Carmaker creates its own flower

We've heard of roof gardens on factories - Rolls-Royce's Goodwood facility for example - but Toyota has gone one step further and created its own species of plant. Two new flowers have been created to absorb oxides of nitrogen. Derivatives of the cherry sage and gardenia plants, they help absorb harmful gases and create water vapour from their leaves in and around Toyota's Prius production facility in Toyota City, Japan.

The flowers are just one of a number of measures Toyota has taken to ensure that the production of its Prius hybrid is as environmentally-friendly as possible. There are solar powered lights in the production plant and workers are allowed to wear short trousers and shirts in summer rather than have the air conditioning running to cool the building. Toyota has also planted trees to help offset the CO₂ it creates in producing the Prius, while the grass around the facility has also been developed to grow more slowly to reduce the need for mowing. And you thought all Toyota did is create cars.

Kyle Fortune