By Staff Reporter

Lexus South Africa has committed to plant enough Spekboom trees for every hybrid model sold locally. This is to offset each of these vehicles’ carbon emissions for at least one year. As a subsidiary of Toyota, who have already announced plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Lexus is equally committed to the Paris Agreement (international treaty on climate change) and its call to the world to reduce the emission of gases that contribute to global warming.

Spekboom for every hybrid vehicle sold

As part of this commitment, Lexus SA has also launched a campaign – on various media platforms – to conscientise the local market about its drive to plant Spekboom for every hybrid vehicle sold. As of mid-August 2021, Lexus South Africa had already planted more than 6,000 Spekboom plants at the Owl Rescue Centre in Hartbeespoort.

Spekboom are succulent plants that help remove carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and can absorb between four and 10 tonnes of carbon per hectare. They are excellent soil-binding plants for preventing soil erosion, can grow as tall as five metres, and can live up to 200 years.

Hybrid pioneer

Lexus has been a pioneer and an innovator in the luxury car market since the launch of the RX 400h in 2005. The brand’s electrified vehicles have accounted for a cumulative global reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 19 million tonnes.

In 2020, 33% of global Lexus vehicle sales were electrified variants. As a luxury brand, Lexus in South Africa has been a leading light in electric vehicles, further cementing TSAM’s commitment to carbon neutrality. 

Internationally, Lexus has eclipsed the major milestone of two million global sales of electrified vehicles at the end of the first quarter of 2021, reflecting a commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions across a significant number of luxury segments. This is a clear indication that like the parent-brand Toyota, Lexus is firmly on the path to carbon neutrality. 

Source: https://www.lexus.co.za/