1.23.2007 - 01:05pm ET

(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

Prius “most efficient overall” in U.S. EPA guide; Toyota vehicles score high
The U.S. EPA has published its annual Fuel Economy Guide, naming the 2007 Prius “Most Efficient Overall” of all passenger cars sold in the U.S.

In the Guide’s list of cars, trucks, SUVs and vans, Toyota vehicles are among the top five most fuel efficient in more EPA categories than those of any other manufacturer.

Toyota also has the most listings among the sixteen “Most Efficient Cars” in the Guide. They are the midsize Prius, the compact Corolla with manual transmission, and the subcompact Yaris with manual or automatic transmission.

Three Toyota plants win ENERGY STAR awards
The U.S. EPA has recognized three of Toyota’s U.S. vehicle assembly plants with ENERGY STAR Plant Awards. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana; Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky; and New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., have installed energy-efficient fluorescent lamps in all areas, minimized the operational time of their paint shops by 10 percent, and eliminated certain sections of the paint operations to reduce energy use by 5 percent. This is the first time that the U.S. EPA has announced ENERGY STAR Plant Awards. Toyota has been an ENERGY STAR partner since 2003, a designation for companies that improve and promote energy efficiency in their products, with customers, and in their own facilities.

Toyota sponsors Hollywood’s Environmental Media Awards
In November, Toyota was the Presenting Sponsor of the 16th Annual Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards in Los Angeles. The EMA Awards recognize creative teams behind television and film productions as well as musicians who expand public awareness of environmental issues. The Award categories include feature and dramatic films, plus episodic television drama and comedy. Best Feature Documentary went to An Inconvenient Truth, which focuses on global warming and features former Vice President Al Gore. The members of rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers won the EMA Missions in Music Award for their long-standing commitment to the environment.

Toyota supports Detroit environmental education with a grant plus a hybrid SUV
The Toyota USA Foundation has awarded nearly $250,000 to The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit resource agency dedicated to revitalizing Detroit by reforesting public lands. The award will underwrite a yearlong, nontraditional life science program targeting more than 900 K–5 students and 250 educators in Detroit’s public schools. Toyota has also donated a 2007 Highlander Hybrid to the agency to support its educational efforts. This is the Foundation’s second award to The Greening of Detroit.

Other Toyota USA Foundation award recipients this year include Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; Girls Inc., New York, NY; the Ocean Institute, Dana Point, CA; the Educational Equity Center at the Academy for Educational Development, New York, NY; the Urban Ecology Center, Milwaukee, WI; and the American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY.

Toyota donates Camry Hybrid sedan to Yellowstone
Toyota has donated one of the first U.S.-assembled Camry Hybrids to the Yellowstone Park Foundation. Park staff will use the vehicle to assist with environmental programs that educate and enhance the park experience of Yellowstone’s 3 million annual visitors. The Foundation funds projects and programs that protect, preserve, and improve Yellowstone National Park. With the addition of the Camry Hybrid to Yellowstone’s four Prius hybrids that Toyota donated in 2004, the Park’s hybrid fleet now stands at five vehicles. In 2005, Toyota gave $1 million to the Foundation and lent consulting support for the development of a new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center.

For information, contact Bill Kwong at bill_kwong@toyota.com. Produced by Robert Oberhand & Assoc., Los Angeles, CA, in conjunction with Toyota Corporate Communications Department.

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