Water: More Than Just Environmental Concerns

A decade ago, Ford made a commitment to decrease our water use, setting a target of 3 percent year-over-year reductions. Since we launched our Global Water Conservation Initiative in 2000, our global manufacturing facilities have saved more than 10.5 billion gallons of water – a reduction of an impressive 62.4 percent. Water use per vehicle decreased by 44.7 percent from 2000 to 2009.

But we realize there's a lot more we can – and should – do. Water conservation has quickly become a critical global issue that extends well beyond environmental concerns. There are significant social and economic implications, too. Among some of the sobering statistics:

• Less than 3 percent of the Earth's water is freshwater. Of that, less than 0.5 percent is accessible to plants, animals and humans.
• Global water consumption is increasing at more than double the rate of human population growth and is expected to triple in the next 50 years.
• If per capita consumption continues to increase at its current rate, the global population will be using over 90 percent of all available freshwater within 25 years.
• An estimated one-third of the world's population currently lives in water-stressed regions. This is expected to increase to two-thirds within 25 years.
• Some 1.2 billion people do not currently have access to clean water.

Water use and availability are, and will continue to be, important to Ford's operations. Many key vehicle manufacturing processes require the use of water. And water is used at every point in our supply chain. Yet, in some areas where we have facilities, freshwater availability is limited.

Our Water Strategy

We have embarked on a new water strategy that looks at our water use from both an environmental and social perspective.

In 2010, we will be identifying additional opportunities for water reduction with an eye toward setting other water targets and goals. We are engaging with stakeholders to better understand water-related issues that impact Ford Motor Company. And we are assessing the consequences for water quality and availability that may result from the increased production of electric and battery–electric vehicles.

To help guide and inform our approach, we signed on as a founding responder of the Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) Water Disclosure, which launched in late 2009 to help institutional investors better understand the business risks and opportunities associated with water scarcity and related issues. The CDP's original project focused on corporate disclosures of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change strategies, and we found our participation in that project to be very beneficial in helping us formulate our strategy for GHG reporting. We anticipate similar benefits from CDP Water Disclosure, which will provide a globally harmonized method of water reporting.

By understanding our risk through water usage reporting – and implementing our strategy – we believe we can play an important role in developing and implementing solutions to worldwide water challenges.

Water is increasingly becoming a human rights issue – as in a "right to water." Companies that under-perform on water issues will face scrutiny over human rights violations. This will be especially true for companies with operations in water-stressed areas.

Our Work in Mexico

Ford's Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant is located in the Sonoran Desert of northwest Mexico, south of the Arizona border. There, an extended drought that began in 1995, coupled with population growth, created a severe water shortage. At Hermosillo, we have cut water use despite a doubling in the production of vehicles. This unusual feat has been accomplished through the addition of innovative water treatment systems that allow extensive recycling of water within the plant.

As one of the area's largest water users, the plant responded to the drought conditions by cutting water usage by 43 percent between 1995 and 2000. But when it was selected for expanded vehicle production in 2003, water use was projected to double.

To accommodate the growth in production without increasing water use, the plant installed a biological water treatment system called a Membrane Biological Reactor, now also installed at our plants in Chihuahua, Mexico; Chennai, India; and Chongqing, China. The system uses an ultra-filtration membrane process followed by reverse osmosis to make 55 percent of the plant's wastewater suitable for high-quality reuse within the plant's processes. The treated water can also be used for irrigation, bringing to 65 percent the amount of wastewater that can be recycled.

As a result, our water consumption per vehicle unit at the plant has dropped by over 34 percent since 2000.

Overall, our worldwide facilities have been able to reduce water consumption by tracking water use during plant downtimes; by optimizing cooling tower operations; and by investing in advanced technologies. Our Global Emissions Manager (GEM) database helps track our efforts.

As we look ahead, we will be developing ways to integrate a water strategy throughout all elements of our operation, including engaging our employees on community volunteer efforts geared toward water protection and conservation. We will also focus on our suppliers and how they are addressing issues of water scarcity.