Subaru Celebrates Green Milestones
Japanese automaker Subaru recently celebrated two environmental milestones. The first one is the third anniversary of the Subaru of Indiana Automotive as a zero landfill facility. The other milestone celebrated by Subaru is the sale of the 100,000th Partial Zero Emissions vehicle.
The two milestones show the concern of the company for the environment. Aside from providing quality vehicles to their consumers in the United States and other countries, the company is also one of the numerous car manufacturers taking steps to protect the environment.
“We are pleased to mark these milestones,” said Tomohiko Ikeda, the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Subaru of America. “At Subaru, we are committed to not only maintain an effective environmental management system, but also to integrate sound environmental practices throughout our business.”
The Japanese company joins other companies such as Ford in taking steps to protect the environment. Ford has also taken steps to make their assembly facilities environment friendly. The Japanese carmaker Nissan is also one that uses alternative power solutions to protect the environment.
According to Subaru, their assembly facility in Indiana sends no waste to a landfill. The said facility is the first auto assembly plant in the United States to achieve the zero landfill status. The wastes created in the Subaru Indiana plant are all reused, recycled or are sued as raw materials to provide electricity for the city of Indianapolis.
Aside from those steps taken by Subaru to take care of their waste problems, the Japanese carmaking company also uses the Indiana plant grounds as a sanctuary for animals. According to the company, the said assembly facility is a designated backyard wildlife habitat. Animals who make the grounds of the plant their homes includes deer, coyotes, beavers, blue herons, geese, rabbits, squirrels, meadowlarks, ducks and others.
These steps being taken by Subaru in making their facility in Indiana an environment friendly one has already been recognized by the government. Last year, the Japanese car manufacturer received the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Gold Achievement Award for the effectiveness of the company’s WasteWise program. The said program is aimed at reducing waste in the work area and improves recycling of wastes.
The materials used by the car manufacturer in assembling vehicles can be used again by recycling it. Metals can be sent to a foundry which then can be melted and used to manufacture stock or Subaru aftermarket parts. This recycling of waste reduces the amount of garbage thrown into landfills which are proven to be a hazard for the environment.
Aside from the zero landfill status achieved by Subaru in its Indiana plant, the company also produces PZEV or Partial Zero Emission Vehicles. The Subaru Legacy, Outback, and the Forester are given the said classification by the government. The three Subaru nameplates have achieved the status in all states of the country including California which is known for its very strict emission regulations.
The 100,000th PZEV was recently sold by Subaru. These vehicles are considered the cleanest gasoline engine vehicles in production. The certification of being a PZEV is only given to vehicles which are found out to produce very little greenhouse gas and other potentially hazardous emissions. Subaru uses advanced emission filtration technology and other engine technologies to enable their vehicles to achieve the PZEV classification.
