Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has won its second consecutive Energy Company of the Year award, presented by the Southern Africa Association for Energy Efficiency, for its efforts in energy efficiency.

The award acknowledges individuals and companies in the energy industry for outstanding accomplishments, as well as for their commitment to the profession, a desire to further the association’s mission and participation in civic and community affairs.

TSAM safety, health and environment department GM Riaan Olivier says energy efficiency is of great importance for the vehicle manufacturer.

“This is a prestigious award and we are excited about winning it for the second consecutive year. At Toyota, we strive to be number one in all we do and this proves that our efforts towards energy efficiency are moving in the right direction. This is a critical part of our business and a companywide initiative,” he says.

Owing to the rising energy costs and mounting energy challenges in South Africa, the vehicle manufacturer launched a dedicated environmental engineering department to manage energy efficiency projects at its manufacturing plant in Durban, in April 2010.

The department, which has since completed 108 energy efficiency projects involving feasibility testing, measurement and verification, aimed to reduce energy consumption, which resulted in a reduction in costs and an improvement in operational efficiencies.

“Energy is a collective effort and, for this reason, we mobilise the whole company to assist us with our projects. We are very motivated to ensure all our projects yield optimum results, with no effects on quality, safety and production.

“We continue to track all projects [long] after completion. Energy efficiency has far-reaching effects, including cost reduction, production efficiency improvement and environmental impact reduction, so it makes sense,” says Olivier.

TSAM has also won a platinum award in the Toyota Global ECO Award for the assembly plant with the best performance in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.