Toyota Motor Corporation, together with the All-China Youth Federation, have handed out awards for the Toyota Environmental Protection Aid Program for China's Youth.

A total of 300 people attended the awards ceremony at Beijing University, including Hu Chunhua, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and honorary chairman of the ACYF; Japan's Ambassador to China Yuji Miyamoto; as well as ACYF executives, government officials, Beijing University staff, students and Toyota representatives.

In his address to the attendees, TMC Executive Vice President Yoshimi Inaba, who oversees Toyota's operations in China, said, "The second year of the program has seen an improvement over last year in the projects submitted, both in terms of number and content. I look forward to seeing the positive contribution that these projects make to environmental protection once they are put into action."

This year, the awards were presented under the theme of "Everybody's world, everybody's responsibility". More than 200 proposals were submitted from across China in which the panel — comprised of Chinese environmental protection experts and reporters who specialize in environmental topics — selected one proposal to receive the Toyota Special Award, 10 proposals to receive special support and 20 proposals to receive a special commendation. Award recipients receive grants for their environmental protection activities and are given the opportunity to travel to Japan for study trips. TMC is providing RMB3.5 million each year, over a three-year period.

The Toyota Special Award went to the Chinese University Student Environmental Education Base Project, a project organized primarily by the students of Beijing University to create a space to share information and develop the necessary human resources in order to include the general public in environmental protection initiatives.

The function of the Toyota Environmental Protection Aid Program for China's Youth, which was jointly established by the ACYF, CCYL and TMC in July 2005, is to solicit written proposals for environmental protection activities from China's youth and to offer support to the best proposals.

Toyota says it has always conducted social contribution activities throughout the world, focusing on the three areas of environmental protection, human resources development and traffic safety. In China, with regard to environmental protection, in addition to the Toyota Environmental Protection Aid Program for China's Youth, Toyota is also implementing afforestation programs to combat desertification.

In order to promote human resources development, Toyota has established the Toyota Study Assistance Fund, the China Automotive Industry Toyota Jin Bei Technical Training Center and a research center in collaboration with the School of Public Policy & Management at Tsinghua University. Further, in the area of traffic safety, Toyota conducts safe-driving events in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Toyota says it aims to be a good corporate citizen and plans to continue contributing to Chinese society.