Environmental Management: Toyota, Honda, Jaguar UK Essay

Introduction

Toyota, Honda, and Jaguar UK have been the leaders on the market for several decades already. Nowadays environmental conservation is considered one of the leading management objectives, and the fulfillment of the demands for environmental conservation can contribute to future sustainable corporate activities. Rondinelli and Berry (2000, p.70) state that during the last decade there occurred alterations in the concept of sustainable development and now it includes “simultaneous consideration of economic growth and, environmental protection, and social equity” in matters concerning business planning as well as decision making. Morrow and Rondinelli (2002, p.159) state that multinational corporations “are adopting environmental management systems (EMS) and certifying them by international standards”. However, it is necessary to assess the effectiveness of the EMSs that can be successfully done using the EMSs of Toyota, Honda, and Jaguar UK.

Energy/fuel consumption

Scientists estimate that the approximate number of cars in ten years will constitute about 1.5 cars on the roads, which twice exceeds their current number (Komiyama et al., 2005, p.183). Komiyama et al. (2005, p.183) write about potential “vigorous economic growth, soaring electricity demand and progressive motorization [that] are going to expand the primary energy demand” and this issue draws attention to the environmental problem of energy management.

One of the challenges that are recognized by Toyota concerns diffusive energy and the company is planning to rely on alternative variants of fuel, they are working in the direction of biofuels, electricity, and hydrogen considering them to be the fuels of the future (Toyota Sustainability Report, 2008). Toyota has already introduced the first mass-produced petro-electric full hybrid vehicle, Prius, the primary aim of which is the achievement of fuel efficiency (Haan et al., 2006).

What is more, Toyota has already received general approval for the Prius of the third generation, introduced in 2009, and has proved to be even more economical, providing fuel economy improved by 14%. On the whole, Toyota’s position concerning fuels proves Williander’s (2005) idea: “Toyota demonstrates … enhancing assumptions and high aspiration towards new technology” (p.5). As for the environmental management system of Honda and its relation to energy, the company is working in two directions: fuel economy and fuel efficiency achievement.

As reflected in Honda Environmental Annual Report (2009, p.33), significant fuel economy is achieved with the introduction of “all-new Insight hybrid vehicle and other vehicles with enhanced fuel economy”. Thus, Honda has met “2010 fuel economy standards for all weight categories” with an average fuel economy that exceeded the last year’s index by 25.4% (Honda Environmental Annual Report, 2009, p.33). Besides, alternative fuels, such as bioethanol, which is considered a viable alternative to petroleum-based transportation fuels (Yuan et al., 2008, Blottniz & Curran, 2007), has received great attention of Honda that has an initiative of implementation of “production technologies for turning non-eligible cellulosic material …into bioethanol” (Honda Environmental Annual Report, 2009, p.37).

As for Jaguar, the company works for the development of diesel engines with lower emissions, better performance, and reduced fuel consumption that has been improved by 57% during the last 6 years (Jaguar Sustainability Report, 2007, p.2). Thus, the analysis of EMSs of the companies shows that Japanese car manufacturers have adopted similar strategies aimed at the introduction of alternative innovations, while Jaguar focuses on the improvement of traditional diesel engines. Besides, all these innovations are also aimed at the reduction of carbon footprint.

Waste recycling

As for the management of waste, one of the key directions of Toyota is waste reduction as the principle of elimination of waste is the core principle of Toyota’s production system. 2008 became the first year when Toyota’s European Manufacturing Companies “disposed absolutely of no waste to landfill” (Toyota Sustainability Report, 2008, para.14). Toyota treats waste as a useful resource and Honda’s environmental policy concerning waste is similar to Toyota’s. According to Honda Environmental Annual Report (2009), waste production was reduced by 1.5% in comparison with FY 2008 and the index even surpassed the planned 1.1% (p.39).

Jaguar Sustainability Report (2007) states that during six years total waste was reduced by 65%, they “recycled as much as possible of the remainder” (p.6). Though all companies are active in their work aimed at waste reduction, Japanese companies show better results.

Water conservation and recycling

Finally, water use should be considered. Toyota’s consumption of water in 2008 increased by 6.6% but the company has introduced such innovations as “installation of waterless urinals” (Toyota Sustainability Report, 2008, para.18). Honda has paid special attention to the reduction of water consumption and reduction of CO2 emissions with the outcome of water consumption reduction by 10.4% “though per-unit consumption increased” (Honda Environmental Annual Report, 2009, p.39). Jaguar EMS appears to be very productive in terms of water consumption, as one of the innovations implemented is the recycling of water that makes it possible to save about 10000 gallons of water a year. It shows that water conservation and waste reduction should become one of the leading directions of the companies’ research.

Conclusion

Finally, it is possible to state that EMSs of the companies have proved to be effective. Statistical information available shows that the companies have achieved significant results in environmental management. The analysis has shown that Japanese companies give preference to alternative technologies while Jaguar Cars adhere to traditional directions through the introduction of Jaguar EMS promises valuable results.

Reference List

Blottniz, H, & Curran, MA, 2007, ‘A review of assessment conducted on bio-ethanol as a transportation fuel from a net energy, greenhouse gas, and environmental life cycle perspective’, Journal of Cleaner Production, pp. 607-619.

Haan, P, Mueller, M, & Peters, A, 2006, ‘Does the hybrid Toyota Prius lead to rebound effects? Analysis of size and number of cars previously owned by Swiss Prius buyers’, Ecological Economics, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 592-605.

Honda. Environmental Annual Report, 2009. Web.

Jaguar Sustainability Report, 2007. Web.

Komiyama, R, Zhidong, L, & Kokichi, I 2005, ‘World energy outlook in 2020 focusing on China’s energy impacts on the world and Northern Asia’, International Journal of Global Energy Issues, vol. 24, no. 3-4, pp. 183-210.

Morrow, D, & Rondinelli, D 2002, ‘Adopting corporate environmental management systems: Motivations and Results of ISO 14001 and EMAS Certification’, European Management Journal, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 159-171.

Rondinelli, DA, & Berry, MA 2000, ‘Environmental citizenship in multicultural corporations: Social responsibility and sustainable development’, European Management Journal, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 70-84.

Toyota Sustainability Report, 2008. Web.

Williander, Mats, 2005, ‘Absorptive capacity and Interpretation System’s Impact when ‘Going Green’: An empirical study of Ford, Volvo Cars and Toyota’, Business Strategy and Environment, vol. 10, no. 1002, pp. 479-491.

Yuan, JS, Tiller, KH, Al-Ahmad, H, Stewart, NR, & Stewart, CN, 2008, ‘Plants to Power: Bioenergy to fuel future’, Trends in Plant Science, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 421-429.