In 2000, Ford launched a water-reduction initiative and set a target of 3 percent year-over-year reduction in water use. Since then, the Company has reduced its water consumption by more than 25 percent worldwide.
When the initiative began, many facilities had little ability to track their water usage. Ford engineers developed a patented Water Estimation Tool (WET), a software program that helps facilities to predict their water usage. They then paired WET with WILD (Water Ideas to Lessen Demand), a list of practical ideas for reducing water usage depending on where and when usage is the greatest. Our facilities made good progress for several years, meeting or exceeding the 3 percent year-over-year water reduction goal that applied to all facilities. To encourage continued progress, Ford environmental engineers are developing "single point lessons" that document practices demonstrated to save water. Implementation of the single point lessons is mandatory and included in business plans.
Ford facilities have used these tools and innovative engineering to cut water use. For example:
Ford's assembly plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, is doubling its production of vehicles while cutting water use. This unusual feat is being accomplished through the addition of innovative water treatment systems that allow extensive recycling of water within the plant.
An extended drought and population growth has created a severe water shortage in the Sonoran Desert where the plant is located. The Hermosillo plant had responded to the shortage by cutting water usage by 65 percent over an eight-year period. But when the plant was selected to build the new Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr sedans, water use was projected to double along with production.
To accommodate the growth in production without increasing water use, the Hermosillo plant installed a novel biological water treatment system called a Membrane Biological Reactor, similar to one installed at our Chennai Plant in India. The system uses an ultra-filtration membrane process followed by reverse osmosis to make 75 percent of the plant's wastewater suitable for high-quality reuse within the plant's processes. Water treated through the biological treatment process can also be used for irrigation, so in total 80 percent of the wastewater discharge can be recycled, cutting potable water use by 40 percent and exceeding the plant's original commitment to keep potable water use at the same level as the plant expanded its production.
A pilot project at a Ford plant in Saarlouis, Germany, could lead to new water-saving techniques at Ford facilities worldwide. Launched in March 2005, the test is aimed at eliminating industrial wastewater. The project, which combines several state-of-the-art water treatment technologies, is designed to more effectively cleanse the wastewater resulting from the plant's vehicle painting operation. The wastewater goes through a regular treatment facility before undergoing the new three-step cleaning process.
The first step – a biological stage – decomposes the wastewater's degradable substances. This is followed by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, which together separate the waste particles from the wastewater stream. Once cleaned, the water can be re-circulated into the production process.
The ultimate goal is to eliminate wastewater from the paint operation and considerably limit the need for fresh water at the Saarlouis plant, where the Focus and the C-MAX are built. The new treatment system, which represents just one component of Ford's water conservation commitment, has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of auto manufacturing.
