Structures for Managing Sustainability

The following are the primary structures we use to manage and embed accountability for sustainability within Ford.

• Board and Executive-Level Responsibility: Ford's governance of sustainability issues builds on a strong foundation of Board of Director and senior management accountability for the Company's environmental, social and economic performance. At the Board level, the Environmental and Public Policy Committee has primary responsibility for reviewing strategic issues related to sustainability, though sustainability issues are also addressed in other committees and by the Board as a whole. Within management, the Group Vice President of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering has primary responsibility for sustainability issues.
• Dedicated Sustainability Function: Ford's Sustainable Business Strategies office coordinates corporate-wide sustainability strategy and activities, including leading the Company's corporate-level sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement. Over the past year, the group has been restructured to more closely link it with other functions that have responsibility for key aspects of sustainability. The Group Vice President of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering now has direct responsibility for the Sustainable Business Strategies, Environmental Policy, and Safety groups, as well as dotted-line oversight over the Sustainable Mobility Technology group (which is formally part of the Product Development function).
• Integration into Core Functions: Numerous functions within the Company have responsibility for some or multiple aspects of sustainability. For example, the Workplace Health and Safety Office, Environmental Quality Office and Human Resources Department each manage specific issues that fall under the umbrella of sustainability. In addition, as Ford works to embed sustainability more deeply across all functions, groups such as Product Development, Purchasing and Manufacturing are taking on an increasing role in the Company's sustainability efforts. For example, Product Development is taking the lead on the Company's sustainable mobility efforts, and Global Purchasing is managing the supply chain assessment and training programs associated with our Code of Basic Working Conditions.
• Issue-Specific Structures: Ford has also developed structures to address specific global sustainability issues facing the Company. For example, we have established a Sustainable Mobility Group – a senior-level team led by the Group Vice President of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering – that is working to define our climate change strategy and delivering our sustainability strategy in the marketplace. The Group's strategic direction is provided by a senior executive forum, including Vice President and executive stakeholders, which guides the development of the vision, policy and business goals.

• Sustainability Learning Community: In 2005, we launched our Sustainability Learning Community, a voluntary, cross-functional network of Ford employees that is designed to build internal capacity on sustainability issues. The Learning Community aims to provide a mechanism for connecting people across the Company – as well as soliciting new and different perspectives – to help Ford address its key sustainability opportunities and challenges.

  The April 2007 appointment of Sue Cischke as Group Vice President of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering to lead and implement Ford's sustainability strategy provided an opportunity to review the direction of the Sustainability Learning Community and how its members can support the sustainability efforts of the Company and vice versa. The Community met in November to discuss strategic sustainability issues as well as to reconnect with ongoing individual and group projects.

  We continue to view the Learning Community as a critical, grassroots structure for integrating sustainability across Ford's culture. In late 2007 and early 2008, a plan was developed to further engage the growing membership through two community meetings and the sustainability intranet site. In addition, small-group forums are planned to expand the capacity of the Community. As always, the good work achieved by the individuals who form the Learning Community will continue to be the foundation as the Community grows.