Dive Brief:
- Toyota Motor Corporation’s greenhouse gas emissions jumped in 2023, according to the company’s latest sustainability report published Wednesday. The report covers Toyota’s operations in North America and includes data on the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
- The car manufacturer’s scope 2 emissions were recorded as 626,347 metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2023, up from 618,729 metric tons in 2022. Scope 1 emissions also saw an increase: This year’s emissions amounted to 446,163 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, up from 445,353 metric tons last year. The emissions were calculated based on all company operations across North America, including assembly and unit plants, offices and warehouses.
- Despite increasing its carbon footprint, Toyota made progress on other environmental fronts this year. The company said 66% of its Toyota and Lexus car models now come with an electrified option, and that 93% of all waste generated in 2022 has been recycled, reused or repurposed.
Dive Insight:
In 2021, Toyota announced plans to become carbon neutral across all of its North American facilities by 2035, and across the vehicle life cycle no later than 2050. However, in its latest sustainability report, the car manufacturer acknowledged that reducing carbon emissions across logistics activities, suppliers and dealers will be “difficult to meet” due to the lack of forecasted availability of fuel cell and electric powertrains for the trucking fleets.
Toyota said three of its manufacturing plants in the U.S. — namely Kentucky, Texas and Indiana — are classified as large emitters and are required to report data under the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
Though the report did not disclose the company’s scope 3 emissions, Toyota said its emissions from purchased goods and services were being collected from suppliers and were “expected to be available in the near future.”
The car manufacturer made progress in electrifying its transportation systems by converting 18 shunt trucks, vehicles designed to move trailers, from diesel to EV at manufacturing plants, parts centers and cross docks, according to the report. Toyota said it aims to convert all 279 shunt trucks in its fleet by the end of 2026 to avoid estimated emissions worth 15,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually.
The company said it plans to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions from logistics by 15% and decrease absolute carbon dioxide emissions from suppliers by 14% by the fiscal year 2026. Both targets will be benchmarked to a 2018 baseline.
Environmental disclosures have been a sore spot for Toyota in the past. The automotive company was fined $180 million by the Department of Justice and the EPA in 2021 to settle a civil lawsuit for “systematic, longstanding violations” of the Clean Air Act’s emission-related reporting requirements, which require manufacturers to report potential defects and recalls affecting vehicle components designed to control emissions.
Toyota did not contest the fine, levied for failing to report emissions-related data from about 2005 to 2015. The DOJ said it was the largest civil penalty for violating EPA’s emissions reporting requirements at the time.
The company did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.
