Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth, including millions of species of plants, animals, insects, fungi, and microorganisms. It also refers to the complex ecosystems that these species call home, from the smallest wetland to meadows, forests, and oceans. Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support life on Earth. It provides essential services, such as clean air and water, fertile soil, pollination, pest control, food production, and flood control, as well as raw materials for industries in various sectors. All of these are crucial for human wellbeing and survival and account for over half of global GDP.1
“Respect for the Planet” means protecting biodiversity is one of our highest priorities
Even though Toyota’s business does not directly depend on nature in the same way as an agricultural or food and beverage company, we recognize the importance of biodiversity to the lives of our team members, customers, and society in general.
Biodiversity is constantly under threat, whether from deforestation, species extinction or habitat loss. In 2015, the United Nations (UN) established a global goal to protect biodiversity: Goal 15 Life on Land is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to SDG 15, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in 2022 with 23 action-oriented global targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The targets include conserving 30% of land, sea, and inland waters, restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems, and halving the introduction of invasive species.
According to a recent UN report, some progress has been made on biodiversity, particularly in sustainable forest management and the designation of protected areas. But the overall trend is worsening and there is still much to do.
At Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), we are doing our part to contribute to the achievement of both SDG 15 and the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Biodiversity is one of TMNA’s four environmental sustainability focus areas. We crafted our strategy to leverage the expertise of specialists to help us safeguard species and restore habitats where feasible and broaden the scope of our initiatives in communities to achieve greater conservation results.
Bees, butterflies, and other vital pollinators support biodiversity
Biodiversity is a very broad concept, so we’ve chosen to focus on a group of important species familiar to us all: pollinators. Pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, flower flies, beetles, and bats. Everyone has encountered at least one. These species are vital to our food supply, with about 75% of crop plants requiring or benefiting from pollination. In fact, every third bite of food that we take is made possible by the efforts of pollinators.2
Pollinators can be found all around us, so we all have opportunities to help protect them. From a single pot of flowers on a balcony to a sprawling acre of land, creating a pollinator garden of any size can help these vital creatures thrive.
Our plan is to enhance 26,000 acres of pollinator habitat
And speaking of habitat, the loss of habitat is one of the most pressing threats facing pollinators. That’s why we have established a target within our current five-year environmental action plan to focus on pollinator habitat enhancement.
The target: to enhance at least 26,000 acres of pollinator habitat in North America between 2021 and 2026. To achieve this target, we are providing support to two nonprofit organizations – the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) and Pollinator Partnership (P2).
Our progress as of the end of FY2024:
Projects Funded by NEEF’s Biodiversity Conservation Grants
With support from Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) has provided nearly $600,000 in grant funding to eight nonprofit organizations working on pollinator habitat enhancement projects in the United States. Five of the grantees have completed their projects, while three grantees will complete their projects by the end of June 2025.
Habitat enhancement projects funded by this grant directly support the creation, restoration, remediation, improvement, and protection of habitats for important pollinator species such as butterflies, bees, bats, and more. Funds are also used to incorporate community outreach and engagement activities designed to educate the public and empower them to create and protect local pollinator habitats.
NEEF, with support from TMNA, awarded three 2024 Biodiversity Conservation Grants to support pollinator enhancement projects on America’s public lands. The grant period started in the summer of 2024 and will run to the end of June 2025:
- Returning the Regal Fritillary Butterfly to New York (Fund for the City of New York, New York): This project aims to enhance the grasslands of Freshkills Park in Staten Island, New York City, over one year, with the goal of reintroducing the regal fritillary butterfly, which has seen its habitat decline significantly and requires focused conservation efforts to ensure its survival. Freshkills Park is recognized as potentially the only suitable area in New York for regal fritillaries, offering a blend of protected grasslands and accessible public viewing locations.
- Improving Pollinator Habitat Along the Salmon River (Salmon Valley Stewardship, Salmon, Idaho): The goal of this project is to engage the community in critical monarch habitat expansion along 20 miles of the Salmon River corridor. The project site falls within the Salmon River Breaks Project Area, an 11,000-acre tract that has been treated with prescribed burns, mechanical thinning, and noxious weed removal for the last 13 years.
- Kentucky Nature Preserve Pollinator Project (Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, Frankfort, Kentucky): This project seeks to improve biodiversity and protect native pollinator species in Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region through strategic invasive species management and habitat restoration efforts at Blue Licks State Nature Preserve, Short’s Goldenrod State Nature Preserve, and Kentucky River Palisades/Tom Dorman State Nature Preserves.
Catalina Island Conservancy (Catalina, California)
The Catalina Island Conservancy is dedicated to protecting over 62 miles of untouched beaches and remote coves on Catalina Island. This remarkable landscape is home to more than 60 species of endemic plants, animals, and insects.
With help from nonprofit American Conservation Experience (ACE), invasive plant species were cleared and habitats for the Avalon Hairstreak butterfly, Catalina orange streak butterfly, cuckoo bee, and Allen’s hummingbird were improved across 2,737.5 acres.
The grant also supported several engagement programs as well as the integration of invasive plant management topics into ACE’s K-12 education programs.
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (Cincinnati, Ohio)
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is home to an award-winning horticulture department, which, in addition to maintaining the Zoo’s botanical garden, also serves neighboring communities by revitalizing parks and playgrounds.
The grant project supported the installation of pollinator gardens in the Avondale community across six pocket parks spanning three acres.
With the help of the grant, the community organized science and engagement events as well as two large-scale volunteer events with Avondale neighbors and TMNA team members. These events were key for increasing public awareness and support for pollinators.
Urban Prairies Project (Westminster, Colorado)
The Urban Prairies Project (UPP) is a collaborative partnership that engages local communities to improve the quality, quantity, and connectivity of pollinator habitat on public open spaces.
With this grant, Butterfly Pavilion staff and volunteers enhanced 1,297 acres of pollinator habitat by planting native species, removing invasive species, collecting seeds from pristine habitat areas, and instituting monitoring programs to track pollinator population change.
UPP was able to magnify their habitat restoration efforts by partnering with local municipalities across Denver, planning volunteer recruitment and training efforts, and hosting community events.
Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy (Louisville, Kentucky)
Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy (LOPC) works to combat invasive species, human impact, and other challenges that jeopardize vital habitats within the city.
This grant funded invasive species management and habitat restoration on 216 acres across 11 parks within the LOPC portfolio. Most notably, Chickasaw Park has a new “Butterfly and Bee” pollinator meadow to honor boxer Muhammad Ali, who once trained there.
The grant also supported several community engagement activities hosted by a network of specially trained park stewards as well as hundreds of local students, corporate volunteers, and park neighbors.
San Joaquin River Parkway & Conservation Trust, Inc. (Fresno, California)
The San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, Inc., (“the Trust”) protects and expands riparian habitats to create a wildlife corridor in California’s Central Valley.
This project enhanced 347 acres of pollinator habitat by supporting understory plantings and seeding at closely connected San Joaquin River Parkway properties.
Volunteers helped with invasive species removal, hand seeding, and planting 4,000 native trees and shrubs. Project days for the Youth Parkway Ambassadors and a service-learning program with a local school provided opportunities for youth to see pollinator habitat restoration up close.
1 The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023, Special Edition, United Nations, page 42.
2 The Importance of Pollinator, U.S. Department of Agriculture