Toyota Motor Europe Publishes 2009 Sustainability Report
September 4, 2009 by admin
Filed under Initiatives
Toyota Motor Europe (TME) has made its 2009 Sustainability Report available online. The report details the company’s efforts in environmental, social and economic activities for fiscal year 2008 (April 2008 – March 2009), including the attainment of its year-on-year reductions in CO2 emissions target.
Total CO2 emissions generated by TME’s production, logistics and sales operations in Greater Europe were reduced by more than 17% from 588,066 tonnes in FY 2007 to 485,230 tonnes in FY 2008. TME cites several factors, including its increased reliance on ‘clean and green’ energy, which helped the firm to attain its targets. Over 14 TME facilities in 11 markets are now powered by 100% renewable energy. 100% of TME’s EU operations also achieved ISO 14001 certification – an international standard in environmental management.
For the same period, fleet-average CO2 emissions on new Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold (EU-15) shrunk by almost 4% from 150.7 g/km to 145.3 g/km. The reduction in tailpipe emissions is attributed in part to the introduction of advanced environmental technologies, like Toyota Optimal Drive and Hybrid Synergy Drive and Lexus Hybrid Drive. In FY 2008, compact, low-emitting vehicles comprised almost one-third of Toyota brand sales in Europe.
Despite the 2008′s economic climate, TME contributed a total of €7.8 million in social contributions across some 300 community projects – focusing on technical education, environment and road safety. Toyota in Europe also re-emphasised its commitment to providing stable employment to permanent workers.
New investment in Europe was accelerated by the start of production of locally-built models: the all-new Toyota Avensis (sedan and wagon) at Toyota Motor Manufacturing United Kingdom (TMUK) in November 2008 and the third generation Toyota Verso at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) in March 2009.
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