In recognition of our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded us their coveted Energy Star 2007 Partner of the Year Award in Energy Management. We're the first automaker to receive this award two years in a row.
This honor validates our belief that a sustainable, profitable business requires responsible use of environmental resources.
Improving Energy Efficiency
Since 2000, our U.S. facilities have improved energy efficiency by 25 percent. In 2006, these improvements resulted in $25 million in savings.
We're reducing our impact on the environment by using clean, sustainable power in our manufacturing plants. Some of the technologies we're implementing include geothermal cooling, landfill gas reclamation, and converting paint fumes to fuel. We also create electricity by harnessing renewable energy created by water, wind and sun. In the United States, renewable, or "green," power supplies 5 percent of our energy needs.
Innovative Energy
Programs
As part of the Energy Star award selection process, we were recognized for several of our key innovative programs:
Energy-Efficient Lighting
We replaced lighting fixtures with ones that use 40 percent less energy and converted incandescent lights to low-energy, long-lasting compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) across much of our portfolio of properties—corporate offices, research and development campuses, distribution centers and plants—totaling more than 26 million square feet.
One particular project entails replacing lights at all 22 of Ford's parts distribution centers in the United States, equating to a 50 percent energy savings in lighting.
Paint Shop of the Future
Paint shops are historically the largest energy users within an auto plant, so we developed promising new technology to make our paint shops more energy efficient. Our new Paint Shop of the Future, being piloted at the Ohio Assembly Plant, consolidates the application of primer, base and clearcoat into a single step. By eliminating the need for separate applications, spray booths and ovens, we're realizing significant energy and cost savings.
Fumes-to-Fuel
Together with Detroit Edison, we developed a fumes-to-fuel system that captures paint-booth fumes, a plant's largest source of CO
Geothermal Energy
The Lima (Ohio) Engine Plant uses cold water from two abandoned limestone quarries on its property to cool a portion of the plant and its equipment. The geothermal system saved us $300,000 in installation costs—compared with the cost of installing a traditional cooling tower—and saved more than $300,000 in annual operating costs. The system earned the 2005 State of Ohio Governor's Award for Excellence in Energy, and the Design-Build Institute of America's 2005 National Award.
Alternative Energy Sources
The Wayne (Mich.) Assembly Plant uses landfill gases to heat and cool the facility, reducing the consumption of natural gas.
The Ford Rouge Visitor Center in Dearborn, Mich., houses a photovoltaic array, a solar thermal collector and an automated building management system. The adjacent Dearborn Truck Plant holds the world's largest living roof, which reduces solar thermal load while ground cover converts CO2 into oxygen.
Energy-Efficient Plants Recognized
Four of our assembly plants have also earned Energy Star awards for being in the top 25 percent nationally in energy efficiency. The winning plants—Norfolk, Chicago, Twin Cities and Kansas City—were evaluated using EPA plant energy performance indicators. The EPA's rating system enables companies to evaluate the energy efficiency of their plants relative to their industries and develop energy improvement goals and plans.
About Energy Star
Energy Star was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. We became a registered Energy Star partner in 1998.
