Toyota released its 2004 North American Environmental Report, which describes its continued improvements and plans for the future.
Building on the success of the second-generation gasoline-electric Prius, Toyota made progress managing environmental issues across the life cycle of automobile design, production, sales, distribution and recycling.
Toyota's Five-Year-Environmental Action Plan lays out goals and targets:
* Design and Development: two new SUV hybrids will be launched in 2005: the Lexus RX 400h and the Highlander. Toyota says these will combine the performance of an SUV with the fuel economy of a compact car. Toyota is ahead of the required compliance schedule for certification of its vehicles to the new Tier 2 and LEV II emission standards.
* Manufacturing: Over the past year, its manufacturing plants achieved targets for reduced energy and water use, and emissions of volatile organic compounds two-years ahead of schedule.
* Sales and Distribution: N. American sales of the Toyota Prius have exceeded 100,000 units. U.S. sales and distribution activities were achieved with an overall reduction of 1.8% in GHG emissions. Vehicle distribution centers in the U.S. and Canada achieved ISO 14001 certification/registration and a sixth straight year of 100% compliance with regulations applicable to hazardous materials/dangerous goods.
* End-of-Life/Recycling: Toyota made a new commitment to voluntarily phase out the use of certain substances of concern-such as mercury and lead — in all Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles sold in North America. The company is also working to achieve a 95% vehicle recovery rate by FY 2015.
To read the report:
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