Reducing Substances of Concern

By cooperating with the various parties involved, including its suppliers, Toyota is committed to disclosing, as much as possible, the environmental impact of the chemicals it uses, strengthening its chemical management systems and switching to substances with less environmental impact.

Ensuring Full Compliance with the REACH Regulation

The REACH regulation, which focuses on minimizing the impact of chemical substances on people and the environment and to clarify corporate responsibility for managing chemical substances, came into effect in Europe in June 2007. In addition to existing governmental designations and use restrictions on chemical substances, businesses must now identify the substances used and incorporated in their products, assess the risks, register and report to an administrative agency and prepare information that can be accessed by the public. As a result, chemical substances manufactured in or imported into Europe, as well as substances in preparations, must be registered, and notifying and preparing accessible information of substances of very high concern in products and parts is obligatory. Automotive industries in Japan, the United States, Europe and South Korea established a task force on REACH (TF-REACH) in Europe. The task force prepared the Automotive Industry Guideline (AIG) on REACH to integrate responses by the various companies in the industry, avoid duplicate requests to suppliers and confusion along the supply chain and conduct extensive educational activities for supplies. Toyota is making steady progress based on this guideline.

Toyota held a briefing on the EU (European Union) REACH Regulation in Japan in December 2007 to prepare for the provisional registrations. At the briefing, outside specialists provided an overview of the regulations and Toyota explained its effects and responses as well as procedures for meeting provisional registrations.

In December 2008, Toyota completed the pre-registration of all direct and indirect materials that are supplied to its European operations. Toyota also collaborated with 57 Japanese parts manufacturers doing business in Europe regarding pre-registration.

In March 2009, Toyota held a briefing for suppliers on the 15 substances of very high concern* (seven of which are on the REACH Authorization Candidate List) contained in products and parts supplied to Toyota and explained the actions it is taking regarding these substances. Together with its suppliers, Toyota continues efforts to satisfy the REACH regulation.

*Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC)

Chemical substances listed by the European Chemicals Agency as being "carcinogenic" or having other harmful effects (15 of these substances were listed as of March 2009; additional substances will be listed in the future.)

System for Collecting Information on Substances of Concern

The International Material Data System (IMDS) was created to collect information on substances contained in parts and materials of parts used in automobiles. This system was developed in tandem with the entire automotive industry in order to comply with the EU End of Life Vehicle Directive (ELV Directive*), which regulates the substances of concern contained in new vehicles and the recycling rates of end-of-life vehicles. Toyota began employing this system around April 2003, when it first took effect. The IMDS is the standard system for the automobile industry worldwide, with 20 automakers (including eight Japanese automakers), and 75,780 other companies (including parts manufacturers) employing the system, and more than 190,000 users registered as of January 2009. Discussions are now taking place regarding the possibility of utilizing the IMDS to comply with the REACH Regulation in the future.

*ELV Directive: A directive on automobile recycling issued by the European Union in October 2000.