Ford CSR: Carbon Emissions Reduction a Priority

Ford Motor Company, the one American car company that did not need a bailout from the government,  released its 12^th annual sustainability report last week, titled Blueprint for Sustainability: Driving Change. The report emphasizes Ford’s climate change strategy: to do its part to keep carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to less than 450 parts per million (ppm), the “level generally accepted to avoid the most serious effects of climate change” (Although Bill McKibben begs to differ). One of Ford’s sustainability commitments, part of its Blueprint for Sustainability plan, is reducing greenhouse (GHG) emissions from its global portfolio of products. Ford introduced the Blueprint in 2007. Last year, Ford expanded the climate stabilization analysis it started in 2009 for the U.S. and Europe to other regions where the company operates. The analysis defines the emissions reductions Ford needs to meet its climate change commitments, which include reducing the carbon emissions from its facilities by 30 percent by 2025 on a per-vehicle basis. Ford is making strides in reducing its carbon emissions. Ford reduced carbon emissions from its new 2010 models in the U.S. and Europe by 10.5 percent and 8.1 percent, compared to the 2006 model year. Carbon emissions from the company’s global operations were reduced by 5.6 percent on a per-vehicle basis, compared to 2009. Ford’s goal is to reduce facility carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2025 on a per-vehicle basis. Ford’s long-term strategy to deal with climate change, as stated in the report is the following:

• Continuously reduce GHG emissions and energy use at its operations
• Develop the flexibility and capability to market lower GHG emission products
• Work with industry partners, energy companies, consumers groups and policy makers to establish an effective and predictable market, policy and technological framework for reducing GHG emissions

“The Blueprint for Sustainability encompasses a wide range of efforts at Ford to provide sustainable transportation around the world,” said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. “Ford is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its products and facilities, supporting positive social change and ensuring economic viability for long-term growth.” Ford’s commitment to more fuel efficient vehicles Ford says it is committed to manufacturing vehicles that use less fossil fuel, as the report emphasizes. The company announced last year that three more engines would contain its EcoBoost fuel-saving technology. By 2013, the company plans to produce 1.5 million EcoBoost engines worldwide, about 200,000 more than originally planned. Ford now offers four models in North America that provide 40 miles per gallon (mpg), compared to 2009, when its most fuel efficient vehicle achieved 35 mpg. Focus Electric, the company’s first all-electric vehicle, is being sold in 19 U.S. markets this year. In 2012, Ford will start producing the C-MAX Hybrid and the C-MAX Energi Plug-In Hybrid. By 2020, Ford plans for 10 to 25 percent of its global sales to be electric vehicles.