Timeline:
1972
1973
1974
1986
1989
1990
1998
1999
2001
2002
2004
2010
2012
2014
2016
2019
1972: A Honda auto featuring CVCC engine technology
1972

Honda announced CVCC, the first engine technology to meet U.S. Clean Air Act standards without the need for a catalytic converter.

1973: An early generation of Honda’s 4-stroke outboard motor
1973

Honda introduces 4-stroke marine engines that are cleaner, more fuel-efficient and quieter than the 2-stroke outboard motors available at the time.

1974

The 1975 model year Honda Civic CVCC was the first car to comply with the U.S. Clean Air Act solely through engine performance

1986: The 1986 Honda CRX-HF
1986

The Civic CRX-HF is the first mass-produced 4-cylinder car to break to 50-mpg fuel economy mark.

1989: The Honda factory painting process
1989

Honda becomes the first automaker in America to use waterborne basecoat paint in mass production, introducing the process at East Liberty Auto Plant.

1990 - VTEC – Honda’s foundational technology for achievements in low emissions, high fuel-efficiency and high performance, is introduced in the U.S. in the Acura NSX.
1990

VTEC – Honda’s foundational technology for achievements in low emissions, high fuel-efficiency and high performance, is introduced in the U.S. in the Acura NSX.

1998: The 1998 Honda Civic GX natural gas vehicle
1998

U.S. EPA recognized the 1998 Honda Civic GX natural gas vehicle as the cleanest internal combustion engine it had ever tested.

1999: The 2000 Honda Insight was the first North American gas-electric hybrid vehicle.
1999

First gas-electric hybrid vehicle in North America is introduced – the 2000 Honda Insight.

2001: A fleet of Honda low-emission pace cars
2001

Honda is the first mass-market automaker to offer an entire lineup of cars and light trucks that meet or exceed low-emissions vehicle (LEV) standards.

2002: A ceremony in which Los Angeles leases a Honda fuel cell vehicle
2002

World’s first commercial application of a fuel cell electric vehicle: a Honda FCX is leased to the city of Los Angeles.

2004: The 2005 Accord is the world’s first V-6 hybrid.
2004

The 2005 Accord becomes the world’s first V-6 hybrid vehicle.

tag 2010: A Honda facility flying national, state, and corporate flags
2010

Honda earns top ranking for the 10th consecutive year in ACEEE annual rating of America’s greenest vehicles.

2012: Honda’s Environmental Leadership Program seal
2012

American Honda launches Environmental Leadership Award ‘green dealer’ program with U.S. Honda and Acura dealers, including a baseline requirement to reduce energy use by 10 percent.

2014: Wind turbines at Honda’s Russels Point, OH plant
2014

Honda Transmission Manufacturing of America installs two power-producing wind turbines at its Russells Point, Ohio plant, becoming the first automaker in the U.S. to derive a substantial amount of its power from turbines located on its own property.

2016

Honda spotlighted the efforts made by associates to improve their environmental performance with the inaugural Honda Green Conference North America. 98 projects were submitted, combining to save 8.2million kWh of energy

2019

Honda entered a long-term virtual power purchase agreement for renewable wind and solar power that will cover more than 60% of the electricity that Honda uses in North America, fully offsetting the remaining carbon intensive grid-supplied electricity being used in its Ohio, Indiana, and Alabama automobile manufacturing operations

Through the years

Our commitment to the environment isn’t something just happened, it’s been engrained in how we do business from the start. Click here to take a step back in time and see the many ways we positively impacted the environment.