Strategy and Governance

Our Purpose

Our purpose is to help build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

We believe in the power of creating a world with fewer obstacles and limits, where people have the freedom to build a better life and pursue their dreams.

To shorten the distance between where you are and where you want to go.

To connect people down the road and over the horizon – to discover possibilities, and enjoy the thrill, adventure and pride of moving freely.

From day one, we’ve provided people with the tools to help them move forward and upward. We’ve innovated to expand their opportunities. And we’ve worked to earn their trust, every single day.

We honor our legacy as we build the future – a better world for generations to come.

Because when everyone is free to move and free to dream, we do what we do best: we change the world.

Our Plan

In October 2020, we introduced The Plan to turn around our automotive business, improve execution, speed up transformation and drive growth. We are modernizing how we operate, simplifying our processes, building on our strengths, exploring new opportunities, and caring for each other and our customers.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we finished the year in a strong position, with the second half of 2020 providing evidence of progress against The Plan. In 2021, we will focus on investing in growth areas, including “uniquely Ford” electric vehicles (EVs), self-driving vehicles and connected solutions.

Under The Plan, we are improving quality, reducing costs and accelerating the restructuring of our global businesses. Our objectives include high quality, customer satisfaction, operational excellence and top-line growth. Specifically, we will also invest more capital, resources and talent in our strongest businesses and vehicle franchises, expand our commercial vehicle business with software services that drive loyalty and revenue, and build partnerships for expertise and efficiency.

The Plan will also involve “disrupting” our conventional automotive businesses, partnering with others to gain expertise and efficiency.

Building on our strengths, we’re investing in our core business of designing, manufacturing, marketing, financing and servicing cars, SUVs, trucks and commercial vehicles. We will maximize new opportunities in electrification, self-driving technology and mobility solutions.

Our Aims

• Earn Trust

  We are actively working to deliver on our aspiration “to become the world’s most trusted company.” Trust is earned by consistently serving others with integrity and competence, and Ford embodies these strongly held values. Trust earned with global stakeholders will be our most important asset.

• Driving Progress

  To “help build a better world,” we completed a two-year study with the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan that defined “What does human progress mean?” and identified a quantifiable method to measure progress. The methodology we used is based on how companies are preserving human rights, protecting health and safety, increasing access to social good (mobility) and enhancing societal economic prosperity.

• Make Positive Impacts

  More than minimizing the negative effects of our activities, we are determined to make a net positive contribution to society and the environment. Naturally, we want our vehicles to use less fuel and produce fewer emissions. But our long-term view – of a connected transport network comprising increasingly intelligent vehicles that communicate with each other and the world around them – will change lives for the better, giving every person the freedom to move and pursue their dreams.

Contributing to the UN SDGs

Ford promotes the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by communicating how our vehicles and operations contribute toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

See our UN SDGs Index (PDF, 3MB) for details on how our activities support the sustainable development agenda.

Corporate Governance

While remaining a successful business, we want our operations and activities to have a positive impact on the world. Our integrated governance systems and processes help us build sustainability across our company.

As part of our efforts to remain successful, our business needs to be lean, fit and agile, so that we can capitalize on new opportunities in the future. That’s where our workplace transformation comes in, reducing bureaucracy, building skills and adopting more efficient ways of working.

Read more about corporate governance in our Form 10-K (PDF, 1MB) and our latest Proxy Statement (PDF, 2.1MB).

Sustainability Governance

We employ a variety of governance systems and processes to manage different aspects of sustainability across our business. Our management processes, systems, committees and groups are designed to help us improve our sustainability performance, act responsibly and ethically, and take responsibility for the impact our activities have on society and the world around us.

Risk Management

The oversight responsibility of the board of directors and its committees is supported by company management and extensive risk management processes, relating specifically to compliance, reporting, operating and strategic risks.

Operational risks include public health issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which could affect consumer behavior, reduce demand and restrict business activities. Our ongoing success depends on our ability to continue to recruit and retain a talented, stable and diverse workforce, and we also rely on thousands of suppliers for components and parts. Other operational risk factors include government safety standards requiring safety recalls, the threat to data privacy of cyberattacks and security breaches, and our ability to successfully execute The Plan.

The strategic risks we face include competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and mobility industries, the impact of geopolitical events or changes to trade agreements or tariffs for our components and products. Other factors that could impact our success include market disruption, litigation and any product modifications needed to comply with the ever-changing regulatory landscape. New regulations are continuously being proposed to address environmental concerns (including concerns about global climate change and its impact), vehicle safety and energy independence.

Read more about how we manage risks in our Form 10-K (PDF, 1MB) and our latest Proxy Statement (PDF, 2.1MB).