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Environmental Performance

Ford requires its Q1 (preferred) production suppliers to attain ISO 14001 environmental management certification of manufacturing facilities that ship products to Ford. ISO 14001 certification is also expected of Q1 nonproduction suppliers if the supplier site is a manufacturing site or a nonmanufacturing site with significant environmental impact.

By 2006, 100 percent of Q1 production suppliers had ISO 14001 certification. Suppliers that did not meet the deadline were not eligible for Q1 status, which is a prerequisite for consideration for future Ford business. We also encourage our suppliers to extend the benefits of improved environmental performance by implementing similar requirements for environmental management systems in their own supply base.

Supplier Sustainability Forum

To provide a venue for ongoing collaboration between Ford and suppliers that are demonstrating leadership in sustainability, we created the Ford Supplier Sustainability Forum (successor to the Supplier Environmental Forum). The Forum's mission is to:

  • Foster communication and information-sharing among participants
  • Provide an opportunity for open dialogue between Ford and its suppliers
  • Identify areas for collaboration, share best practices, explore common emerging issues and generate actions to address issues that deliver business value
  • Advocate for the implementation of actions at our companies and our supply chains

During 2006 and 2007, Forum members focused on the topics of global working conditions, materials reporting, climate change and mega-city mobility.

Supplier Sustainability Leadership

For several years, Ford has recognized supplier companies that demonstrate leadership in environmental and social performance with a corporate responsibility award. Suppliers must meet several criteria, including ISO 14001 certification at all manufacturing sites, full acceptance of Ford Motor Company's Global Terms and Conditions and demonstration of overall sustainability leadership by incorporating environmental and social considerations into their business.

Ford selected two winners for the 2007 Corporate Responsibility Recognition of Achievement Award: BASF Corporation and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. BASF, a leading chemical company that is driving innovations to improve the quality of life, has a portfolio ranging from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics and agricultural products. BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. The company is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and is recognized by the New York research firm Innovate Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, one of the largest transportation logistics companies in North America, provides safe and reliable transportation services to customers in the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico. J.B. Hunt has a long history of finding new ways to transport products in a safe, low-cost and sustainable manner. By converting trucking shipments to rail shipments, for example, the company reduced carbon emissions by more than 50 percent, equivalent to a per-truck basis of 15 tons per year. As a result of these and other efforts, J.B. Hunt was recognized in 2007 as an Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay Transport Partner, a voluntary effort between the government and the transportation industry to develop and implement methods that improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transportation.

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