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Toyota has extended its environmental leadership in New Zealand by being the first national dealership network in the country to implement the Enviro-Mark® certification programme.
The internationally recognised environmental management programme is administered by Crown Research Institute, Landcare Research. In 2010, Toyota trialled Enviro-Mark with selected dealers, and by the end of 2011 66 of its 67 dealer sites had achieved Enviro-Mark Silver certification, with certification at the one remaining site imminent. A further seven dealers have pushed on to achieve Enviro-Mark Gold.
Alistair Davis, Toyota New Zealand CEO, says Toyota customers can have full confidence that the dealership they buy from is focused on managing and reducing its environmental impact for the benefit of all New Zealanders.
"Toyota's leadership in environmental product design and manufacturing is well established. Independent certification of our dealer network is a key part of managing the environmental impacts across our entire supply chain, and delivering on growing customer expectations in this area."
In New Zealand, Toyota has also been managing and offsetting the carbon emissions of its distribution operations since 2005 under Landcare Research's CEMARS and carboNZero programmes, another first for the auto industry in New Zealand.
Davis says: "We are proud to again lead the way with the Enviro-Mark dealer programme, and we congratulate our independently owned and operated network on its vision and commitment to this initiative".
Dr Richard Gordon, CEO of Landcare Research, says Toyota New Zealand's drive to bring their entire network under Enviro-Mark underlines Toyota's reputation for environmental leadership.
"This was an ambitious project from the start which required close coordination between Toyota and Landcare Research, and this is our single largest implementation of the programme in New Zealand. The servicing of cars can have a major impact on the environment if not managed correctly, and it is tremendously pleasing to see a company as large as Toyota lead the way by taking responsibility for addressing these issues across its dealer network."
"Enviro-Mark's five certification stages are perfectly suited to this purpose allowing dealers to work through the levels to achieve a certification with international credibility. We look forward to continuing to work with Toyota and its dealers to establish Enviro-Mark Gold as a minimum network standard by the end of 2012."
Waikato Toyota was the first Toyota dealership to achieve Enviro-Mark Gold. It encompasses two sites, in Hamilton and Te Awamutu. Chief executive Glenn Carter says his team quickly embraced the idea once staff understood what was required.
"It's fair to say there was some initial scepticism about how we could make changes which would make a significant difference, and that is only natural. But most people want to help the environment around them, and it was superb to watch people take ownership and suggest ideas as we progressed through the process."
"We are very proud to be the first vehicle dealership in New Zealand to achieve Enviro-Mark Gold status, and we have had a fantastic response from our customers."
Toyota New Zealand provided full training and support for dealers, customising many of the Enviro-Mark templates to streamline the process, and assisting dealers with Enviro-Mark requirements and audit follow-up and counter-measures.
Alistair Davis explained Toyota's Enviro-Mark programme at the launch of the all new Prius range in Wellington. This includes the compact Prius C, an updated Prius hatch, and the new Prius V wagon (available in June).
An explanation of Enviro-Mark® stages:
Bronze:
•Dealers must comply with all regulations and laws regarding health and safety, employment, its buildings, hazardous material storage and handling, hazardous waste disposal and recycling, and industry standards.
•Dealers must show they have implemented measures to ensure ongoing compliance, identify the scope of its environment management system, and assign responsibility for environmental management to a specific employee.
Silver:
•Dealers must identify the environmental effects caused by all of their operations, develop an environment policy, and demonstrate top management commitment. It also involves the scheduling of a regular inventory to manage environmental risks, and reduce environmental impacts, incidents or accidents.
Gold:
•Dealers must establish clear environmental objectives and targets, monitor significant impacts, develop an action plan, and document procedures to manage potential impacts, including in emergency situations.
All Toyota dealers have been independently audited to ensure they meet the requirements. They are then certified by Landcare Research. Please see:www.enviro-mark.co.nz for more information.