12.11.2007 - 02:00pm ET

(CSRwire) December 11, 2007 -

Toyota Receives Major Environmental Awards in California
Top California environmental honor
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS) received the 2007 Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA), the State of California's highest and most prestigious environmental honor. Toyota received the award for integrating environmental values and conservation of natural resources into long-term decision making and management of businesses and facilities. TMS was recognized for its corporate environmental program, including long-term goals to reduce environmental impacts (5-Year Environmental Action Plan), waste minimization efforts, energy and resource conservation, and community outreach efforts.

California waste reduction awards
Seven Toyota sites have received 2007 WRAP (Waste Reduction Awards Program) awards from the State of California. WRAP is administered by the California Integrated Waste Management Board to give public recognition to businesses for outstanding waste reduction efforts. Select locations and achievements include:

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Headquarters and Los Angeles Parts Distribution Center have reached the zero waste milestone, and diverted more than 2,800 tons of material from landfill.

Toyota's North American Parts Center California, Ontario, diverted more than 1,000 tons of waste from landfills, and eliminated the use of 2,700 tons of wood and 1,250 tons of cardboard by using returnable shipping units.

Toyota's San Francisco Parts Distribution Center and Regional Sales Office, San Ramon, recycled more than 511 tons of board, paper, wood, metal, plastic, and hazardous waste and sent only 7.3% of their solid waste to landfill.

Environmental Media Association presents its Corporate Responsibility Award to Toyota
The Environmental Media Association presented Toyota with its first-ever Corporate Responsibility Award, recognizing the company's achievements in bringing environmentally sensitive vehicles to market and its support of environmental causes. The award was presented at the association's Environmental Media Awards ceremony in November, an annual gala event that recognizes members of the entertainment industry who incorporate environmental messages in their work and “green” their operations. Toyota was a co-presenting sponsor of the event.

Toyota delivers plug-in hybrid prototypes to research institutes
Toyota has delivered two plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) prototypes to the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley and the Advanced Power and Energy Program, University of California, Irvine.

UC Berkeley will examine whether buyers want to plug in their vehicles, and what trade-offs drivers are willing to make between range, charging time, battery size, and cost. UC Irvine will study how to measure and test fuel economy and vehicle emissions, how to account for the upstream emissions from electricity generation, and in regions with a higher-carbon grid mix, whether plug-ins would provide an emissions benefit.

Based on the Prius, the PHEVs are designed to run in electric mode more often and at higher speeds than a standard Prius. They are powered by oversized packs of nickel-metal hydride batteries that simulate the performance expected from more compact battery systems that will be developed in the future.

Toyota's Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle demonstrates cold weather capability in Alaska
A 2,300-mile demonstration run from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia was conducted using Toyota's latest-generation fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV), which is based on the Highlander mid-size SUV. The test confirmed progress in reliability, durability, cold-weather operation, and the extended range of Toyota's fuel cell hybrid system. The FCHV averaged more than 300 miles per 5.9-kilogram hydrogen fill-up. The journey was monitored in real time, measuring distance, time, speed, hydrogen tank temperature, and fuel consumption.
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For information, contact Bill Kwong at bill_kwong@toyota.com or, for information on Toyota Canada, Kathryn Ruhland at kruhland@toyota.ca. Produced by Robert Oberhand & Assoc., Los Angeles, CA, in conjunction with Toyota Corporate Communications Department.

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