In a webinar this morning, Ford’s Global Director of Sustainability & Vehicle Environmental Matters John Viera and EVP & CFO Bob Shanks briefly outlined the company’s newly released 2012/13 Sustainability report.
In a webinar this morning, Ford’s Global Director of Sustainability & Vehicle Environmental Matters John Viera and EVP & CFO Bob Shanks briefly outlined the company’s newly released 2012/13 Sustainability report. Highlights included a 37% reduction in CO2 emissions per vehicle at its global facilities since 2000 and plans for a 30 percent further reduction from 2010 to 2025 by addressing everything from new products and technologies to manufacturing processes.
The company has plans to continue to reduce CO2 — one of several priorities outlined in its “Blueprint for Sustainability.” Other subjects in the report range from reduced water use and energy consumption to cutting the amount of waste-to-landfill at Ford facilities around the world.
“We are much more proactive in understanding the importance of sustainability in the broadest sense — not only in relation to our products, but also in the quality of the financial results that we derive from them,” said Shanks, whose perspective is featured in this year’s report.
Ford has developed new products, technologies and processes at its facilities and plans to meet its own targets while doing its part to help keep CO2 levels in the Earth’s atmosphere at or below 450 parts per million — a goal many scientists, businesses and governmental agencies say must be met to avoid the most serious effects on climate change.
Among other initiatives, Ford is expanding its industry-leading 3-Wet paint capacity by 50 percent this year — adding the environmentally friendly process to four more plants on three continents. Increased use of this process, which streamlines the painting process, is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 25 percent where used.
Ford’s sustainability report showcases the company’s efforts to tackle a myriad of sustainability challenges. Specifically, it addresses the company’s overall financial health, the fuel economy of Ford vehicles, safety achievements and other sustainability-related issues, such as:
- Training 325 suppliers in sustainability management in 2012 as part of Ford’s Code of Human Rights, Basic Working Conditions and Corporate Responsibility; nearly 2,100 suppliers have been trained through the program
- Reducing waste-to-landfill by 19 percent per vehicle between 2011 and 2012, part of a plan to cut the amount of waste-to-landfill 40 percent per vehicle by 2016 (baseline is 2011)
- Reducing global water use by 1.95 million cubic meters from 2011 to 2012. Based on regional water cost estimates, this yielded more than $3 million in cost savings
- Reducing global water use by 62 percent between 2000 and 2012 — equal to about 10 billion gallons
- Establishing a five-year objective to improve operational energy use per vehicle globally by 25 percent by the end of 2016 (2011 baseline)
- Improving global energy efficiency by 6.4 percent against a 2011 year baseline normalized for weather and production levels
Ford was ranked #2 in Interbrand’s 2013 list of “Best Global Green Brands,” released earlier this week.
Published Jun 14, 2013 4pm EDT / 1pm PDT / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST