TOKYO, Japan, June 18, 2013 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will further enhance the autonomy of environmental management in each of its six regions - North America, South America, Europe, Asia & Oceania, China and Japan - as a part of the transformation of its global operations, which was announced at the CEO press conference held in September 2012.
In 1995, Honda established the World Environment and Safety Committee which discusses and determines plans for environmental conservation activities and reviews the implementation of such activities on a global level. In 2010, based on the recognition that environmental issues are a critical concern that impacts its business operations, the President & CEO became the chair of the World Environment and Safety Committee, and the COO in charge of each region began chairing each Regional Environment Committee. Under this structure, since 2010, Honda has been committed to environmental initiatives in each region striving to attain regional targets and goals that were set based on the globally shared environmental policies and technologies. Starting with this fiscal year, Honda will strive to further reduce its environmental footprint by accelerating unique regional environmental efforts in various areas including development, production and sales which better fit with the environmental regulations, standards and issues unique to each country and region.
<Key progress during the last year and the future agendas by each region>
North America
(Regional Environment Committee chaired by Tetsuo Iwamura / Executive Vice President and Representative Director)
Progress during 2012 | Agendas for 2013 onward |
・Start of Green Dealer Program (Apr. 2012) |
・Market introduction of Accord Plug-In (Jan. 2013) ・Start of Honda Solar City Partnership (Feb. 2013) ・Market introduction of RLX equipped with SPORT HYBRID SH-AWD (before the end of 2013) ・Installing wind-power generation system at transmission production plant in the U.S. ・Honda Smart Home US |
South America
(Regional Environment Committee chaired by Masahiro Takedagawa / Managing Officer)
Progress during 2012 | Agendas for 2013 onward |
・Announced the "FLEX one," a collective name for Honda's flexible fuel technologies for automobiles and motorcycles (Oct. 2012) |
・Market introduction of 300cc-class flex fuel motorcycle (Jan. 2013) ・Market introduction of all-new Civic 2.0 equipped with FLEX one (Feb. 2013) ・Market introduction of all-new CR-V equipped with FLEX one (May 2013) ・Wind power generation project (scheduled to become operational in 2014) |
Europe
(Regional Environment Committee chaired by Manabu Nishimae / Managing Officer)
Progress during 2012 | Agendas for 2013 onward |
・Agreement on demonstration testing of fuel cell electric vehicle in Northern European countries (Sep. 2012) ・Market introduction of three mass-production scooter models (PCX, SH125i and SH150i) which realized fuel economy improvement of a maximum of 25% ・Market introduction of NC700 series and CB500 series which feature high fuel economy, low cost and high quality |
・Market introduction in U.K. of European Civic equipped with all-new i-DTEC diesel engine (Jan. 2013) ・Adopting i-DTEC engine for CR-V and Civic Tourer |
Asia & Oceania
(Regional Environment Committee chaired by Hiroshi Kobayashi / Managing Officer)
Progress during 2012 | Agendas for 2013 onward |
・Start of local production of hybrid vehicle (Jazz Hybrid) ・Market introduction of E85 fuel/CNG models in Thailand ・Supra X125 Helm-in PGM-Fi received the Cleanest Emissions Award (Indonesia) ・Improved fuel economy of motorcycle models |
・Market introduction of the Amaze equipped with all-new i-DTEC diesel engine in India (Apr. 2013) ・Third motorcycle production plant became operational in India (May 2013) |
China
(Regional Environment Committee chaired by Seiji Kuraishi / Operating Officer)
Progress during 2012 | Agendas for 2013 onward |
・Market introduction of total four hybrid models - three Honda models (CR-Z, Fit Hybrid and Insight) and one Acura model (ILX) ・Start of production at the second plant of Dongfeng Honda (Jul. 2012) |
・Start of construction of the third production line at Guangqi Honda plant (May 2013) ・Introduction of EARTH DREAMS TECHNOLOGY ・Starting local production of hybrid vehicles within three years |
Japan
(Regional Environment Committee chaired by Sho Minekawa / Senior Managing Officer)
Progress during 2012 | Agendas for 2013 onward |
・Disclosed Honda Smart Home System-equipped houses used for demonstration testing in Saitama City (Apr. 2012) ・Start of lease sales of Fit EV (Aug. 2012) ・Expansion of energy diversification products |
・Market introduction of i-MMD-equipped Accord Hybrid (Jun. 2013) and i-DCD-equipped all-new Fit (fall 2013) ・Yorii Plant starts operation (Jul. 2013) ・Increasing the number of solar panels installed at dealership locations |