“The major point in the enterprise environment field is top managements’ understanding and commitment.” – what 20 years of a person’s commitment can change in a company and how environmental care can measurably add value to an enterprise.

Yutaka Okayama, Project General Manager Planning Group, Environmental Affairs Division, Toyota Motor Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

Listening to Yutaka Okayama and reading the Environmental and Social Reports of Toyota you get the feeling that these guys are really doing a lot to be a very good corporate citizen and not to harm the environment. One of the examples on the product side are nine new lines of hybrid cars with accumulated sales of 360.000 cars – cars using a combination of a “normal” gas engine and an electric motor powered by batteries.
On the production side it’s the overshooting of extremely ambiguous emission reduction targets and the implementation of rigorous ISO certification on the plants. The social component of Toyota’s responsibility is demonstrated through projects like the establishment of the Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute to educate people and produce leading edge environmentally friendly technologies, the engagement in social projects ranging from helping removal of landmines in Cambodia or AIDS prevention in South Africa.
Yutaka Okayama is from the production side and in a very interesting meeting we got an impression of his 20 years long contribution to the environmental performance of the company’s operations.
We are excited to see what will happen with this leading company. Maybe we can expect breakthrough automobile products that would leverage the company’s achievements and realize zero emission targets also on the product side. The hybrid car efforts go in the right direction, with only 1% of Toyota’s total car sales they will, however, not be enough to compensate for the continuing emissions.

Enjoy reading selected statements of Mr. Okayama in the following lines. You may be able to read more about all the good things that Toyota is doing, but also about the critical aspects to be considered for a sustainable future society in our book “MyImpact”.

Yutaka Okayama’s selected quotations:
“After starting to work for Toyota in 1983, I often asked myself how I can add most value. Waste water treatment – or its absence – was a big issue at that time so I got engaged in this area.”

“In production our main goal is to eliminate waste, all waste. And we are quite close to achieving this target.”

“The major point in the enterprise environment field is top managements’ understanding and commitment. In our company, the environment is considered the key issue to enable us to survive in the future.”

“In the 80ies, when I started working, the perception was that the emission and thus environmental issues have been solved. Only around the Rio Summit in 1992 a broader understanding of the environmental field came up.”

“Before we launched “Prius” our environmental image wasn’t significantly better than that of other car companies or other Japanese companies. After “Prius” the image skyrocketed, confirming the consumers’ preferences and having a positive effect on the company’s image overall. We were lucky to have such a positive example of how environment can add value.”

“The first time “Prius” was proposed to the top management, they rejected it. They wanted the fuel efficiency to be twice higher.”

“I believe that environment-related investments are easier in Japan than elsewhere; we are used to long-term thinking and long-term commitments.”

“Toyota is getting bigger and so is it’s influence. If we continue our efforts, we can really make a difference in the world. There are more possibilities than I thought at the beginning.”

“My motivation comes mainly from wanting to do something good for my children’s future, to provide a climate that they can live in. I know, I cannot do much, but if I didn’t to anything I would regret this at some point.”

Some background on Yutaka Okayama:
Yutaka Okayama was born and grew up in Japan. As a child he spent a lot of time in the nature and at primary school age he wanted to become a farmer. He gave up this idea after working on a farm in Hokkaido for a month, and also the idea of becoming a veterinary. Instead, he graduated from Hokkaido University in environmental engineering and, in 1983, joined Toyota.
Several years of engagement in the waste water treatment of various Japanese facilities followed, before Mr. Okayama joined a British manufacturing plant as environmental engineer. In 1995, after three years, he returned to Japan and found the task of ISO certification on his table. He set up an environmental management system for Toyota and its subsidiaries in various countries, conducted an ISO certification pilot for the government of Japan, and later drove the certification of other plants. Today Yutaka Okayama works as Project General Manager of the Planning Group of the Environmental Affairs Division of Toyota.

Some background on TOYOTA Motor Corporation (TMC):
Founded in 1937 Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), is active in manufacturing and sales of automobiles and housing. It has continuously strived to contribute to the sustainable development of society and the earth through the manufacturing and provision of high-quality and innovative products and services.
This commitment to sustainability is also visible in its seven “Guiding Principles”, where it is explicitly stated that Toyota wants to contribute to the economic and social development through corporate activities in the communities and that it wants to provide clean and safe products and enhance the quality of life everywhere through all its activities. This commitment is reinforced by the Toyota Earth Charter, where among its four basic policies one can find the “aim for growth that is in harmony with the environment” and the “pursuit of environmental technologies”. The fourth five year “Toyota Environmental Action Plan” is a clear statement of the activities that Toyota must undertake in order to realize the corporate image that it is striving to achieve – to become a leader and driving force in global regeneration by implementing the most advanced environmental technologies.

If you would like to engage with the work of Yutaka Okayama or get to know more about TMC please visit www.toyota.co.jp/en/environment/index.html,
or www.toyota.co.jp/en/community_care/index.html,
or, for more specific opportunities, contact joanna.stefanska@myimpact.ch or wolfgang.hafenmayer@myimpact.ch directly.