Toyota ECO Youth Program for 2003
The 2003 Toyota ECO Youth program was officially launched by UMW Toyota Motor and the Ministry of Education yesterday. This is a national program which has the objective of cultivating good habits and practices in preserving our environment among the younger generation of Malaysians.
This is the third year of the program which was inaugurated in 2001. The pilot program had seen the participation of eight schools from WPKL and Selangor, while the second one last year was on a wider national scale which saw 15 schools from 14 states participating.
This year’s program, also nationwide, has 15 new schools participating and starts off with a training and workshop session. The students will be taught Problem-Solving Methodology which incorporates Kaizen (the Japanese philosophy of ‘continuous improvement’) and elements of the seven QC tools to help them in their chosen project.
They will then be equipped with the skills to plan and implement their project, after which there will be verification and audit processes. The culmination of the program will be an Environment Convention and exhibition.
Participating schools will win cash prizes for their successful efforts. The prizes range from RM7,000 for the winner to RM1,000 for the fourth and fifth positions. There will also be other prizes of recognition of efforts.
Speaking to the participants and guests at the launch ceremony, Dato’ Michael Lim, Managing Director of UMW Toyota Motor, gave assurance that the company will endeavour to promote the program till it is self-sustainable.
“We will guide and teach the students on how to manage the program. After that, with the assistance of their teachers, they can convert their project to a school’s activity for the years to come,” he said.
The support of such a program mirrors the company-wide initiatives of Toyota Motor Corporation which has an Earth Charter. As one of the world’s largest automakers, Toyota understands it has a great responsibility to help protect the environment and is very active in managing issues affecting the environment. Its serious efforts encompass all areas of its business from manufacturing through sales and then recycling the products it makes.
“We are constantly working to lessen the impact of automobiles on the environment at every level. Improvements on environmental management to meet international standards, and developing and implementing environmental pre-evaluation systems are undertaken with one aim: to produce vehicles that are friendly to people and to the planet,” declared M. Sugiyama, Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor and representative of the Japanese automaker on the company’s board.
