SWT has brought biodiversity and national stakeholder access to
funding. Ricoh and BESST members have brought corporate strategic sustainability
targets and legislative compliance issues.
This has resulted in DEFRA based funding being allocated to SWT as part of the national
Water Framework Directive development work (Telford Urban Catchments Fund). BESST
and SWT have collaborated to develop corporate awareness and engagement. As part of
the considerations Ricoh have now carried out a feasibility study into installing a
sustainable urban drainage system on site. The intention is that will increase biodiversity
whilst improving pollution prevention control (business risk) and working towards the
future legislative impacts of the Water Framework Directive to reduce diffuse pollution.
The result of this is that you have a conservation charity working with an environmental
business network to collectively improve biodiversity, reduce pollution and meet future
legislative requirements (compliance).

32
5: Summary
In summary the Hierarchy of Corporate Diversity –
 Has created an overarching framework
 Will develop targeted conservation projects
 Establish Strategic Biodiversity Partnership between Business (resource) and
Wildlife Trusts (experts)
 Develop business, employees and community in awareness & ownership of local
biodiversity issues
 Improve Business Excellence & Sustainability
 Improves Brand Value for both Corporate & Wildlife Trusts
 Has created a mutually effective partnership - working together to create The
Wildlife Trust’s vision of the “Living Landscape”, making Biodiversity sustainable
In the compilation of this paper I would like to acknowledge the support of Ricoh & Eco
Ninjas, BESST steering group, and from SWT, its staff, Membership Development Team
(with assistance from Richard Carpenter) and the Senior Management Team.
6: Recommendations
That once the paper has been presented and reviewed, for the Council to consider
sponsorship of horizontal deployment of Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity strategy to
other Wildlife Trusts.
Financial implications:
Corporate Advocate and Membership Team time & presentation aspects need to be
considered when deploying the approach, otherwise no financial investment required.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Hierarchy of Corporate Biodiversity presentation
Appendix 2: Corporate Volunteer Request form

33
Appendix 4: Annual Project Summary Reports
Environmental Projects 2009
2009 focused on a bird, the Pied Flycatcher. Pied Flycatchers are amber listed under the UK
conservation categories because of steep declines in their population in recent years (around
44%). They are closely associated with oak woodland such as that found on the Ercall and take
readily to nest boxes, so the volunteers had high hopes that the majority of the nest boxes would
be occupied.
The specific objectives were:
 To increase he breeding population of the
Pied Flycatcher in the Wrekin and Ercall
Woodlands.
 To achieve a stable and viable pied flycatcher
breeding population on the eastern fringe of
its breeding range in Shropshire.
 Install 30 nest boxes in the Wrekin and 30
nest boxes in the Ercall Woodland.
 Check and repair existing nest boxes in
Limekiln Wood to ensure a stock of 20 nest
boxes.
On 10th
and 17th
March volunteers at Ricoh constructed the nest
boxes from locally sourced sustainable wood. 5 volunteers gave
up their time and a total of 30 hours was spent constructing the
boxes alone.
Three days were spent installing the nest boxes in the various
locations around Telford; 24th
March, 31st
March ad 03rd
April. 9
volunteers gave up their time to hike, climb and scramble around
woodlands in order to erect these boxes.
A survey was carried out in June 2009 in order to measure the
success of installation of boxes. The programme exceeded the
expectations of the project’s ornithologist, with most of the boxes
having hosted a nest of Pied Flycatcher, Blue Tits or Great Tits.
The pied Flycatchers that were found were ringed with identification rings in order for them to be
tracked in the future and their breeding monitored.
The results were surprisingly impressive with 10 pairs
of Pied Flycatchers recorded and ringed with
identification bands for future tracking.
 In the Wrekin woodland 7 pairs with 44 young
were recorded;
 In the Ercall Woodland, 1 pair with 6 young
was recorded;
 In the Limekiln Woods 2 pairs were spotted.

