A lot is changing at the local Honda dealer, from hybrid technology to zero-emissions vehicles. Find out about the company’s environmental initiatives.
How They’re Helping the Environment
Honda’s Green Path is about more than just helping drivers switch to EV technology. The company is taking a more holistic approach to reducing environmental impacts, starting at the manufacturing plant and ending at the Honda dealer.
Design Initiatives for a Sustainable Future
Honda’s “Green Path” initiative begins in the design room. Currently, engineers have three primary goals when designing Honda vehicles.
Honda’s designers are eliminating substances of concern, such as dangerous chemicals from Honda products, developing easy-to-recycle vehicles, and reducing the use of scarce natural resources in designs. These steps put each new Honda vehicle on the path to reduced ecological impact from the beginning.
Reducing Manufacturing Emissions
Unfortunately, it’s not just cars that produce potentially dangerous emissions. The modern manufacturing process is also resource-intensive, utilizing a good deal of natural gas and electricity and generating large amounts of carbon dioxide.
Honda is already taking important steps toward creating more sustainable manufacturing processes. The automaker monitors energy use in real-time to ensure that equipment is turned off when not in use, for example, and has developed a less resource-intensive painting process.
So far, Honda has reduced the energy use per vehicle manufactured by 14% and has diverted nearly all of its waste away from landfills and into recycling programs. In Ohio, the automaker even uses two onsite wind turbines to assist with generating clean electricity.
Improvements and Innovations in Shipping
Some autos get shipped halfway around the world before they reach dealerships. Honda is trying to change that by implementing smarter shipping programs.
Each vehicle at the Honda dealer is moved by train, which is four times more efficient than shipping cars by truck. To further reduce emissions from vehicle transport, the automaker also helped design the Auto-Max railcar, which holds more vehicles.
How the Average Honda Dealer Keeps Up
Honda’s commitment to environmental stewardship extends to every dealership. The “Green Dealers” initiative helps every local Honda dealer reduce electricity and water use.
Local dealerships don’t have to go it alone. The brand developed the Honda Environmental Leadership Program to help every dealer create an effective plan for reducing CO2 emissions to zero.
Green Dealers use more efficient lighting, install solar panels to generate 100% of the power they need, and take steps to reduce water use when washing cars. These and other seemingly minor differences add up to major change, with some Honda dealers already reaching a grid-neutral status.
How Drivers Can Do Their Part
Drivers also play an essential role in reducing emissions to zero and conserving natural resources. Working with a local Honda dealer participating in the brand’s environmental initiatives is a great start.
Switching to an EV is another crucial step to take. Both hybrid and plug-in EVs generate fewer emissions over their life cycles, but that’s not their only benefit. They also save drivers money. For Honda’s many fans, going green has never been easier.
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