Honda Launches New Environmental Leadership Award "Green Dealer" Program for Honda and Acura Dealers in the U.S.

Demonstrating a comprehensive approach to environmentally-responsible operations that extends beyond its fuel-efficient vehicles and energy-efficient manufacturing operations, American Honda Motor Co, Inc. today announced the establishment of a "green dealer" program for its independently-owned Honda and Acura automobile dealers in the United States.

The Honda Environmental Leadership Award and Acura Environmental Leadership Award will be given to dealers who quantifiably reduce their environmental impact, beginning with a minimum 10 percent reduction in total energy use at their dealerships. Ten dealers have already received the award, 18 more have applied to be in the program, and more than 200 dealers have independently developed initiatives to reduce their environmental impact. Consumers who are interested in locating a Honda Environmental Leadership Award winning dealer can visit the Honda.com site for more information. Click here to see what dealers did to reduce their energy use.

The program offers three achievement levels – Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Silver-level dealers must achieve a 10 percent reduction in total energy use, develop a water use reduction plan, and implement a comprehensive recycling program. Gold level dealers must achieve continuous improvement in their reduction and conservation goals above and beyond the Silver level. The top-level Platinum award is reserved for dealers whose facilities earn LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The required 10 percent energy reduction is in line with the U.S. EPA's Energy Star Award / National Automobile Dealers Association program.

Honda introduced the voluntary program to its dealers at national sales meetings held last fall, generating interest among hundreds of Honda and Acura dealers. The company uses a third party evaluator to conduct environmental audits of participating dealers and recommend strategies for reducing their energy use.
Dealers who have already earned the Honda or Acura Environmental Leadership Award are:

Honda - Platinum Level
Headquarter Honda (Clermont, FL)

Honda - Silver Level
Rock Honda (Fontana, CA)
Joe Morgan Honda (Monroe, OH)
Rossi Honda (Vineland, NJ)
Honda of Burleson (Burleson, TX)
Diamond Honda (City of Industry, CA)
Voss Honda (Tipp City, OH)

Acura - Silver Level
McDaniels Acura (Columbia, SC)
Norm Reeves Acura of Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, CA)
Acura of Peabody (Peabody, MA)

In addition to the dealers who received the Environmental Leadership Award for their quantifiable energy reductions, a number of Honda and Acura dealers have independently taken steps to address their environmental impact by replacing their lighting with low-energy lamps, installing motion sensors that turn lights off when not in use, replacing older air conditioning and heating systems with newer, more energy efficient equipment, installing solar panels, adding rainwater collection systems, and planting native vegetation to reduce irrigation water use. Dealers, which are independent businesses, are responsible for developing strategies to reduce their environmental impact.

For example, Headquarters Honda planted a garden on the roof as natural insulation to reduce energy use, and installed a rain water collection system to conserve water; Rossi Honda installed solar panels to significantly offset electricity use; and Rock Honda installed an energy-efficient heating and air conditioning system and a water- reclaiming car wash.

Over the past three decades, Honda has been working to reduce the environmental impact of its products, manufacturing and logistics operations, and facilities in North America. These initiatives are reported annually in the company's North American Environmental Report. Expanding its environmental initiatives to its dealer body is the logical next step in the company's effort to reduce waste, energy use and CO2 emissions across the full spectrum of its operations and throughout the lifecycle of Honda and Acura products, including at the point of sale.

Honda Environmental Leadership
Honda is a leader in the development of leading-edge technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Honda has led the Union of Concerned Scientists(UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and a Honda vehicle has topped the list of America's greenest vehicles from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for eleven out of the past twelve years. The company leads all automakers with eleven LEED-Certified "Green Buildings" in North America, and last year announced that ten of its 14 North American manufacturing facilities are zero-waste to landfill.

In 2006, Honda became the first automaker to announce voluntary CO2 emissions reduction targets for its global fleet of automobile, power sports and power equipment products and its global network of manufacturing plants. Today, the company is striving for even greater reductions in CO2 emissions that contribute to global climate change, while also working to minimize waste, water use and the total environmental footprint of its operations worldwide.

Executive Quote
"We've designed this program around what we feel are both meaningful and achievable targets that are well within the reach of most of our 1,300 U.S. Honda and Acura dealers," said Steve Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office, which is responsible for Honda's new environmental technology and business initiatives in the U.S. "Our goal is to engage as many of our dealers as possible to reduce their environmental impact in order to have the broadest possible impact in communities throughout the nation. And we heartily congratulate our first group of Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Award winners."

Courtesy of HondaMediaNewsroom