Green logistics initiatives allowed carmaker Honda to reduce transportation requirements needed to support its North American production, the company said in its seventh annual North American Environmental report.
Green logistics initiatives allowed carmaker Honda to reduce transportation requirements needed to support its North American production, the company said in its seventh annual North American Environmental report.
Strategic planning reduced 5.6 million miles of truck travel and 6,743 metric tons of CO2 emissions associated with moving parts across the continent.
Other highlights of the report include:
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The fleet-average fuel economy of Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. in model year 2010 rose 1 mpg, or 4.1%, to 25.6 mpg, versus the previous model year. This compares with a U.S. auto industry average increase of 0.1 mpg, or 0.4%, during the same period.
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Waste to landfills was reduced 91.9% from the FY2001 baseline to less than 0.5% of all operating waste from manufacturing, allowing Honda to achieve its goal of virtually zero waste to landfills for all 14 of its plants in the region.
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The CO2 emission intensity of automobile production in the region rose 2.5% from the FY2001 baseline but fell 3.7% from the previous fiscal year as a result of efforts to improve the energy efficiency of production.
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100% of the trucks delivering Honda and Acura automobiles in the U.S. were certified under the U.S. EPA’s SmartWay Transport initiative. Further, 2.2 million pounds of corrugated packaging material and 21,000 wood pallets used in the transport of Honda service parts were eliminated.
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Three new facilities received LEED Green-Building certification, giving Honda an industry-leading 11 LEED-certified facilities in North America. Further, conservation efforts at the company’s North American headquarters in Torrance, Calif., resulted in a 50% reduction in the volume of materials needing to be recycled over the past five years.
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Honda achieved all but one of its voluntary goals, set in 2006, for a 10% reduction of CO2 emissions from both its products and production operations compared to 2000 levels, including a 12.4% reduction in emissions from Honda and Acura global vehicle fleet.
Although the CO2 emissions intensity of automobile production was reduced 6.3% from 2000 levels, the goal of a 10% reduction was not achieved due to the severe reduction in North American production volumes as a result of the global economic recession, the company said. In 2011, Honda announced a new target, to be achieved by the end of 2020, to reduce CO2 emissions from the use of its automobile, motorcycle and power equipment product lines by 30 percent, as compared to year 2000 levels.
Last week in Torrance, California Honda celebrated the first delivery of its new all-electric version of the popular Fit vehicle. Honda says the vehicle will travel 123 miles per charge in the city (76 mile range combined adjusted city/highway). Honda is leasing, rather than selling, the vehicles beginning this year in California and Oregon. Read AutoBlog coverage.
Bart King is a PR consultant and principal at Cleantech Communications.
Published Jan 24, 2012 3pm EST / 12pm PST / 8pm GMT / 9pm CET
Bart King is the founder and principal at New Growth Communications. He specializes in helping sustainability leaders develop thought leadership content and strategy