Toyota announces groups selected for FY2007 environmental activities grant program

TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today the 27 organizations to receive grants from the FY2007 Toyota Environmental Activities Grant Program, who will receive a total of 160 million yen. In the eight years between FY2000 and FY2007, approximately 1.4 billion yen in total grants have been provided by the Toyota Environmental Activities Grant Program to support 140 projects in 42 countries.

The Toyota Environmental Activities Grant Program was launched in commemoration of TMC's receipt of the Global 500 Award* in 1999 from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Since that time, the program has been supporting practical projects in the areas of environmental education and environmental technology conducted by NPOs and other non-profit private groups. In 2007, during the April to June application period, 530 applications were received, with 373 for the category of "general grants" for site restriction-free project implementation (compared to 424 last year) and 157 for the category of "small-scale grants" for community-based grassroots activities (compared to 124 last year).

The program's selection committee, which was made up of experts from Japan and overseas, was chaired by Dr. Keiko Nakamura, director general of the JT Biohistory Research Hall. The committee deliberated intensely in order to select this year's grantees. The entries were judged according to criteria such as the appropriateness of the projects, continuity and future development, clear demonstration of the necessity of funding and the level of collaboration with local communities. The grant program will support the chosen projects for up to three years for "general grants" and up to two years for "small-scale grants".

TMC held a session today in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture for the Japanese NPOs being awarded grants. At the event, Nakamura, as the selection committee chair, presented the winning 15 organizations with their awards. Participants also joined a tour of the Forest of Toyota, near the venue. The event provided an opportunity for four of the past Japanese grant-receiving organizations to present their achievements and for members of the participating NPOs to interact with each other.

*Presented by UNEP to recognize the outstanding achievements of individuals and organizations in protecting and improving the environment. In recognition of its various achievements in environmental protection and improvement, such as being the world's first to mass-produce and sell hybrid vehicles, and for its various corporate social contribution activities, TMC in 1999 became the first Japanese corporation to receive the award.