Toyota says in a new report it improved fuel efficiency by 4 to 8 percent in nine vehicle configurations and reduced energy consumption per unit of production at its North American plants by 7 percent between 2001 and 2002. According to the company, the Toyota North America Environmental Report 2002 details Toyota's progress toward meeting the growing transportation needs of society in ways that will decrease harm to the earth. "We hope this report will give readers an understanding of the environmental activities that Toyota and all its employees are promoting across North America," said Toshiaki "Tag" Taguchi, president and CEO, Toyota Motor North America. "Although we know this is a job that never ends, we're proud of our performance to date." "As a core philosophy, we continuously strive to better tune the automotive industry to the needs of the earth and get as close as possible to sustainable development," said Taguchi. "While we've made good progress during the past year, we realize there's much more to be done."