Miles Toyota - Going Green

Going Green

We're committed to making the world a greener place

Creating a greener future in the car industry is no easy feat, but the team at Toyota are a committed bunch.

In 2015, Toyota Motor Corporation published six global environmental goals aiming to create a sustainable society by 2050. Locally, Toyota hopes to play a proactive role in New Zealand’s environmental efforts and deliver low carbon/net positive impacts by this time.

Miles Toyota: Leading the pack

Here at Miles Toyota, we take our commitment to creating a better environment very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that we are Enviro-Mark Diamond Certified. This is the highest tier achievable in this third-party environmental grading system, and we try to raise the green bar with each new initiative we take on.

Toyota’s national retail network is the only one in the country to attain Enviro-Mark certification. The Diamond level exceeds the requirements of ISO 14001, one of the world’s most recognised environmental standards.

Toyota New Zealand’s Chief Executive Officer (June 2019) Alistair Davis, said the Enviro-Mark programme is an important part of Toyotas commitment to sustainable business practices.

“As the brand that has nearly a quarter of all vehicles on New Zealand’s roads, Toyota takes its responsibilities to customers and the environment very seriously,” says Davis.

“Our retail team attaining Enviro-Mark Diamond certification is a significant achievement and demonstrates their desire to protect New Zealand’s environment.”

We’re constantly improving, and 2019 has seen big leaps in our green efforts. One of our biggest strides ahead has been employing our very own Environmental Coordinator, Deb Smithson. Deb’s primary focus is helping Miles Toyota maintain its Diamond Certification, and to identify weaknesses and solutions for our other practices. She’s already implemented some positive changes, with many more on the way.

On average, the Canterbury region uses nearly 450 litres of water per person every day, peaking at about 1,000 litres in summer.

We discovered that in 2018 the average vehicle wash used approximately 97 litres of fresh water. To make matters worse, most of these vehicles didn’t even need a full wash, meaning much of that water was wasted. To combat this and minimise our water usage at Miles Toyota, we have created a programme that allows you to opt-out of a vehicle wash at your next service. The process is simple – just let your service advisor know you’re opting out at the time of booking and place our handy sticker on your windshield.

In 2019, we made the switch with our fleet customers' vehicles with great success. Now, every fleet vehicle that comes in for a service is defaulted to our Wai Water Initiative, saving countless litres so far. Next time you're in, ask us how to get your sticker and help us protect Canterbury’s freshwater resources. Don't be afraid to show your dirty side.

Carbon Emissions Savings 1260kg*

Corolla Hatch GX Petrol: 0.14kg/km

Corolla Hatch GX Hybrid: 0.10kg/km

Carbon Emissions Savings 1710kg*

Yaris GX Petrol - Automatic Emissions: 0.15kg/km

Prius GX Hybrid Emissions: 0.09kg/km

Carbon Emissions Savings 390kg*

Hiace ZL Emissions: 0.28kg/km

Hiace ZR Emissions: 0.21kg/km

Initiatives we’ve completed or are currently in progress:

Replaced our service loan fleet with hybrid vehicles.
Replaced our plastic water bottles to reusable glasses and coffee cups.
Defaulting our fleet customers to opt out of an automatic wash after a service, to conserve energy, water, and detergent.
Recycling scrap metal, soft plastics, tyres, oil, cardboard, cans, bottles, and toner cartridges.
Actively promote eco driving to our employees through training and in staff inductions.
Annually host a community eco project, such as our most recent tree planting with Trees for Canterbury.
Working to halve our total water consumption on site by half.
Annually review our chemicals and substances to find safer, more eco-responsible alternatives.
Conduct monthly internal site audits and review our environmental impacts and performance.
Work with community partners such as DOC to participate in environmental community projects, give back, and promote eco-responsible habits.

Want to join us in a greener future or have suggestions on more ways we can improve? Drop us a line and let us know your thoughts!

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*Carbon Emission Savings are tested under controlled conditions and are provided for comparison purposes, actual results will vary according to vehicle usage and operating conditions. The above data has been calculated based on travelling 30,000kms.