Toyota Santa Rosa plant on track to carbon neutrality

Toyota Motor Philippines’ manufacturing facility in Santa Rosa, Laguna is fast becoming carbon-neutral. That’s because recently, the said car maker has already managed to install an upgrade to its current solar power facility.  

Solar panels on top of the Toyota Santa Rosa Plant's main building [Photo source: gec.jp]

Yes, this is the same plant that locally assembles the market-leading Toyota Vios sedan and the Toyota Innova MPV.  

Specifically, the said upgrade involves expanding the plant’s solar power facility’s capacity by 0.46-megawatts (MW). This was done via the installation of 3,486 solar panels on the facility’s main building. In total, the said plant now has a total capacity of 1.46-MW 

Of note, the latest upgrade is actually the second phase of TMP’s Plant Carbon Neutrality (PCN) roadmap. This solar array project dates back to 2018, when the preliminary 1-MW solar array was installed.  

The final goal for TMP, however, is to gain total PCN by around 2035. With the recent update, TMP President Atsuhiro Okamoto said that it really looks like TMP will be able to achieve that. There’s still 13 more years to go, and the brand is indeed looking for other sustainable energy sources to achieve their target. 

It is also worth noting that the automaker has already invested a total of Php 94 million into their solar array project. That’s a hefty sum, but considering that this can help the company reduce its emissions by as much as 1,400 tons CO2 per year means that it’s worth it. 

Furthermore, TMP’s 2035 goal is actually in line with the Toyota Environmental Challenge for 2050, or TEC 2050 in short. This was initiated by Toyota Global back in 2015, and its goals include zero CO2 emissions for plants, zero CO2 vehicle emissions, as well as achieving net positive impacts to the environment.  

The Toyota Corolla Altis Hybrid

Of course, this initiative is supported by the growing number of electrified Toyota models sold around the world. In the Philippines alone, the marque already has the Toyota Corolla Altis Hybrid, the Camry Hybrid, Corolla Cross Hybrid, the RAV4 Hybrid, and the Prius. 

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