Honda Reports on its Environmental Performance and Progress in North America

The 2014 Honda North American Environmental Report, released today, details ongoing advances in Honda's effort to minimize the environmental impact of its products and operations, with a continuing strong focus on greenhouse gas emissions that can contribute to global climate change.  In FY2014, the company made significant progress in a number of areas. These include further gains in product fuel efficiency, reduced vehicle emissions, and the near-complete elimination of waste sent to landfill from 14 manufacturing plants in the region.

"The past year has seen a number of important advancements in the environmental performance of our company," said Takuji Yamada, president of Honda North America, Inc. " Honda North America will continue to take on a larger role in Honda's global effort to reduce its environmental footprint and achieve zero-emissions mobility."

The report is Honda's tenth annual report on the environmental impact of its operations in North America, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, and covers the period from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 (fiscal year 2014). 
 
2014 North American Environmental Report Highlights:

Product Development

• In the automobile lineup, Honda has expanded the use of its Earth Dreams™ Technology powertrain series with the launch of the 2014 Accord Hybrid, redesigned 2015 Fit and freshened 2015 Civic, advancing fuel efficiency.
• The company showcased its Honda FCV Concept as a precursor to the introduction of a next-generation Honda fuel-cell car, now slated to launch in 2016.

Purchasing

• Honda is working with parts suppliers to extend the use of Honda's "green factory" principles and expand the measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in supplier factories. In 2014, there was a 44 percent increase in the number of suppliers reporting on their GHG emissions.

Manufacturing

• CO2 from production activity in North Americaⁱ rose a modest 0.7% despite a significant increase in production in FY2014.
• Waste per auto sent to landfills from plants in the region has been reduced 97% since FY2001 to just 0.8 kilograms per automobile in FY2014.
• Water used in automobile production fell 4.1% from the previous year to a six-year low.

Sales and Service

• The CO2 intensity of transporting finished products from plants to dealerships has been reduced 14.3% over the past seven years.
• The CO2 intensity of transporting service parts to dealerships has been reduced 35.6% over the past five years.

Product In Use

• The unadjusted fleet-average fuel economy of model year 2013 Honda and Acura automobiles, at 34.9 mpg, was up 3.9% over year-ago levels and was ahead of  the industry average by 14.4%.
• The fleet average fuel economyⁱⁱ of model year 2013 Honda powersports products is up 59% from the model year 2000 baseline.

Administration

• The company earned its 13^th "green building" certification in North America – for the new maintenance and repair facility of Honda Aircraft Company in Greensboro, NC.

Environmental Business Innovation

• Honda's unique partnership with SolarCity resulted in nearly 11.1 megawatts of solar power-generating capacity be deployed across more than 1,650 rooftops across the U.S. Honda also opened its Honda Smart Home U.S. in Davis, California, a project that showcases environmental innovation and renewable energy-enabling technologies that demonstrate Honda's vision for zero-carbon living.

Additional information on Honda's environmental performance outside of North America can be found in Honda Motor Company's Environmental Report, with a focus on the company's activities in Japan – available at world.honda.com (or by clicking here).

Honda Environmental Leadership
Based on its vision of "Blue Skies for our Children," Honda is working to address society's environmental and energy concerns through a diverse lineup of products and technologies, including more fuel-efficient gasoline engines, natural gas, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs).
Today, Honda is targeting a 30-percent reduction in CO2 emissions from its U.S. automobile product lineup by 2020, compared to 2000 levels. In pursuit of its vision for a zero-carbon future, the company is advancing electromotive technologies in many forms, and is slated to introduce an advanced fuel-cell vehicle in 2016. In keeping with its commitment to produce vehicles with the lowest CO2 emissions at plants with the smallest environmental footprint, the company is broadly addressing emissions, energy, water use and waste in all phases of its products life cycles. Honda is also demonstrating its vision for zero-carbon mobility and living with the creation of the Honda Smart Home US, in Davis, California.

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ⁱCO2 emissions from the consumption of electricity and natural gas, representing approximately 97 percent of energy consumed in the manufacturing of Honda and Acura products in North America.

ⁱⁱHonda calculation using U.S. EPA exhaust emissions data