Toyota Recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with Its Ninth Consecutive Energy Star Partner of the Year Award

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) with its ninth consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting our environment through superior energy efficiency.

Toyota’s ninth Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award is the most among any automaker that assembles vehicles in the United States and represents all of Toyota’s 13 manufacturing facilities in the region.  During the past decade, cumulative cost savings at these 13 North American vehicle, engine and parts plants totaled more than $370 million and energy use has been reduced by 15 percent per vehicle produced, enough energy to power 27,000 average households for 10 years.

“Toyota is honored to be recognized with our ninth ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellent Award,” said Robin Haugen, general manager of production engineering - Plant and Environmental Engineering at Toyota.  “It gives us greater motivation to identify ways to minimize our impact on the environment while helping our bottom line.  Our team members’ commitment to reducing energy and water consumption across our operations demonstrates that when good ideas are shared, great things can happen.”

Demonstrating its environmental leadership, last summer eight Toyota manufacturing sites in North America were recognized by the EPA for achieving a 10 percent reduction in energy intensity through its ENERGY STAR Challenge For Industry program, awarded to individual industrial sites.  Collectively, the eight sites reduced energy intensity by nearly 24 percent from baseline (energy intensity is measured relative to efficiency improvements in process and equipment).

Examples of energy improvements at Toyota’s manufacturing facilities include:
 

• All North American plants: 

Lighting retrofits resulted in annual savings of 17 million kilowatt hours, enough to power 1,500 average households while eliminating 10,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.  Total cost savings topped $1.2 million.

• Bodine Aluminum: 

Replaced a 20 year old oxidizer (used for odor control) with a new, more energy efficient oxidizer, improving energy efficiency by nearly 14 percent and cost savings of $75,000 annually.

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada: 

Its Woodstock plant installed a cooling system using outside air to chill water during the cold season, reducing energy use by nearly two percent, resulting in saving of more than $100,000 annually.  Its Cambridge plant installed linkage-less boiler burner controls, improving boiler efficiency by more than 15 percent, resulting in saving of more than $112,000 annually.

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana:

Installed an adiabatic humidification system in the paint booth improving energy efficiency by 35 percent and saving more than $1.1 million annually.  An adiabatic system uses atomized high pressure water instead of steam to control humidity & temperature. 

The plant also reduced paint booth downdrafts by an average of 15 percent in all manual zones saving more than $600,000 annual with zero investment. 

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky:

Installed an adiabatic humidification system in the paint shop that cut steam consumption by more than 65 percent and cut total energy use by 12 percent, resulting in saving of more than $1.4 million annually.

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi: 

As Toyota’s Model Sustainable Plant for the North American region, Mississippi has used innovative design and best practice techniques from other Toyota facilities to become the most energy efficient Toyota plant in the region. For example its paint shop utilizes a unique system that eliminates the need for a paint oven and installed a low pressure adiabatic humidification system.

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas: 

Installed modified burner controls on a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO), resulting in energy efficiency improvement by more than 16 percent and savings of $25,000 annually.  An RTO is an industrial process for the treatment of exhaust air to destroy air pollutants emitted from the process.

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia: 

Installed a compressed air metering system that cut energy use by four percent, resulting in saving of more than $300,000 annually.

Additionally, Toyota has collaborated with more than 180 suppliers across North America to share energy saving ideas and best practices.  Ten of Toyota’s North American manufacturing plants are zero landfill.

Courtesy of Toyota Press Room