Lexington, KY - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. with its Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for protecting the environment through energy efficiency.
It’s the ninth consecutive year Toyota has been singled out for the award and the most among any automakers assembling vehicles in the U.S. The recognition encompasses all of Toyota’s 13 manufacturing facilities in the region.
In a release, Toyota states in the past decade, cumulative cost savings at the 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, which the company states is enough energy to power 27,000 average households for 10 years.
In addition, 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. Together, the eight sites reduced energy intensity by nearly 24 percent.
At all North American Facilities, Toyota changes in facility lighting resulted in an 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 for the lighting retrofits.
Locally at the automaker’s Georgetown facility, Toyota installed an adiabatic humidification system in its 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. It is also one of 10 of Toyota’s North American manufacturing plants that are zero landfill.