TOYOTA KIRLOSKAR Motor (TKM) Pvt Ltd carried out a one of its kind afforestation* programme in an effort to kick off its sustainable plant activities at its premises in Bidadi, Karnataka.

30,000 saplings were planted by more than 6000 volunteers that comprised of TKM executives, including the MD, Hiroshi Nakagawa, local school children, officials of Ramanagaram District, Toyota suppliers and dealers, and TKM employees and their family members. This was the first of three phases that will cover an area of 40,000 square meters along the periphery of the 432 acre TKM plant.

The guest of honour Meera C Saxena, Principal Secretary to Government, Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, planted trees alongside the volunteers.

The event represents Toyota’s efforts to create eco-friendly environs at its sustainable plants, globally. The unique concept or ‘Potential Natural Vegetation’adopted by Toyota is based on forest reconstruction that is indigenous to its natural habitat, and is based on rigorous field investigations of the local vegetation and ecological theories. Native vegetation will be more capable to absorbing CO2 by its full capacity, and will also have longer lasting effects on the local community. The vegetation in the afforestation area consists of 51 species of native vegetation such as maavu, thoramathi, honne, neem and thapasi.

The ‘Potential Natural Vegetation’ or ‘Miyawaki’s Concept’ is the brainchild of Dr Akira Miyawaki, Director, Japanese Center for International Studies in Ecology (JISE), Yokohama National University. Dr Miyawaki, a world renowned ecologist, has been a regular visitor to the TKM plant in the past few months to study and ascertain the afforestation activity, and train the employees of TKM. At the event, he explained and demonstrated to all present the importance of this concept tree planting initiative. ‘Miyawaki’s Concept’ has been successfully implemented in more than 1,500 sites worldwide, such as the tropical forest in Thailand, Amazon forest in Brazil, and the forest around the Great Wall of China.

In order to create production sites that are in harmony with their natural surroundings, Toyota has conducted similar tree planting drives in its sustainable plants in Thailand and Japan.

Hiroshi Nakagawa, MD, TKM used the occasion to highlight TKM’s environmental policy:

We recognise the importance of continual improvement in environment performance while creating economic growth and maintaining a competitive advantage. We are committed to this philosophy and it is our hope that our employees, suppliers, customers, dealers and local communities share our commitment in preserving a very valuable resource … our environment.”

Toyota believes that the successful implementation of its sustainable plant activities depends on how well it can cultivate eco-consciousness among its employees and the ability of its plants to coexist with their surrounding communities.

TKM will be building its second plant to roll out its compact car in 2010, at the same site.

*Afforestation is the process of establishing a forest on land that is not a forest, or has not been a forest for a long time by planting trees or their seeds.

Outline of TKM