Toyota Presses Suppliers to Go Green

Putting environmental leadership into overdrive, Toyota has released a set of green guidelines the company says it wants its North American suppliers to implement by 2004. The plan affects approximately 500 suppliers who provide parts, materials, and components directly or indirectly to the automaker.

With the release of “Green Supplier Guidelines: Leadership in Environmental Performance,” Toyota says it hopes to extend the company’s environmental commitment beyond its own processes to the business relationships it maintains with its North American supplier community.

Suppliers will be required to complete one or more of the following initiatives:

• Obtain ISO 14001 Certification
  Toyota is requiring that suppliers who provide raw materials and/or parts and components develop and implement by Dec. 31, 2003 an environmental management system that conforms to the ISO 14001 standard. A third-party auditor will determine such certification, Toyota says.
• Comply with Chemical Ban List
  Toyota has identified approximately 450 chemicals and substances that suppliers of raw materials must phase out from new and reformulated materials beginning Aug. 1, 2000. Toyota says it developed its initial chemical ban list based on an evaluation of toxic chemicals regulated worldwide. The list will be updated regularly.
• Comply with Hazardous Materials Transportation Management System
  Toyota is requiring that all of its suppliers in North America develop policies and procedures to ensure compliance with all applicable state, federal, and international hazardous materials transportation requirements.

According to Toyota, a supplier’s eligibility for compliance with these initiatives is based on criteria set by the automaker’s environmental and purchasing groups and individual plants.

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