by Shane Henson — January 30, 2012—Honda’s new report focusing on the environmental performance of the company’s automobile, powersports and power equipment products, its 14 major manufacturing plants operating in North America, and the corporate activities of 17 Honda group companies in the region, intends to show the company is taking sustainability seriously.
Highlights of the 2011 report include:
- Waste to landfills was reduced 91.9% from the FY2001 baseline to less than 0.5% of all operating waste from manufacturing, allowing Honda to achieve its goal of virtually zero waste to landfills for all 14 of its plants in the region, including 10 plants operating with absolutely zero waste to landfill.
- The CO2 emission intensity of automobile production in the region rose 2.5% from the FY2001 baseline but fell 3.7% from the previous fiscal year as a result of significant efforts to improve the energy efficiency of production.
- The energy intensity of automobile production—from electricity and natural gas consumption, representing approximately 96% of total energy use—fell 7.2% from the FY2001 baseline and 5.9% from the previous fiscal year.
- Three new facilities received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, giving Honda an industry-leading 11 LEED-certified facilities in North America. Further, conservation efforts at the company’s North American headquarters in Torrance, California resulted in a 50% reduction in the volume of materials needing to be recycled over the past five years.
- Honda achieved all but one of its voluntary goals, set in 2006, for a 10% reduction of CO2 emissions from both its products and production operations compared to 2000 levels, including a 12.4% reduction in emissions from Honda and Acura global vehicle fleet. Although the CO2 emissions intensity of automobile production was reduced 6.3% from 2000 levels, the goal of a 10% reduction was not achieved due to the severe reduction in North American production volumes as a result of the global economic recession. In 2011, Honda announced a new target, to be achieved by the end of 2020, to reduce CO2 emissions from the use of its automobile, motorcycle and power equipment product lines by 30 percent, as compared to year 2000 levels.
- The CO2 emission intensity of automobile production in the region rose 2.5% from the FY2001 baseline but fell 3.7% from the previous fiscal year as a result of significant efforts to improve the energy efficiency of production.
