Vehicle manufacturer Toyota is celebrating the award of new updated accreditation from the Carbon Trust regarding the company's outstanding performance in terms of cutting emissions from its business operations.

Achieved this month, the company has been accredited by the body following an assessment for its UK headquarters in Surrey, with the property achieving a rating of 85 per cent from the Trust in terms of its overall environmental impact and performance.

Following an initial assessment of the building carried out by the Carbon Trust in 2010, Toyota has made a number of improvements to its operations and the fabric of the building in the following four years, with this latest examination resulting in a 2.6 per cent improvement in the facility's ecological rating.

Measures including the use of low-energy LED lighting throughout and major landscaping work that has taken place at the property in recent months all served to push up the firm's score.

Thomas Rosselle, Toyota Manager for corporate planning and corporate social responsibility, said: "We're delighted to receive the new certification from the Carbon Trust, it is further tangible evidence of the continuous improvements we are making in our wide-ranging environmental programme.

"This is more than just getting the figures right, we also strive to engage awareness among our staff, and in the wider communities where we work."

Indeed, the Trust's managing director of certification Darran Messem added: "Since it first received the Carbon Trust Standard in 2010, Toyota GB has remained fully committed to driving forward ambitious programmes of carbon reduction activity.

"This has resulted in successful re-certification not once, but twice. This demonstrates that its commitment to emission reduction goes right to the heart of the organisation."

A green focus for the vehicle manufacturer is not reserved solely for its own operations though, with a recent announcement that Toyota is now also working in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to help to protect biodiversity across the globe, while also drawing on the expertise of staff to help make the firm's green spaces – both in the UK and at Toyota Motor Europe's offices in Brussels – as ecologically-friendly as possible.

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This story was posted by Daniel Crosby, Assistant Marketing Executive at the Fuel Card Group.