Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has revealed that its car manufacturing plant in Santa Rosa City, Laguna is now running solely on green energy.
A Toyota Vios being inspected at the Toyota Santa Rosa plant
The said plant’s switch to 100 percent green energy was made possible thanks to a retail supply contract with TeaM (Philippines) Energy Corporation - a retail electricity supplier. To certify that it is indeed green energy, each megawatt-hour used by the Toyota Santa Rosa plant comes with an International Renewable Energy Certificate or I-REC(E).
Approximately 90 percent of the plant’s total energy needs are supplied by the retail supplier. The rest meanwhile, are from the Toyota Santa Rosa plant's 1.46-megawatt solar power system which is mounted on its rooftop.
“This energy transition will neutralize TMP’s Scope 2 Emissions, particularly the indirect carbon dioxide emissions from purchased electricity for manufacturing operations,” TMP President Atsuhiro Okamoto said.
Thanks to this achievement, Okamoto added that the brand’s plant in Santa Rosa is now at the forefront of reaching a 100 percent renewable energy ratio target for Toyota within the ASEAN region.
TMP though, won’t be resting on its laurels in its journey to become more environmentally friendly. According to the brand, it is geared towards decarbonizing its other energy sources used for manufacturing. This will go on until 2035, and the process will involve the company’s petrol-type generators, as well as its ovens and boilers used for painting processes.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. being given a tour of the Toyota Santa Rosa plant
On a more global scale, the Japanese car brand began its push for carbon neutrality back in 2020 with the initialization of the Toyota Environmental Challenge (TEC) 2050. Under this initiative, it will have zero carbon CO2 emissions from all production facilities, minimize water waste, and establish and develop recycling capabilities, among others.
On the consumer side of things, TMP itself has already built a strong portfolio of hybrid models. The latest one to join its electrified lineup is the Toyota Zenix - a derivative of the Toyota Innova whose locally available top-spec, the Zenix Q, uses a 2.0-liter gasoline mill mated to an electric motor. Together, it has a total output of 183 horsepower. Pricing for this hybrid model currently sits at Php 1,953,000.
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