Realizing “the Joy and Freedom of Mobility” and “a Sustainable Society where People Can Enjoy Life”

In 2010, Honda announced within and beyond its organization that the company’s direction in the period leading to the year 2020 would be “to provide good products to our customers with speed, affordability and low CO2 emissions.”
By “good products” we mean to embody customers’ wants and needs in attractive products using Honda’s unique technologies, knowledge and ingenuity. Such good products must be delivered with speed without making our customers wait, and at affordable prices that make our customers happy with their purchase. This is the direction Honda will take.
“With low CO2 emissions” represents our conviction based on the strong sense of crisis that, as a manufacturer of personal mobility, Honda will have no future unless we achieve a significant reduction of CO2 emissions.
This focus is encapsulated in the Honda Environmental Vision of a future in which environmental initiatives will allow people to realize “the joy and freedom of mobility” and “a sustainable society where people can enjoy life.” In this vision, Honda has expressed its strong determination to contribute to a society based on sustainability and harmony so that it can continue to offer excitement to its customers through products and services used for personal mobility and in people’s everyday lives.
Honda is determined to turn this vision into reality by actively implementing environmental initiatives on a global level. Particular emphasis will be placed on the following aspects:

Honda global environmental slogan

“Blue Skies for Our Children” is the global environmental slogan adopted by Honda to express its commitment to the realization of this environmental vision through expanded environmental initiatives.
The Honda engineers who took on the challenge to meet the stringent new emissions standards of the 1970s U.S. Clean Air Act, used the phrase “blue skies for our children” as a passionate rallying cry to devote themselves to this effort. Honda wants to pass on the “joy and freedom of mobility to the next generation” (for our children), therefore, we want to realize a sustainable society where people can enjoy life (blue skies). This slogan continues to represent Honda’s passion toward its environmental commitment which has not wavered and will remain resolute in the future.
The Honda global environmental symbol shown on the right was chosen as the symbol for the environmental slogan. The environmental slogan and environmental symbol will be used in future environmental activities and communication throughout the world, both within and beyond the Honda Group.

Note:

“The Power of Dreams” will be retained as Honda’s global brand slogan, and “Blue Skies for Our Children” will be used exclusively for environmental initiatives.

■Positioning of Honda’s Direction and Environmental Vision

CO2 emissions over the life cycle of a vehicle
(as assessed with the Honda LCA system)

Example based on a conventional model
(automobile with gasoline engine)
Note: Calculations are based on a total vehicle mileage of 100,000km.

2020 Product CO2 Emission Reduction Targets

As it implements initiatives designed to realize its environmental vision, Honda recognizes the importance of product-related environmental impacts, especially CO2 emissions through use of its products, to its efforts to reduce environmental impacts across the company’s full products’ full life cycles.
Honda regards the climate change and energy issue as its most important challenge, and one of the key substances involved in this issue is CO2. Estimates made using the Honda LCA Data System indicate that around 83% of Honda-related CO2 is emitted when vehicles are operated by users. For this reason, Honda believes that the most important way for it to respond to climate change and energy issues is to reduce CO2 emissions from products. That is why Honda has adopted the 2020 product CO2 emissions reduction targets.
Having achieved all of its CO2 emissions reduction targets for fiscal 2010 products, Honda has set new targets for 2020 calling for a 30% reduction in the fleet average CO2 emissions of motorcycles, automobiles, and power products compared with 2000 levels.
Honda will work to achieve these targets in the period leading to 2020 by responding to priority challenges, including increased research and development, and the introduction of energy-efficient products to the market.

2020 Reduction Targets for Product-Related CO2 (Baseline: 2000)

Scope of statistics

Automobiles :

Japan, North America, Europe, Asia/Oceania, China, Central and South America (more than 90% of worldwide sales)

Motorcycles :

Japan, North America, Europe, Thailand, India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan (more than 90% of worldwide sales)

Power products :

All products sold in all regions

Honda Environmental Performance Standards (HEPS)

Honda aims to realize its environmental vision by innovating and combining environmental technology innovation with energy technology innovation. Its approach, as represented in the diagram below, calls for improvements in the efficiency of internal combustion engines, advances in environmental technologies, the adoption of diversified energy technologies, and the use of renewable energy forms, including hydrogen and solar cells. Honda will work to reduce to zero greenhouse gas emissions relating to mobility and other lifestyle areas by combining advances in these fields with energy management technologies.
Under this scenario for a product-based response to the climate change and energy issue, Honda will apply its own classification and approval systems based on the Honda Environmental Performance Standards (HEPS) to products designed to reduce life cycle CO2 emissions, including products made possible by improvements to the efficiency of internal combustion engines, products based on environmental innovations and energy diversification technologies, and renewable energy products. Through this approach, Honda will progressively introduce the technologies needed to reduce CO2 emissions to the market and expand their use.

Product-Based Response Scenarios for Responses to Climate Change and Energy Issues

An Image of the Future Based on Honda’s Environmental Vision

Image of Honda Smart community system