Honda’s commitment to its customer runs much deeper than just the products it builds. With a focus on the environment and the communities in which it operates, Honda talks about of being a company society wants to exist. For Honda, building quality communities is just as important as building quality products.

Blue Skies for Our Children

When Honda came to North America more than 35 years ago, it realized the importance of minimizing the environmental impact its products and operations have on society. Although this was a major challenge, Honda viewed it as the company’s responsibility to ensure "blue skies for our children."

With that underlying theme, Honda has been an industry leader in environmentally friendly products and manufacturing operations. From the latest hybrid and fuel-cell product, to the newest diesel technology, Honda remains committed to being an industry leader in products that exceed emission ratings.

"When it comes to the environment, Honda has always been a leader in providing direction to the industry. But ‘leadership’ is not our goal … blue skies for our children remains our rallying cry," said Koichi Kondo, president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and chief operating officer of Honda’s North America Region operations. "To achieve it, we will continue to advance our technologies for the benefit of today’s customers and future generations."

However, the focus does not begin or end with the products themselves.

When it comes to manufacturing, Honda’s goal is to ensure that its facilities are operating as efficiently as possible.

"We will make a significant commitment to limit the environmental impact of this new plant. Our goal is to make this what we call a zero waste to landfill factory," said Akio Hamada, president of Honda of America Mfg. and head of Honda’s manufacturing operations in the North America Region. "Further, every major Honda plant in the world has achieved ISO 14001 certification – an international environmental standard for manufacturing. This includes our plants in North America.

"But our commitment to the environment is not based just on regulations or testing standards. Our goal is that this plant in Indiana will have the smallest environmental footprint of any Honda auto plant in North America."

In 1998, Honda took its global vision of being an environmentally friendly company a step further when it launched its Green Factory Initiative. This brought even more attention to the role the manufacturing operations played in maximizing the efficient use of resources.

Honda has made several advances in North America in this area, including:

• Honda Manufacturing of Alabama becoming the first auto assembly plant in the United States to achieve the goal of zero waste to landfill;

• The East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio replaced the less energy-efficient steam as a primary energy resource with more efficient use of electricity and natural gas;