For a company, being highly successful and ecologically conscious are not mutually exclusive. Take Toyota as an example.

As the world’s leading car manufacturer, Toyota is committed to reducing waste and creating products that are both consumer pleasing and environmentally friendly.

The company’s reputation for excellence is well known throughout the industry, a reputation proved by the initial demand for Toyota products as alternatives to American cars. It was due to the dearth of smaller fuel efficient cars produced by American companies that helped Toyota begin its rise as the premier global car company. The Japanese car manufacturer emerged onto the American marketplace during the oil crisis of 1973. With fuel efficient cars in greater demand, Americans started to buy more vehicles from the Toyota Company.

However, despite its good reputation, Toyota has chosen to  side with other car manufactures, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, in lobbying against new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards or simply CAFE.  Essentially it is a measure which requires a certain mile per gallon goal for car manufacturers. This standard was recently brought up in the House of Representatives which proposed a possible increase in the standard to 35 mpg by the year 2020. Current standards are 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 mpg for trucks. Currently, fuel efficiency for Toyota domestic passenger cars stands at 34.7 mpg and light trucks at 23.6 mpg.  So the question arises, since it would seem simple for Toyota to meet the proposed standards, why are they opposed to them?

As the company’s first hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius ranked number one as the most satisfying vehicle for the fourth straight year according to ConsumerReports.org. In addition to the Prius, Toyota has created a hybrid SUV called the Highlander. The cleaner-burning hybrids are a major part of Toyota’s future market.

In its 2006 environmental report the company goes into detail about its plans for road testing a plug-in hybrid. In addition, Toyota is experimenting with a lithium-ion battery which might be debuting this fall.  The company is also researching ways to incorporate alternative fuel-burning vehicles into its lineup.

Toyota is also taking steps to reduce waste in the manfacturing process.  The use of a “kanban” system illustrates the company’s avoidance of ordering materials unnecessarily. “Kanban” is Japanese for sign of authority. Only people with “kanban” (or kanban cards) are allowed to order parts and materiel during the manufacturing process. This system enforces the practice of pulling inventory as dictated by actual needs in the production processes rather than in anticipation of those needs.

According to a company press release, Toyota recycles nearly all of the scrap metal that its plants produce as well as waste materials like plastic wrap, paint solvent oil and packaging. Eighty-five percent of any Toyota vehicle is recyclable; parts that range from a vehicle’s plastic bumpers, copper, glass to its steel frame.

Other waste reduction strategies used by Toyota include reclaiming of 175,000 gallons per year of paint solvent, planning to use water-based paints and using as much returnable packaging as possible.

The Tsutsumi Plant which manufactures the Prius is taking major steps to reduce its emissions. According to a press release, Toyota’s goal is to reduce emissions by five percent.  These measures include the use of a 2,000kW photovoltaic solar energy system, which ranks as one of the biggest in the car manufacturing world. The paint on the building itself has abilities to break down emissions such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides.

Fortune Magazine ranked Toyota as number three on its list of most admired companies. Though other companies are now just jumping on the band wagon in adopting more green business practices, Toyota has a history of maintaining cost and waste reducing standards.  The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, is Toyota’s joining with the Detroit 3 in resisting toughening of CAFE standards.

UPDATE - 10/16/07

National Environmental Groups Expose Toyota's Duplicity on Fuel Economy
Nine of the nation's leading environmental and science-based organizations targeted Toyota on October 16, 2007 for the company's opposition to legislation before Congress to set the first meaningful increase in fuel economy standards in nearly 30 years.