Environmental Strategy
Respect for the Planet is one of Toyota Motor North America’s core values. We demonstrate this value by striving to go beyond zero environmental impact, to creating a net positive impact for society and the planet.
At TMNA, we focus our efforts on four priority issues – Carbon, Water, Materials and Biodiversity – that span the vehicle life cycle and align with Toyota's corporate global environmental strategy. We also engage in outreach activities to promote awareness, develop strategic partnerships and share know-how, all to help build a more sustainable future. The vehicle life cycle is shown below, along with descriptions of our focus areas.
TMNA’s Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs (SRA) division handles Product Environmental and Safety Regulation, Energy and Climate Research, Environmental Sustainability, Enterprise Chemical Management, and Engine Certification and Compliance.¹ The Environmental Sustainability (ES) group of SRA is responsible for developing short-, medium- and long-term sustainability strategies for TMNA, including planning and target setting in alignment with the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, which includes developing consolidated five-year environmental action plan goals and targets. ES is also responsible for developing the annual North American Environmental Report. ES reports progress on these activities to the North American Executive Committee (NAEC).
ES facilitates an Environmental Working Group as a coordinating mechanism for TMNA. The group is comprised of environmental experts and representatives from various divisions:
• Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs
• Research and Development
• Procurement
• Corporate Communications
• Compliance and Audit
• Logistics
• Enterprise Strategy
• Real Estate Property Services
• Environmental & Facilities
• Legal
• Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI)
• Parts Supply Chain Operations
• Manufacturing Engineering Division
Representatives from these divisions also participate in focus groups that concentrate on specific environmental issues, such as water or biodiversity. These focus groups report to the Environmental Sustainability Working Group and help implement environmental action plan targets, perform benchmarking and data gathering activities, and raise awareness among team members and external stakeholders.
¹ Separately, TMNA’s Environmental & Facilities (E&F) division handles facility environmental and safety regulatory compliance.