The Water Council is pleased to announce Toyota Motor North America has signed onto The Water Council’s WAVE program, enhancing its commitment to water stewardship by developing meaningful strategies, goals and actions around water use.
“As part of our water strategy development process, we saw a need and a benefit from a comprehensive enterprise-wide assessment of water uses, impacts and risk. We also know our stakeholders want confidence that our future targets are directly responsive to our highest water-related risks,” said Mark Yamauchi, Sustainability Manager, Toyota Motor North America. “WAVE provides us with a solid foundation on which to build our strategy and the independent verification gives additional credibility and transparency to our commitments and actions.”
The Water Council, an internationally acclaimed nonprofit dedicated to freshwater innovation, has helped companies of all sizes and industries improve water stewardship. It launched the WAVE program in February to help businesses anywhere in the world address water on an enterprise level.
“By joining WAVE, Toyota has signaled a strong commitment to meaningful, verifiable action on water and its continued global leadership with respect to sustainability,” said Dean Amhaus, The Water Council President and CEO. “It is especially gratifying to see the adoption of WAVE by another industry. With today’s water challenges, all companies should follow Toyota’s lead in addressing water risks and impacts at their facilities and in their supply chains.”
Through WAVE, participating companies learn about their water uses, impacts and risks; approve a corporate water stewardship policy; prioritize sites where water-related risks can be mitigated; and communicate a corporate action plan, goals and timeline. Their efforts are then independently verified by SCS Global Services, an international leader in third-party sustainability verification. Verified companies can confidently state they are credibly and strategically addressing water challenges and opportunities where it matters most.
Although Toyota is the WAVE’s first automotive participant, The Water Council has been working with Suppliers Partnership for the Environment, a forum for global automotive manufacturers and their suppliers to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact. Toyota co-chaired a Water Stewardship Working Group that helped The Water Council create a sector-wide water stewardship program.
Toyota’s Environmental Challenge 2050 sets six goals to achieve zero carbon and have positive environmental impact. These goals address: driving to zero carbon in products, the lifecycle of products, Toyota’s operations; supporting materials circularity as part of a recycling-based society, encouraging biodiversity as part of living in harmony with nature, and optimizing and minimizing water use. Water stewardship provides a broad lens to assure that Toyota addresses water in a manner that acknowledges the local conditions in the communities in which they operate.
“We applaud Toyota for being a corporate leader in water stewardship and leading the way in the automotive industry,” Amhaus said.
About The Water Council
The Water Council (TWC) is a global hub dedicated to solving critical water challenges by driving innovation in freshwater technology and advancing water stewardship. Built on more than a century of water innovation, TWC has coalesced one of the most concentrated and mature water technology clusters in the world from its headquarters at the Global Water Center in Milwaukee, Wis., USA. Recognizing the need for smarter and more sustainable use of water worldwide, TWC also promotes water stewardship as a natural complement to water innovation in the effort to preserve freshwater resources in the Midwest and around the world. Today, The Water Council has established itself as a global leader in the water industry and one of America’s premier economic development clusters as recognized by government agencies, Brookings and the Harvard Business School.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
About SCS Global Services
SCS Global Services is a global leader in third-party environmental and sustainability verification, certification, auditing, testing, and standards development. Its programs span a cross-section of industries, recognizing achievements in climate mitigation, green building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, forestry, consumer products, and more. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, SCS Global Services has representatives and affiliate offices throughout the Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe and Africa. Its broad network of auditors are experts in their fields, and the company is a trusted partner to companies, agencies and advocacy organizations due to its dedication to quality and professionalism. SCS Global Services is a chartered Benefit Corporation, reflecting its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices. For more information, visit www.scsglobalservices.com. Learn more about SCS Responsible Water Practices.