We believe that listening and responding to stakeholders is a central part of being an accountable company. In addition, stakeholder engagement is vital to our ability to serve our customers and the local and global communities in which we operate. It is also a critical tool in tuning in to signals about changes in the world and the marketplace that may present risks and opportunities.
Stakeholder engagement takes place in countless formal and informal ways every day across our Company, from facility personnel's meetings with local community groups to market research with customers to convenings of Ford dealers or suppliers. Some of these are described in the Community and Quality of Relationships sections.
At the corporate level, we use a variety of mechanisms to engage with stakeholders on sustainability issues, specifically. Some of these are informal and ad hoc – indeed, simply picking up the telephone to discuss an issue with any of the numerous sustainability-related organizations or individuals with whom Ford has a relationship is a part of our standard protocol. Others, including the following, are more formal:
- The creation of forums specifically to gather stakeholder input on our activities, challenges and performance. For example, we worked with stakeholder committees to help shape and provide feedback on our 2006/7 and 2004/5 sustainability reports. We have also organized meetings with individuals and groups of stakeholders to solicit input on the key sustainability challenges and opportunities facing Ford. These and other engagements have been critical in shaping our sustainability strategy.
- Outreach on specific issues of particular importance to Ford or our stakeholders. For example, stakeholder input has been critical to the development and testing of our approach to human rights over the past several years. Several organizations, notably the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, have been key partners to Ford, providing information, input, and feedback at every step of the process. In 2006, for example, we sought specific input to help us update our Code of Basic Working Conditions. We also devoted particular effort to engaging stakeholders on issues related to sustainable mobility.
- Engagement with local stakeholders in the communities in which we operate as part of our Code of Basic Working Conditions assessment process. In 2006, Ford updated our Code to include an enhanced commitment to engage stakeholders. Specifically, it states that Ford will consider indigenous peoples among our primary stakeholders, and will openly and honestly engage with those individuals and community groups that have an interest in the Company's projects and activities. Ford's performance against that commitment will be assessed as part of our overall process to assess compliance with our Code.
- Dialogue and, in many cases, ongoing cooperation with organizations that have filed shareholder resolutions on environmental and social issues. During the 2006 proxy season, Ford received socially or environmentally related resolutions calling on the Company to:
- Report on lobbying related to federal fuel economy standards,
- Link executive compensation and greenhouse gas reductions,
- Produce a "scientific report on global warming/cooling," and
- Remove reference to sexual orientation in the Company's equal employment opportunity policy.
Also in 2006, Ford received a resolution related to the adoption of global labor standards, which was subsequently withdrawn following dialogue with the proponents.
- Consultation with organizations that have implemented campaigns targeting Ford.
- Engagement with rating and ranking organizations in the investment community, which provides insight into external perspectives on some important issues and our relative performance in addressing them.
