Several broad trends in our industry have served to bring human rights into clearer focus on our radar screen. For example, we have an increasingly complex and dispersed supply chain. At the same time, we are expanding our presence in emerging markets, where most of the growth in automobile sales is expected to occur. To more effectively serve those markets – and remain competitive – we, like others in our industry, are exploring sourcing alternatives in those locations.
This means we have a greater opportunity to contribute to economic development around the world and help meet the mobility needs of a more diverse customer base. It also means we face a range of new human rights challenges. For example, the legal structures governing working conditions, and the level of enforcement, vary widely across the countries in which we operate. Our human rights efforts are designed to help us address challenges such as this. (For more background on the development of our human rights program, see Why Human Rights? Why Ford? from our 2005/06 Sustainability Report.)
