Our Value Chain and Its Impacts
As a major multinational enterprise, our activities have far-reaching impacts on environmental, social and economic systems. The diagram below organizes the issues by the major stages of our value chain. In this report you will also find a "materiality analysis" which prioritizes the most significant issues in our value chain.
Some issues are not shown in this diagram because they do not pertain to a particular life-cycle stage.
Value chain: Overview
A number of broad sustainability challenges set the context for all of the life-cycle stages. These issues apply across the value chain:
- Population growth
- Urbanization
- Poverty
- Education
- Gender equality
- Child mortality
- Maternal health
- Infectious diseases
- Biodiversity
- Loss of ecosystem services
- Downsizing
Click the buttons to the left to see issues for each stage
Product planning and design
Principal actors in this stage
- Ford
- Customers
- Government
Environmental issues
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Fuel economy
- Smog-forming emissions
- Material use and recycling
- Resource use
- Manufacturing waste
- In-vehicle air quality
Social issues
- Vehicle safety
- Access to mobility
- Traffic congestion
- Diversity
- Infrastructure
- Emerging markets
- Design for assembly/ergonomics
Economic issues
- Quality
- Brand value/reputation
- Health care costs
Logistics (Transportation)
Principal actors in this stage
- Ford
- Government
Environmental issues
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Smog-forming emissions
- Land use
Social issues
- Vehicle safety
- Health and safety
- Treatment of employees
- Noise
- Community disruption through land use
- Traffic congestion
- Diversity
- Infrastructure
Economic issues
- Fuel cost
Raw material extraction
Principal actors in this stage
- Suppliers
- Government
Environmental issues
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Smog-forming emissions
- Resource use
- Waste
- Land use
- Biodiversity impacts
Social issues
- Health and safety
- Diversity
- Human rights
- HIV/AIDS
- Community disruption through land use
Economic issues
- Commodity prices
Parts and components
Principal actors in this stage
- Ford
- Suppliers
Environmental issues
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Smog-forming emissions
- Material use and recycling
- Resource use
- Manufacturing waste
- Land use
Social issues
- Health and safety
- Employee satisfaction
- Diversity
- Human rights
- HIV/AIDS
Economic issues
- Quality
- Brand value/reputation
- Health care costs
Assembly and painting
Principal actors in this stage
- Ford
- Government
Environmental issues
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Smog-forming emissions (especially VOCs)
- Material use and recycling
- Resource use
- Manufacturing waste
- Land use
Social issues
- Health and safety
- Employee satisfaction
- Diversity
- Human rights
- HIV/AIDS
- Community contributions
Economic issues
- Quality
- Brand value/reputation
- Health care costs
Sales
Principal actors in this stage
- Ford dealers
- Other dealers
Environmental issues
- Land use
Social issues
- Diversity
- Human rights
- Marketing and customer information
Economic issues
- Dealer services
- Brand value/reputation
- Purchase cost
Use
Principal actors in this stage
- Customers
- Fuel providers
- Government
Environmental issues
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Smog-forming emissions
- Land use
- Fuel economy
- In-vehicle air quality
Social issues
- Vehicle safety
- Noise
- Viability of public transport
- Access to mobility
- Community disruption through land use
- Traffic congestion
- Infrastructure
- Emerging markets
Economic issues
- Fuel costs
- Brand value/reputation
- Cost of ownership
Service
Principal actors in this stage
- Ford dealers
- Independent servicers
Environmental issues
- Material use and recycling
- Waste
Social issues
- Health and safety
- Diversity
- Human rights
- Marketing and customer information
Economic issues
- Quality
- Dealer services
- Brand value/reputation
End of life
Principal actors in this stage
- Dismantlers
- Government
- Shredder operators
- Post-shredder treatment operators
Environmental issues
- Material use and recycling
- Waste
- Recovery
Social issues
- Health and safety
- Diversity
- Human rights
- End of life information
Economic issues
- Commodity prices
- Quality
- Market demand for recycling/recovery products
Expanding connections
We recognize that these issues are interconnected at each stage and that positive and negative effects in one part of the chain can reverberate in the other parts.
Increasingly, we are bringing our understanding of a wide range of sustainability issues into the stages of our value chain. Environmentally, we are improving our manufacturing efficiency, cutting the emissions of our vehicles, designing vehicles with end of life in mind and increasing the recyclability of our vehicles and our use of recycled materials. Socially, we seek to strengthen the communities we're part of, expand the connections within them and improve our relationships throughout the value chain. Economically, we are trying to build our capacity to adapt and respond to the variety of challenges and opportunities present at every stage, meeting our customers' needs as well as our stakeholders' expectations.