34
Small mammals were the focus of 2010. In conjunction with
Shropshire Wildlife Trust and the Shropshire Small Mammals
Group, Ricoh took part in a project involving making and placing
nest boxes for monitoring small mammals in the Wrekin and Ercall
Woodlands, and later in the year, carrying out a biodiversity
survey.
This project was started, like the Pied Flycatcher project, due to a
steep decline in the population of these species. It was known that
dormouse numbers had declined due to loss of habitat but the
extent was not know as there was no valid survey data for the
local area. The information collected from this project was used to
create an overall diversity plan for future conservation activity in the local area.
The project was split into three phases.
Phase 1
The first took place in Winter/Spring 2010 and involved
constructing and installing 200 nest boxes for small mammals.
These were all made from sustainable locally sourced wood.
100 of the nest boxes were made on site at RPL for the project.
The nest boxes were installed in two places; the Wrekin Forest
Area and Limekiln Woods.
The adjacent table shows the volunteers for each part of the
project.
Phase 2
The second phase involved monitoring and data capturing of the
nest boxes. Before phase two began, Ricoh members were
trained by SWT and Shropshire Small Mammals group on trapping the small mammals, this
training was vital as it aided our volunteers and also
ensured the safety of the small mammals when they went
out trapping.
Licensed experts assisted Ricoh employees in temporarily
trapping and identifying the small mammals, before
releasing them again.
Phase 3
Phase three involved putting into practice what the
volunteers had been taught by carrying out surveys and
live trapping unsupervised by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
The table adjacent shows the areas and times this was
completed.
A Total of 40 mammal boxes were placed just on site here
at RPL. These were placed on the top hedgerow near the security hut
and the back area of woodland
behind RPL2. When surveyed in late
2010 evidence was found of a
number of small mammals including
Bank voles, Shrews, yellow neck
mice, and pygmy shrew.

35
2011 was a busy year. As Ricoh had become well known as an Environmental contributor; there
were more opportunities for forums, presentations and large scale meetings with groups such as
BESST and the Wildlife Trust.
The focus project of this year was however Hedgerow planting and
surveying.
On 6-8th
June 2011, volunteers from Ricoh took part in Hedgerow
Survey training. This vital training gave our volunteers the
knowledge and confidence to go out surveying hedges in various
areas. On 23rd
June 2011 the volunteers ventured out to Dothill and
Shawbirch in order to survey the hedges there and find out more
about the local wildlife. They again went out the following week on
28th
June to use their knowledge and training over the last two
years to install nest boxes for blue tits and robins in the hedgerows
on the Granville.
RPL’s Ricoh Eco Global Eco-Action Month (GEAM) was held in June 2011 and highlighted areas
of hedgerow that required replanting to fill in the gaps. Hedgerows are an important aspect of the
ecosystem as they provide shelter and travel for many species of wildlife.
On 9th
November Ricoh members went about planting the 275 Bare Root Stock selected by Jon
Oakley with advice from Pete Lambert from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust. The selection of plants
to fill the gaps included Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Hazel, Wild rose Red and Spindle. These species
are berry wielding therefore can also provide food for the wildlife over the winter months.
The area planted is highlighted below.
2011’s annual nest box maintenance was carried
out on 30th
November. 120 boxes situated over 4
sites across the Wrekin Forest were checked by
the Ricoh volunteers and Stuart Edmunds from the
Shropshire Small Mammal Society.
The boxes were checked for
traces of life and evidence that
they had been used and general
maintenance and cleaning of
them carried out. Many of the
boxes had evidence of being
used such as small food stores
or droppings in them. A few of
the boxes were found to have
the lid removed or dislodged
which led to a new method being developed of locking the lid in place.
Overall, 2011 consisted of many projects which involved sustaining the
environments that were created previously such as nest boxes and creating
new environments that will last if maintained properly such as the hedgerow
“by-way”.
2011 also involved many presentations and forums in order to attain more
knowledge and get Ricoh on the conservation map. Through working with Shropshire Wildlife
Trust and Shropshire Small Mammal Group Ricoh volunteers gained knowledge and skills as well
as presenting Ricoh as an Eco- Friendly Organisation.

