Toyota holds tree-planting event in Thailand

Toyota Motor Thailand Plant, Ban Pho, Chachoengsao, Thailand

TOKYO August 3, 2008 - TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced that Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. (TMT) carried out Thailand's largest-ever^*1 tree-planting event at TMT's Ban Pho Plant in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand.



More than 10,000 volunteers---including local residents, officials of Chachoengsao Province, Toyota suppliers and dealers, and plant employees and their family members---gathered to give root to approximately 100,000 trees at and around the vehicle production facility.

The event---representing TMC's ongoing effort to plant trees at and around vehicle production facilities as part of its global sustainable plant activities^*2---was designed to create a multi-layered natural environment using trees native to the area and to create a production site that could serve as a lush and diverse habitat for various living creatures. Based on a survey of the local flora, 34 types of tree including yang-na and takien thong were selected, with approximately 100,000 trees planted in total.

The Ban Pho Plant, which began operation in 2007, is aimed at being an innovative plant in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of its production technology and environmental response. It has achieved zero landfill waste since commencing operations and was the first overseas TMC plant to introduce a cogeneration system and solar panels, which enable it to cut its CO₂ emissions by 9,000 tons annually. In addition, wastewater is recycled at the plant and water-borne metallic-paint is used in vehicle body paint lines. Currently, a biotope^*3 being created at the plant will promote the reuse of materials from production and production-related processes, such as using wood from shipping crates to build bridges, waste plastic to create benches, and blocks made from solidified waste to pave footpaths.

The Ban Pho Plant, together with TMC's Tsutsumi Plant in Japan, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi, Inc. (TMMMS) in the United States, Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd., and Toyota Motor Manufacturing France S.A.S. (TMMF), is a model plant for sustainable plant activities.

TMC believes that the successful implementation of its sustainable plant activities depends on how well it can cultivate eco-consciousness among its employees and the ability of its plants to coexist with their surrounding communities. At the Ban Pho Plant, environmental displays have been set up in each production process area to raise employees' environmental awareness, and, through such actions as today's tree-planting event and the future opening of the biotope to the general public, the plant intends to further its sustainable plant activities, aiming to become a production facility that will be embraced by the surrounding community.

In the future, TMC plans to gradually initiate such activities at all of its plants around the world to make sustainable plants a reality.

*1. According to TMT studies
*2. TMC is steadily expanding the number of production facilities worldwide at which sustainable plant activities are undertaken. In July 2007, aiming to create production sites that make use of the natural environment and achieve harmony with nature, these activities were launched with a focus on the following three areas:
i) Energy reduction through the development and introduction of low CO2-emitting production technologies and the implementation of daily kaizen (continuous improvement) activities
ii) Switching over to renewable energy such as solar power
iii) Contributing to the local community and conserving the environment by planting trees at and around plants
*3. An area uniform in climate and distribution of animal and plant life


Image courtesy of e-Toyota club, Thailand

[Source : TOYOTA]