Toyota
receives major environmental awards in California
Top California
environmental honor
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS) received the 2007
Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA), the State of California's
highest and most prestigious environmental honor. Toyota received the award for
integrating environmental values and conservation of natural resources into long-term
decision making and management of businesses and facilities. TMS was recognized
for its corporate environmental program, including long-term goals to reduce environmental
impacts (5-Year Environmental Action Plan), waste minimization efforts, energy
and resource conservation, and community outreach efforts.
California
waste reduction awards
Seven Toyota sites have received 2007 WRAP (Waste
Reduction Awards Program) awards from the State of California. WRAP is administered
by the California Integrated Waste Management Board to give public recognition
to businesses for outstanding waste reduction efforts. Select locations and achievements
include:
- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Headquarters and Los Angeles Parts
Distribution Center have reached the zero waste milestone, and diverted more than
2,800 tons of material from landfill.
- Toyota's North American Parts Center
California, Ontario, diverted more than 1,000 tons of waste from landfills, and
eliminated the use of 2,700 tons of wood and 1,250 tons of cardboard by using
returnable shipping units.
- Toyota's San Francisco Parts Distribution Center
and Regional Sales Office, San Ramon, recycled more than 511 tons of board, paper,
wood, metal, plastic, and hazardous waste and sent only 7.3% of their solid waste
to landfill.
Environmental Media Association presents its Corporate Responsibility
Award to Toyota
The Environmental Media Association presented Toyota with
its first-ever Corporate Responsibility Award, recognizing the company's achievements
in bringing environmentally sensitive vehicles to market and its support of environmental
causes. The award was presented at the association's Environmental Media Awards
ceremony in November, an annual gala event that recognizes members of the entertainment
industry who incorporate environmental messages in their work and "green"
their operations. Toyota was a co-presenting sponsor of the event.
Toyota
delivers plug-in hybrid prototypes to research institutes
Toyota has delivered
two plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) prototypes to the Institute of Transportation
Studies, University of California, Berkeley and the Advanced Power and Energy
Program, University of California, Irvine.
UC Berkeley will examine whether
buyers want to plug in their vehicles, and what trade-offs drivers are willing
to make between range, charging time, battery size, and cost. UC Irvine will study
how to measure and test fuel economy and vehicle emissions, how to account for
the upstream emissions from electricity generation, and in regions with a higher-carbon
grid mix, whether plug-ins would provide an emissions benefit.
Based on
the Prius, the PHEVs are designed to run in electric mode more often and at higher
speeds than a standard Prius. They are powered by oversized packs of nickel-metal
hydride batteries that simulate the performance expected from more compact battery
systems that will be developed in the future.
Toyota's Fuel Cell Hybrid
Vehicle demonstrates cold weather capability in Alaska
A 2,300-mile demonstration
run from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia was conducted using
Toyota's latest-generation fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV), which is based on
the Highlander mid-size SUV. The test confirmed progress in reliability, durability,
cold-weather operation, and the extended range of Toyota's fuel cell hybrid system.
The FCHV averaged more than 300 miles per 5.9-kilogram hydrogen fill-up. The journey
was monitored in real time, measuring distance, time, speed, hydrogen tank temperature,
and fuel consumption.
