Sustainable Markets: Case Study Of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Abstract

“The traditional definition of sustainability calls for policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (1).”  Sustainability is a concern in private and public sectors all over the world; it is an issue that resonates with people in all age ranges, income levels, and geographic locations.  The main idea of sustainability is “reduce, reuse, and recycle.”  People and organizations alike must consider every possible effect from the decisions they make in regards to the environment.  With over 600,000,000 passenger cars on the road in the world, and over 50,000,000 passenger cars built each year, it is imperative that automakers make sustainable decisions (2).  It is not just the large number of vehicles in the world that is cause for concern, but the immense amount of resources needed to manufacture, transport, and fuel them.  Automakers must consider the impact that each car has during every stage of its life cycle, in addition to their responsibility to society (in terms of the environment, education, and safety) and the impact of their suppliers.  This case study is designed to discuss the background of Toyota and highlight the company’s current actions in regard to sustainable marketing; a comparison will also be made to the sustainable efforts of Honda and Subaru.