Ricoh will continue its title sponsorship of the Ricoh Women’s British Open in 2009

Environmental preservation has been a top priority for Ricoh for over 30 years. To build off this objective, Ricoh announced the new GIFT initiative (Green Initiatives For Tomorrow), which targets players, spectators and the broader audience. Supported by the Ladies Golf Union, LPGA, the Ladies European Tour, as well as this year’s players, the program encourages people to make changes in their daily lives to help reduce their carbon footprints. In addition to this program, Ricoh will continue to support and promote the work conducted by the Seeds for Africa Charity. During the competition Ricoh will plant one tree for every birdie scored, five trees for an eagle and 1,000 trees for an albatross. In 2008, the funds raised from this program, which included sales of promotional items, totaled over 4,000 trees planted in Africa.

"We are proud to once again be the title sponsor of this year’s Women’s British Open and support these exceptional competitors. Not only are we supporting the environment with the GIFT initiative and Seeds for Africa Charity, but we identify with the principles that this competition stands for — excellence, professionalism and dedication — making this a meaningful sponsorship that we hope to continue for years to come," said Kirk Yoshida, Deputy President of Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Ricoh became the title sponsor of the event in 2007 when it was played on the Old Course at St. Andrews, and continued the tradition last year where the event was held at the Sunningdale Golf Club. In addition to the title sponsorship, Ricoh is the official printing solutions provider for the tournament. Their digital multifunctional products (MFPs) are in place to aid with event preparations as well as needs that arise during the game in the press center. The Ricoh British Women’s Open will be televised in the United States on July 30 and 31 on cable channel TNT and on August 1 and 2 on ABC.