Over the past ten years, Honda has made a strong commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.
To enable key stakeholders to assess and take measure of our efforts to reduce our environmental impact – especially to reduce CO2 emissions – we also have made it a priority to disclose our strategies and activities on a regular basis.
This week we were recognized by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in their 2011 Global 500 Report for our efforts to disclose and reduce our CO2 emissions. This report, in its ninth year, compiles survey data from the world’s 500 largest companies and evaluates their strategies and corporate governance practices to address global climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In the 2011 study, Honda finished second among all automakers and first among all Japanese companies included in the survey. Honda was also listed as one of only 52 companies in the CDP’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) and one of only 29 companies in the Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CLPI), for companies indicating a “strong commitment to strategy, governance, stakeholder communications and emissions reduction” in their survey responses.
While we welcome the commendation from the Carbon Disclosure Project, we accept it as a challenge to continue to strengthen our environmental management and to elevate the discussion and disclosure of our environmental performance.
Toward these goals, we recently announced the attainment of our voluntary goal, set in 2006, set in 2006, to reduce our global CO2 emissions arising from the use of our automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment products by 10 percent by the end of 2010 (as compared to year 2000 levels). And we have set a new goal: to reduce CO2 emissions from our automobile, motorcycle and power equipment products on a global basis by 30 percent by 2020, again, as compared to year 2000 levels.
Honda’s efforts in the mid-1990s with the battery-electric Honda EV Plus and the natural gas-powered Civic GX and, later, with our FCX fuel cell electric vehicle, played a critical role in our understanding the vehicle technology, infrastructure and marketing challenges of these advanced technologies. Even in those early years we recognized that creating appealing alternatives to gasoline is challenging, especially since our gasoline technology innovations never stand still.
Today, Honda’s environmental technology efforts are even broader based, covering everything from advanced gasoline and diesel engines to natural gas and hybrids, battery electrics and plug-in hybrids to fuel cell electric vehicles and solar cells. While making revolutionary changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is our dream, we are constantly making evolutionary improvements that are important, effective and notable.
Still, there is more to be done. As technology evolves, we continue to work to create new value for our customers by developing real-world solutions that address both our customers’ need for mobility and society’s energy and environmental challenges, using technology developed from the original thinking of Honda associates.
In this way, we not only gain recognition from groups like the Carbon Disclosure Project, but we also do our part to contribute positively to the race for a cleaner, more sustainable future.
Sincerely,
Steve Center
Vice President, Environmental Business Development Office
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.