BA 548: Corporate Sustainability Case Study on Toyota Tundra

This case study examines the corporate sustainability of Toyota, specifically focusing on its Toyota Tundra truck, through the lens of the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) concept. The analysis discusses the C2C approach, which aims to design products for closed-loop recycling and renewable energy usage, and its application to the Tundra. The study identifies challenges such as impurity concentration in recycled materials and resource scarcity, which hinder full C2C implementation. The suggested solution involves using composites and specialized metal alloys in truck designs to improve recyclability and reduce environmental impact. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for innovative material substitutions to conserve fossil fuels and promote a more sustainable future. The assignment fulfills the requirements of a case analysis, including a summary of the situation, definition of key issues, identification of causes, proposed solutions, and conclusions.

Running head: CORPORATE SUSTAINABLITY
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note:

1CORPORATE SUSTAINABLITY
Introduction
The paper aims to discuss by taking the example of a company Toyota and its product
– truck brand ‘Toyota Tundra’ regarding the cradle-to-cradle concept usage and
environmental impact of its product function. It also recommends the best solution to follow
in future to address such concerns.
Discussion
The C2C concept calls for designing new systems at the production stage to disposal
stage of the product to act as nutrient for other systems rather than waste elimination. The
product is made with a view to recycle industrially being a technical nutrient. It also takes
into fact the usage of renewable energy sources for as long as capacity is required for
manufacturing the product or service. The final principle of it is to devise solution for
manufacturing depending on the region, economy and environment instead of ‘one-size’ fit
solution.
The key issues discussed are problem of large consumption of fossil fuels like coal
and oil. The C2C concept deals in hundred percent of closed loop recycling by separating
technical nutrients from biological ones. But the underlying problem is that not all impurities
can be practically removed, low concentration of impurities will still reside in recycled
products. Even though the closed looping is performed, the resources will suffer from
scarcity. For continued economic advancement, the requirement of resources will deplete the
natural productive lands for manufacturing bio-based materials affecting loss of biodiversity.
The best solution to address such issue is to adopt the increase use of composites and
specialized type of metal alloys in the automobile designs of trucks. The lightweight designs
will have important features with heat and corrosive resistance for excessive solar energy
usage. The diversity of alloys however, should be limited to an extent.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, the key issue affecting the C2C concept implementation in Toyota
Tundra can be the concentration of remaining impurities and resource scarcity as an after-
effect. The best remedy suggested is use of composites with less diverse mixture of alloys in
automobile designs. In future, substitute materials can be designed and used in recycling for
conserving the fossil fuels like coal and oil.

3CORPORATE SUSTAINABLITY
Bibliography
Bjørn, A., & Strandesen, M. (n.d.). The Cradle to Cradle concept - is it always sustainable?
(pp. 2–9)
Llorach-Massana, P., Farreny, R., & Oliver-Sola, J. (2015). Are Cradle to Cradle certified
products environmentally preferable? Analysis from an LCA approach. Journal of
cleaner production, 93, 243-250.
McDonough, W. (2012). Transcript of “Cradle to cradle design.” Retrieved February 10,
2020, from Ted.com
Toxopeus, M. E., De Koeijer, B. L. A., & Meij, A. G. G. H. (2015). Cradle to cradle:
effective vision vs. Efficient practice? Procedia cirp, 29, 384-389.
website:https://www.ted.com/talks/william_mcdonough_cradle_to_cradle_design/transcript?
language=en