Our environmental management initiatives are guided by the following principles
and policies:
Sustainability has been at the heart of Toyota’s business model since its inception
70 years ago. Toyota South Africa, in operation for 46 years, is a fully owned subsidiary
of Toyota Motor Corporation (effective August 2008).
Toyota South Africa employs 9,770 people, who produced 151,056 vehicles in FY’06,
and 155,245 in FY’07. These were sold through 184 local dealerships and a further
22 African dealerships. We export to 40 countries globally.
A five year modernisation and expansion process for the Prospecton Plant ended in
2007, to meet European import requirements for the 10th Generation Corolla. 220,000
units have been produced thus far, and the technology introduced for this has made
Toyota South Africa one of only five latest technology plants in the Toyota Motor
Corporation stable. Paint Line 3 was brought on line as part of this process, along
with various other production and manufacturing plant changes. At a total cost of
R2.4 billion, these upgrades will deliver social, environmental, quality and economic
benefits for Toyota and its stakeholders.
Along with the technical changes, an extensive customer quality programme was also
rolled out – the “Excellence in Customer Quality Challenge”(E-CQC). E-CQC created
a quality mindset across the Toyota network, so that we can deliver on the quality
expectations of customers in the various markets into which the 10th Generation
Corolla will be launched. From a sustainability perspective, the E-CQC challenge
emphasises engagement with all stakeholders throughout the life-cycle of the vehicle.
Corporate Philosophy
We are committed to pursuing sustainability in three specific areas: technology
(including research and development), manufacturing and social contribution. Sustainability
principles have been core to Toyota’s business model and success, from the founding
Toyoda Precepts, to the Guiding Principles for the company. The two pillars of continuous
improvement and respect for people underpin the Toyota Way, and are applied across
all our activities and relationships. Rapid changes in social expectations and environmental
risks led to the development of the most recent Global Vision 2020, which provides
a picture of our place in the world in the next 10 to 20 years.
Corporate Governance
The Toyota South Africa Board considers social, environmental and economic issues
quarterly, as part of our governance framework, through the implementation of King
II, Sarbanes-Oxley and Toyota’s Hoshin-Kanri principles. The Board undertakes self-evaluations,
and members are individually evaluated by the Toyota Motor Corporation Board against
criteria that include social, environmental and economic performance targets.
The Toyota South Africa Board has 13 members, of whom five are executive and eight
non-executives. The Audit and Compliance Committee, consisting of two executive
directors, one non-executive director, and one independent non-executive director,
oversees adherence to international policy and local legislation, across all aspects
of sustainability, including safety, health and the environment.
The Environmental Committee (EC) of Toyota South Africa met for the first time in
2008, joining the 6 other regional committees established since 1992, as part of
Toyota Motor Corporations’ global Consolidated Environmental Management Strategy.
The EC will direct the implementation of the 4th Environmental Action Plan.
Executive Health and Safety Committees were also established, in recognition of
the importance of occupational health and safety issues.
Compliance
Two fines of R1, 000 each were instituted against the company for waste water spillages
in the reporting period.
In the past decade, we have also won numerous awards for our environmental and social
contributions, relating to our vehicles and our Corporate Social Responsibility
processes.