On October 6, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. held a tree-planting event on the grounds of its production subsidiary TG Automotive Sealing Kentucky, LLC in Kentucky, USA. Approximately 520 volunteers, including employees and their families, government officials and local students, planted about 5,700 shrubs.

Toyoda Gosei has conducted these “plant afforestation” activities every year since 2009, with aims including raising the environmental awareness of employees and building ties with local communities. The program follows the tree-planting method advocated by Dr. Akita Miyawaki,* an international leader in the field. Dr. Miyawaki’s method entails high density, mixed planting of a wide range of species suited to the local soil and climate. These trees and shrubs then grow into “true woodlands” that are resistant to natural disasters and pests and require little or no maintenance.

In this event in Kentucky, 15 species of trees suited to the natural environment of Kentucky including red maple, bur oak and yellow poplar, were planted around the factory grounds. The Toyoda Gosei Group has so far planted over 300,000 trees at 28 of its locations around the world. Plans are underway to conduct future tree-planting activities in India, South America, and elsewhere.

*Dr. Miyawaki is Professor Emeritus, Yokohama National University and Lifetime Honorary Director of the Japanese Center for International Studies in Ecology. He has provided tree-planting instruction to governments and companies around the world, and has been involved in the planting of more than 40 million trees. In 2006 he received the “Blue Planet Prize,” an international award for the earth’s environment that has been called the Nobel Prize of the environmental field.

Tree-Planting Event

Kentucky State Representative Myron Dossett (left), Hopkinsville Mayor Carter Hendricks (center), and TG President Naoki Miyazaki (right) plant trees	Participants planting trees

 About Toyoda Gosei

Established in 1949 and headquartered in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Toyoda Gosei is a leading specialty manufacturer of rubber and plastic automotive parts. Today, the Toyoda Gosei Group provides a variety of high-quality products internationally, with a network of approximately 100 plants and offices in 18 countries and regions. Through its flexible, integrated global supply system and leading-edge technologies, Toyoda Gosei aims to grow as a global company that acts flexibly and swiftly in today’s dramatically changing business environment, delivering the highest levels of satisfaction to customers worldwide through safety, comfort, well-being and the environment.