HCM Environmental Policy

Environmental Policy

HCM will manage its operations to preserve and protect the environment including meeting or exceeding regulations.

Elements of our Guiding Principles

We will fulfill the mandate expressed by our Environmental Policy through the following actions:

• Encouraging all Associates, as members of both Honda and society, to focus on the importance of preserving human health and the environment, and to do their part to help the Honda fulfill its responsibilities.
• Having management members demonstrate that environmental protection is a high priority by setting goals and establishing procedures which are protective of people, property and the environment and by auditing all operations to ensure compliance.
• Providing training for all Associates in order to familiarize them with Honda's Environmental Policy and help them recognize how their job function may impact the environment.
• Conserving energy and reducing, reusing and recycling materials and natural resources.
• Implementing new materials, methods and equipment that will minimize process emissions.
• Striving to achieve, by means of continual improvement, environmental levels of performance governed not only by legislated requirements, but also taking into account the expectations of our community and customers.
• Working cooperatively with governments and non-government organizations, in developing effective standards, regulations and programs concerning the environment.
• Encouraging suppliers to protect and preserve the environment.

HCM’s environmental initiatives

ISO 14001

HCM was one of the first auto assembly plants in North America to acquire ISO 14001 certification, a worldwide standard for environmental management. Under ISO 14001, companies are expected to demonstrate continuous improvement. HCM monitors the program to ensure current activities conform to the ISO standard. Regular audits of our environmental practices by an external agency ensure we retain our certification. HCM currently recycles 99% of its production waste, and is working to achieve 100% recycling, which would make it Honda's first facility in North America to achieve this.

Waste Reduction Efforts

HCM manages its operations to reduce its waste generation, and has undertaken many activities under each of the 3R's: reduction, reuse, and recycling. Our efforts were recognized by the Recycling Council of Ontario, who presented HCM with both a Platinum Award and the "Outstanding Business" award at their April, 1999 awards ceremony. As well, HCM was recognized at the Voluntary Challenge and Registry awards ceremony in March, 2002, as "Best New Submission", along with receiving a "Gold Champion Level Reporter" status.

Local involvement

Each year, HCM Associates and their families volunteer to participate in a tree planting activity in conjunction with other community groups. In the last five years, Honda Associates and their familes have planted over 72,000 trees and shrubs and participated in an annual cleanup of debris from the stream in Alliston, Ontario. HCM has been recognized by the Town of New Tecumseth with a Certificate of Appreciation as well as officially commended by the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority for their work on Spring Creek.

HCM energy conservation projects

For the last six years, HCM has set a goal of reducing energy consumption by 1%/vehicle produced each year. As of the end of 2006, we had achieved our overall target.

We have identified three categories of energy conservation projects.

Non-production time reduction

All production departments have scheduling systems for task lighting; FA schedules high bay lights and plant air handling units on weekends and shutdowns based on department weekend work requirements. Effort has also been made to trim equipment "on" time, for example by not heating up paint ovens as long before the day shift starts. This year, effort will be made to look for opportunities to shut other equipment off at night or on weekends.

Process optimization

Examples include improving control of the plant compressed air system so that additional compressors do not come on line before they are required, and reviewing the paint booth air flow requirements to ensure that we are not drawing in more outside air (which must be conditioned to the correct temperature and humidity) than necessary.

Investment

High bay lighting has been replaced in several areas of Plant 1 with more efficient types. XP installed a system to recover waste heat from the paint oven RTO (which destroys volatile organic compounds before they are emitted) and use it to preheat paint equipment. Likewise, FA is now recovering heat from air compressors to preheat building air in the winter.

HCM has an Energy Conservation Committee that meets monthly to report on progress of department activity and share ideas. All departments are represented.

All associates participate in our effort through everyday activity such as ensuring exterior doors are closed, turning off switched equipment at the end of a shift or lights when leaving a meeting room.

Complying with Reporting Regulations.

As an ISO 14001 certified company, HCM has a system in place to monitor federal, provincial and municipal government reporting requirements. HCM has been reporting to the federal National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) since its inception. This is a public database available through the Environment Canada NPRI website. Starting with the 2010 reporting year, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has added some further public disclosure requirements (O. Reg. 455/09). One requirement of this regulation is to post accounting information for selected substances on the Internet. To view this information for the 2010 reporting year click here.