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Highlights of Toyota's Environmental Progress
Highlights of Toyota's Environmental Progress
Published 10-04-04
Submitted by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
--Irv Miller, Group Vice President, Corporate
More about Toyota's environmental efforts can be found at www.toyota.com/environment
Communications Department, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
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.
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
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the United States, marketing products and services through a network of 1,427 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers in 49 states. Established in 1957, TMS and its subsidiaries also are involved in distribution logistics, motorsports, and research and development.
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