Toyota’s long-term aspirations for environmental sustainability are outlined in the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. Mid-term milestones have been established for 2030 and 2035 as well as short-term (five-year) targets.
Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050
The Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 (Challenge 2050) is a set of six visionary, global challenges that seek to go beyond eliminating negative environmental impacts to creating positive value for the planet and society. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC, TMNA’s parent company headquartered in Japan) announced these six challenges in 2015 after extensive research and internal and external consultation. The challenges, which apply to all Toyota subsidiaries around the world, are the most demanding and most inspiring environmental commitments this company has ever made.
The six challenges are:
New Vehicle CO₂ Emissions Challenge – Reduce CO₂ emissions from new vehicles by 90% (2010 baseline)
Operations CO₂ Emissions Challenge – Eliminate CO₂ emissions from operations
Life Cycle CO₂ Emissions Challenge – Eliminate CO₂ emissions from suppliers and dealers
Water Conservation Challenge – Conserve water and protect water resources
Recycling-Based Society Challenge – Support a circular economy
Harmony with Nature Challenge – Conserve biodiversity, protect species and restore habitats
Through Challenge 2050, team members across the company, in every region of the world, are working to put Toyota’s global vision of Respect for the Planet into action. Challenge 2050 unites us all with a common purpose – to be more than just good stewards of the environment and to create positive changes beyond our facility boundaries.
Within TMNA, we continue to refine a regional environmental sustainability strategy to align Toyota’s global values and Challenge 2050 with our regional focus areas – Carbon, Water, Materials and Biodiversity. In each focus area, we are working towards minimizing environmental impacts and, through outreach activities, towards a net positive impact on society and the planet.
Mid-Term Milestones
TMC has established several global mid-term milestones to help the company achieve the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050.
| Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 | Global Milestone | TMNA Contributions and Milestones |
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Reduce global average CO₂ emissions (grams/kilometer) from new vehicles by 35% or more by 2030. | CO₂ emissions per mile from TMNA’s new vehicles have decreased 41% since 2010. CO₂ emissions per mile from TCI’s new cars have decreased 23% since 2012.
TMNA Milestones: In the U.S., Toyota has targeted 70% electrified new vehicle sales (excluding performance vehicles) by 2030. |
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Reduce CO₂ emissions throughout the vehicle life cycle by 25% or more by FY2030, compared to 2013 levels. | TMNA defines vehicle life cycle to include suppliers, logistics and dealerships.
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Achieve carbon neutrality at global manufacturing plants by 2035. | TMNA defines carbon neutrality to apply to all facilities, not just manufacturing plants. Total Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions are 20% lower than they were in FY2018. This is due to GHG efficiency measures and increases in renewable electricity purchases. We are on track to becoming carbon neutral at our facilities by 2035.
TMNA Milestone: In the U.S., Toyota is targeting reducing GHG emissions at nine plants by 50% by FY2030 (from a baseline of FY2018), through energy efficiency measures and building renewable energy generation. This target was set as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge. |
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Complete impact assessments by 2030 at each of the 22 plants in North America, Asia and Europe where water is discharged directly into a river. | We are implementing the International Water Stewardship Standard, developed by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). We are currently piloting the AWS Standard at our assembly plant in Baja California, Mexico, and plan to roll out to additional sites in the future. |
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Complete the establishment of battery collection and recycling systems globally by 2030. |
We are working with our partners to create a sustainable, closed-loop battery ecosystem at our new battery manufacturing plant in North Carolina. Our current battery recycling program in the U.S. has collected and recycled or remanufactured over 178,000 hybrid vehicle batteries since 2010. |
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Contribute to biodiversity conservation activities in collaboration with NGOs and other partners. | We are supporting the development of at least 26,000 acres of pollinator habitat in North America by FY2026. In FY2022, 1,547 acres of pollinator habitat were developed through a collaboration with Pollinator Partnership (P2). TMNA has also developed 375 acres of pollinator habitat on its own lands, mostly through our partnership with Wildlife Habitat Council® (WHC). This brings the total number of acres to 1,922. |
Environmental Action Plan Targets
North American environmental sustainability planning, strategies and actions are driven by an Environmental Action Plan, a five-year roadmap that helps achieve incremental progress towards the global milestones and the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050.
| Focus Area | 7th EAP Targets | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Offer electrification across the Toyota and Lexus line-ups by around 2025 | 52% of models are electrified | |
| Achieve 40% electrified new Toyota vehicle sales by 2025 (excluding performance vehicles) | 25% of sales were electrified in 2021 | ||
| Increase purchased renewable electricity to 45% or more of total electricity purchased by 2025 | Currently at 4.3%, but have two VPPAs coming online in 2022 and 2023 that are expected to bring us above 20%. This target also supports the mid-term milestone for all facilities to be carbon neutral by 2035. | ||
| Reduce absolute CO₂ emissions from logistics by 15% from FY2018 levels, by FY2026 | We do not expect to be able to meet this target, given the forecasted availability of fuel cell and electric powertrains for trucking fleets. | ||
| Reduce absolute CO₂ emissions from suppliers by 10% from FY2018 levels, by FY2026 | Supplier companies submitted CO₂ data to us for the first time in FY2022. We expect to begin tracking emissions reductions in the near future. | ||
| Expand participation in the Dealer Environmental Excellence Program to 100 dealerships by FY2026 | 16 dealerships are already participating, 6 of which use renewable electricity. | ||
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Reduce water use per unit of vehicle production by 5% by FY2026, from FY2020 levels | 1% reduction in water intensity, FY2020-FY2022 | |
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Reduce single-use plastics at all on-site food services by FY2026 by 75% | Due to COVID-related delays in employees coming back to the office, we did not make much progress on this target last fiscal year. We expect to see progress in FY2023. | |
| Reduce procurement of single-use packaging materials by 25% by FY2026, from FY2018 levels | Based on our estimates, we have reduced the use of single-use packaging materials by approximately 19% compared to the FY2018 baseline. | ||
| Implement a closed-loop battery recycling program by FY2026 to support our new battery manufacturing plant in North Carolina | We are working with our partners to create a sustainable, closed-loop battery ecosystem at the North Carolina battery manufacturing plant. Toyota and Redwood Materials are exploring a series of end-of-life battery solutions. | ||
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Support the development of at least 26,000 acres of pollinator habitat in North America by FY2026 | At the end of FY2022, we had supported 1,922 acres and we have more planned for FY2023. | |
| △ On track ◯ Behind X Not on track | |||
