The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., (TEMA), with a 2008 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency at its 10 manufacturing plants across the U.S.
"Protecting the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emission while improving energy efficiency is a top priority of our team members," said Steve St. Angelo, TEMA Senior Vice President.
Examples of energy improvement at TEMAs U.S. facilities include:
- Replacing plant lights with new technology efficient lights, saving $500,000 annually and reducing CO2 emissions by 10,242 metric tons, equal to 730 homes.
- Reduce weekend and non-production energy usage, saving $103,000 annually and reducing CO2 emissions by 1,596 metric tons, equal to 115 homes.
- Reduce water use during the paint process, saving $185,000 annually and reducing water use by 50 gallons per vehicle.
Since 2002, Toyota has reduced its overall energy usage per vehicle by 21% and CO2 emissions per vehicle by 20%, which equals to 17,000 homes. These overall energy savings equate to savings of $26 million.
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 9,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $16 billion on their energy bills and helped reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information, visit www.energystar.gov