36
2012 was a varied year with projects for small mammals, birds and a lot more employee
involvement and awareness through site biodiversity tours and RPL Springwatch. This employee
engagement was vital in advertising projects to new employees who didn’t know
much about what happens behind the scenes regarding conservation and
biodiversity.
The year kicked off with National nest box
week on 14th
-21st
February and Ricoh
volunteers gave up their time to install more
nest boxes around site along with numerous
bird feeders. Six volunteers gave up their time
on 17th
February in order to install the nest boxes for Robins
and Blue Tits around site.
There were numerous projects on and off site involving small
mammals in 2012; the first of which was on 27th
April. Four
volunteers gave up their Friday in order to venture out to the
Wrekin and Ercall forests and survey the mammal traps
which they had laid the previous year.
After this, in June, volunteers gave up their time to join the
Lightmoor community in surveying their small mammals.
This was hosted by the Shropshire Wildlife trust and involved
many of Lightmoor’s residents and students joining them for
talks and tours of the beautiful natural area around them. In
the evening on the 9th
seven volunteers ventured out in the
dark to check the mammal traps for any evidence of
habitation. This was repeated first thing in the morning on
10th
as many of the small mammals are nocturnal.
2012 hosted an array of on-site opportunities for
employees to learn more about what animals have
made their home here at RPL. In May, 6 volunteers
took part in a site tour in order to check the small
mammal boxes that were placed last year. This
provided surprising results as we found many
species of voles, mice and shrews including the
endangered pygmy shrew.
In June we also hosted three “RPL Springwatch”
tours of site to show employees what is around and
what we have been doing over the past few years
in regards to wildlife and conservation. There was a
great turn up for this with three tours hosting
around 35 employees overall.
As recognition for all our hard work, Environment
officer, Andy Whyle, was invited to celebrate the 100th
Centenary of the Wildlife Trust alongside the
Shropshire Wildlife trust in London. The event was
hosted at the Museum of Natural History and there
were guest appearances from legends such as Bill
Oddie, David Attenborough and Aubrey Manning.

37
2013 has been a demanding year for our Eco-ninjas. Working with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust
and Shropshire Small mammal group we have been able to learn a lot about our site and its
inhabitants; with training on small mammal trapping, moths and others.
The year kicked off in April with the Mammal tracking training hosted by
Stu Edmonds, chair of the Shropshire Mammal Group and attended by
Ricoh employees; Carl Griffin, Stu Mapp, Ian Cheshire, Tim Jones, Rob
Beech, Tania Willoughby, Alan Gwilt, Scott Pardoe and Andy Whyle. Stu
delivered a presentation outlining the methods of tracking small mammals
and the benefits of using motion detector cameras. He then took the Eco
ninjas out to look at the West side Hedgerow and along the Wesley brook
to spot some mammals.
This was shortly followed by Global Eco Action Month in
May where the Eco Ninjas focused their attention on
Small mammal trapping once again. This took place on
the eastern hedge near Priorslee Lake in Preparation for
the upcoming SUDs Project in 2014. Many eco ninjas
and volunteers from the Shropshire Mammal Group took
part on this wet and cold day, checking at least 10 boxes
and finding evidence of rare
Shrews.
Once the Eco ninjas had been trained they felt confident enough to
conduct their own unaccompanied survey of site at the end of May. They
found evidence of many small mammals including, yellow neck mice and
pygmy shrews.
In June volunteers gave up their Friday night along with the Shropshire
Invertebrate group in order to survey Moths. A total of 47 moths of many varying breeds were
found and identified with the help of Stephen Mitchell, Lizzie Wright and Tony Jacques of the
invertebrate group.
We also played host in November to BESST and SWT by hosting a factory site tour and
presentation showing the measures that Ricoh have put into place in order to protect the local
area. In addition to this Harper Adams Sustainability students visited site in November and
received a presentation on sustainability from a business perspective rather than a land
owner/agricultural view point.
In addition to all this, 2013 also contained some unexpected
events. The first of these was the finding of a Death-Head
hawk moth in RPL2 Warehouses. This became headline
news as it’s rarity and “stormtrooper mark” on its back and
was reported by newspapers such as the Daily Mail online
and Shropshire star. In addition to this in December camera
traps were set up after spotted by Security and our Eco
ninjas noticing some digging marks on site that were a sign
of a Badger Population. The camera traps proved useful as
2 badgers, a buzzard and a squirrel were all recorded.

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