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 achieved 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 requiring their own suppliers to implement environmental management systems as well.

Supplier Diversity

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our supply base. Our Supplier Diversity Development Office works with business leaders, trade associations and community-based organizations to create opportunities for businesses owned by minorities and women. In 2008, we purchased $3.3 billion in goods and services from more than 250 minority-owned suppliers and more than $763 million in goods and services from more than 200 women-owned businesses. Financial commitments like these have earned us a seat at the "Billion Dollar Roundtable," an exclusive group of 13 companies that spend a minimum of $1 billion annually with diverse suppliers. Despite considerable headwinds, Ford is committed to incremental year-over-year percentage increases in sourcing from diverse suppliers. We encourage similar actions across our supply chain. In 2008, more than 400 of our largest suppliers purchased more than $1.5 billion from minority- and women-owned enterprises in support of Ford business.

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's Global Terms and Conditions, and demonstration of overall sustainability leadership by incorporating environmental and social considerations into their business.

In the spring of 2008, 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 its carbon emissions by more than 50 percent, equivalent to 15 tons per truck 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.