Sustainability Report 2006/7 - Accountability - Key Processes for Integrating Sustainability

We believe that integrating sustainability considerations into our existing systems and processes – rather than creating new systems and processes – is the most effective way to embed sustainability into our business. The following are some examples of how we are doing this.

Business Plan Review Meetings: Sustainability issues are a formal part of Ford's Business Plan Review (BPR) meetings, one of the key management processes used within the Company. At these weekly meetings, convened by Ford's CEO, members of the Company's top leadership team review sales, financial, manufacturing and other information to help them manage global operations and identify issues that are critical to the future of the Company. Each unit also provides an update on performance relative to their individual scorecards. To help us manage corporate-wide sustainability issues, Ford has developed a sustainability scorecard, which is reviewed alongside other units' scorecards at the BPR meetings. Also, functions including Manufacturing, Product Development and Purchasing have integrated sustainability-specific indicators into their overall scorecards. Ford's CEO also convenes weekly Special Attention Review meetings to look in-depth at any issues identified as potential concerns on any unit's scorecard. Sustainability issues have been covered at these meetings.
Strategic Review Process: Like many companies, Ford conducts a regular strategic planning process to analyze the long-term, global issues most likely to affect our business. Beginning in 2006, the Company's Sustainable Business Strategies office provided formal input into that process. Their input focuses on the key sustainability opportunities and challenges Ford is likely to face in the future, and affects both the analysis of the Company's positioning and the options available moving forward. Ultimately, we expect this work to result in an operational roadmap, metrics, milestones and aligned purpose.
Corporate Policy Letters and Directives: Ford maintains a comprehensive set of Policy Letters, Directives and other corporate standards that govern all Company activities. Several of these relate to aspects of sustainability. For example, in 2003 Ford adopted a Code of Basic Working Conditions, implementation of which is supported by a robust assessment and training process. The Code was updated in 2006, and in 2007 was approved and formally adopted as a corporate Policy Letter.
Management Systems: Ford uses a variety of systems and processes to manage the different aspects of our business, several of which govern or incorporate sustainability issues. For example, all Ford manufacturing facilities and our product-development function are certified to ISO 14001, the leading global standard for managing environmental issues. In addition, we have asked our preferred "Q1" suppliers of production parts to certify their facilities. In another example, Ford's Procurement function has integrated assessments of working conditions into its broader process for certifying suppliers on issues such as quality, cost and delivery.