Sustainability Strategy
Our long-term vision is not just about selling more cars. It’s to make people’s lives better by changing the way the world moves. In the process, we can help shape a better world through acting responsibly and doing our part to address issues that affect people and the planet.
Our Strategy in Brief
In line with our expansion to be an automotive and mobility company, our strategy is to deliver top quartile shareholder returns through automotive and high-growth mobility businesses. At the same time, we are focused on enhancing and transforming how consumers interact with Ford.
Why This Strategy and How Does Sustainability Fit In?
Our strategy reflects the changing world around us. It recognizes seismic shifts in lifestyles, aspirations and consumer trends, especially among millennials, shaped by digitization and the sharing economy. Our plans also address the realities of rapidly growing cities, air quality concerns, congestion and climate change.
Corporate responsibility is a fundamental value within our company, and our business model expansion positions us to lead in areas with huge potential to revolutionize how people move – more easily and with a lighter footprint.
Future transportation has to be part of the answer. This is why Ford is developing mobility solutions such as on-demand ride sharing to complement mass transit, and continuing to invest in advanced vehicle technologies delivering improved fuel economy and emissions.
For all these reasons, our strategy looks to tomorrow as well as today – not only embracing change but helping to shape a better world.
What Are Ford’s Strategic Priorities?
We have defined three key priorities as part of our business model expansion – to fortify, transform and grow specific areas in order to generate economic, environmental and social value.
Fortify, Transform
What It Means
Continue to invest in our core business of designing, manufacturing, marketing, financing and servicing cars, SUVs, trucks and electric vehicles.
Challenges and Opportunities in Value Creation
- For our company, investors and stakeholders:
- Profitable, sustainable business growth
- For society and the environment:
- Product innovations that offer affordable, improved fuel economy and reduced impacts over the vehicle life cycle without sacrificing performance on the road
- Lower environmental footprint and increased resource efficiency through world-class manufacturing facilities and processes
Grow
What It Means
Pursue emerging opportunities in the key areas of electrification, autonomous vehicles, and mobility services and solutions.
Challenges and Opportunities in Value Creation
- For Ford:
- Transforming our business and driving innovation at every level
- Knowing where to play and how to win in the disruptive mobility arena
- Working with partners and stakeholders to develop vehicles and mobility solutions of the future
- For society and the environment:
- Ensuring that the switch to ultra-low/zero-emission vehicles is an effective transition that benefits consumers, cities and the natural environment
- Creating the legal and regulatory frameworks necessary to support the introduction of electric cars and autonomous vehicles
- Ensuring that the human factors are understood and addressed, alongside advances in technology
Integrating Sustainability
We are continuing to drive our integration program, which is focused on ensuring that sustainability is part of every key process and decision we take.
“Sustainability has been part of our core at Ford for quite some time. What some might consider a recent trend happened in our company years ago. We have really good examples of water conservation and waste conservation, for instance. But what motivates me is the ‘now’ of sustainability.
Our goal is to engage the 200,000 people in our company in an integrated approach to drive sustainability even further. We’ve come a long way but we have a long way to go. Capturing the hearts and minds of 200,000 people, all moving in that direction, is where we’re going next.”
Watch the full discussion about where sustainability may be heading next, with Kim Pittel, Ford; Walter Robb, Co-CEO, Wholefoods; and Shona Quinn, Sustainability Leader, Eileen Fisher; chaired by John Izzo, CSR Leadership, Author, Advisor.
We’re Working on Capturing Hearts and Minds
Going Further – The Right Way is how we express Ford’s sustainability agenda. In 2015, we initiated a program of engagement and alignment – to make sustainability real for business units and employees companywide. The program supports Ford’s aspirations for:
- Products and operations with established goals and metrics for improving peoples’ lives and the environment
- Sustainable, affordable mobility: technologies, smart products, services
- Thought leadership, policy advocacy, innovation, collaboration
