Toyota Motor Corp. and the Toyota Foundation have established a grant program to support environmental improvement and conservation activities in Japan and overseas, the nation's No. 1 automaker said Monday.
The program will provide roughly 200 million yen a year in grants over the next three years for projects undertaken by a wide range of organizations, such as universities, research facilities and nongovernmental organizations, Toyota said.
Toyota said the grant program was set up to mark the company's receipt of the United Nations Environment Program's Global 500 Award on World Environment Day on June 5, 1999.
Toyota received the award for its efforts in environmental protection, such as the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle and its active disclosure of environment-linked data, according to a company statement.
Keiko Nakamura, deputy director general of JT Biohistory Research Hall, will head an eight-member team of experts from Japan and abroad tasked with selecting the organizations to receive the grants, the statement said.
The Toyota Foundation was established by Toyota in 1974 to mark the automaker's 40th year and provides grants for a wide range of research and civic activities, Toyota said.