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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
10.04.2004 ET
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CSR News from:
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Highlights of Toyota's Environmental Progress
Toyota Environmental Update, October 2004
(CSRwire) Our goal is to keep you informed about our worldwide progress on
environmental matters. Thank you for your interest in Toyota's efforts to
become a greener automaker.--Irv Miller, Group Vice President,
Corporate
Communications Department, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. More about
Toyota's environmental efforts can be found at www.toyota.com/environment
Toyota announces major increase in U.S. Prius allocation
Prompted by consumer demand, Toyota will make 100,000 Prius hybrid cars
available in the U.S. market for 2005. This follows a strong growth trend
in U.S. sales during the past two years. Prius sales in 2004 are on track
to exceed 45,000 units for the year, which is significantly higher than
the nearly 25,000 sold in 2003. Toyota plans to expand monthly Prius
production for the world market to 15,000 in 2005, up from 10,000 in
2004.
Toyota sponsors preservation of public lands
For the sixth consecutive year, Toyota was the national sponsor of
National Public Lands Day, the largest hands-on volunteer conservation
program in the U.S. More than 80,000 volunteers, including thousands of
Toyota Associates, improved trails, built bridges, removed invasive
plants, and planted trees in natural areas and parks across the country.
In September, the U.S. Department of the Interior gave Toyota its Take
Pride in America Award in the corporate category for sponsoring National
Public Lands Day.
Toyota trains first responders in hybrid vehicle safety
Toyota field training and technical specialists recently taught 400 public
safety professionals how to respond to accidents involving Toyota hybrid
vehicles. Firefighters and police officers were among those who learned
how hybrids work and participated in hands-on safety demonstrations in
Orange County, California. Prius has numerous built-in safeguards,
including isolation of high-voltage components and automatic shutoff to
help ensure the safety of occupants and emergency responders in the event
of an accident.
Environmental activity in Kentucky
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), the company's largest U.S.
vehicle assembly plant, has environmental programs and sponsorships that
include:- Sponsorship of a natural history education exhibit for the
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Programs for the Louisville Zoo and National Public Lands Day
- An exhibit at this year's Kentucky State Fair that focused on themes
of Renew, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
- TMMK Georgetown has assigned two employees as part-time Wildlife
Managers. They run programs to keep deer off roads and parking lots,
relocate wild animals found in buildings, and educate employees about
wildlife contact. One of their duties is to maintain two large deer
feeders sited away from the roads and parking lots of the site's 1,300
acres. The timed feeders shoot out kernels of corn during peak traffic
hours to keep deer away from vehicles during shift changes.
Toyota
president speaks on the automotive business and the environment
Fujio Cho, Toyota's President, named the environment as one of three key
business priorities in a recent speech, along with globalization and
development of human resources. "In the past, being an environmentally
conscious company was a luxury...but not any more," he said. "If
automakers don't reduce smog-forming emissions, greenhouse gases, and the
need for petroleum, I believe we won't be in business." Cho noted that the
Prius has passed 200,000 in global sales, setting the stage for further
hybrid progress, and discussed Toyota's aggressive worldwide environmental
goals. "Energy use at our North American plants is down 17% since 2000," he
said, "and four of our engine and parts plants are at zero landfill
status."
Environmental and Social Report available online
Toyota Motor Corporation's Environmental and Social Report 2004 on
worldwide environmental management, covering vehicle development,
operations, and more, can be downloaded from www.toyota.co.jp/en/envrep04.
For questions or information, contact Cindy Knight at (310) 468-2170 or by
e-mail at cindy_knight@toyota.com.
Produced by Robert Oberhand & Assoc., Chatsworth, CA, in conjunction with
Toyota Corporate Communications Department
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