Honda Motor Co. has revised its green purchasing guidelines, extending their application to suppliers around the world. The new guidelines allow Honda to track and reduce its environmental footprint and that of its suppliers.
Formulated in 2001 for Japan, the revised guidelines apply to all Honda parts and materials suppliers globally, to improve business practices throughout the supply chain beyond primary suppliers.
In Australia, Honda complies with ISO 14001 certifications and conducts regular environmental audits and assessments of compliance. In addition, Honda Australia has implemented a number of recycling and waste management initiatives at its head office site in Tullamarine.
Many day-to-day office products are recycled. At the end of 2010, 32.5 tonne of timber pallets collected from the national parts warehouse were recycled into garden-grade mulch for use in children’s playgrounds, schools, council gardens and freeway verges. In addition, 200 obsolete phone handsets and equipment totalling 186 kilograms were disposed of through MRI Australia along with 12 kilograms of alkaline batteries and 28 kilograms of florescent tubes.
Recently, a barcode system was introduced in Honda Australia’s national parts warehouse to eliminate the use of paper for invoicing and picking of parts. This will save over 700,000 pieces of paper annually.
Since 2009, Honda Australia has also participated in a number of initiatives in its advertising to reduce its environmental footprint. Honda and Adshel have partnered to recycle outdoor advertising backlit poster skins into compost bins, milk crates and worm farms. In addition, all Honda brochures are printed on 9lives stock, made up of 80% post consumer fibre and 20% totally chlorine-free pulp (FSC certified mixed source paper which ensures that all virgin pulp is derived from well managed forests and is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill).
Environmental conservation activities have been a top priority for Honda Motor Co. and extend to areas such as purchasing, production, administration, logistics, sales and recycling.
Honda is also active in corporate responsibility to customers and society and continues its efforts to deliver products with the smallest environmental footprint to customers around the world.
