A Better World for Generations To Come

Toward Carbon Neutrality

Focusing our efforts on vehicle use, factories and suppliers, we have two new science-based targets approved by the SBTi to help us achieve our carbon neutrality by 2050 aspiration:

Ford is the only full-line U.S. automaker committed to doing its part to reduce CO₂ emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and working with California for stronger vehicle greenhouse gas standards.

To drive collaboration and progress toward our new carbon neutrality goal, we have joined the CEO Climate Dialogue and the Climate Leadership Council, and signed up to the UN Business Ambition Pledge for 1.5°C. We have also joined the New Deal for Europe initiative to devise a comprehensive Sustainable Europe 2030 strategy.

Voluntary Framework Agreement with California

Through a partnership with California, we voluntarily commit to a higher level of carbon emissions improvement than the Federal regulations require. In 2020, Ford finalized its Voluntary Framework Agreement with California regarding future GHG emissions requirements, creating a single national compliance plan instead of a two-strand scenario.

We have been recognized for our leadership in negotiating the agreement, and in standing for California’s right to regulate GHGs and zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). We have encouraged others to join the framework.

Reducing Our Vehicle CO₂ Footprint

Our aim is to achieve carbon neutrality from our vehicles by 2050. Our global fuels migration path and our technology migration plan are based on delivering high-quality vehicles that consumers desire while responding to the risks associated with climate change.

Successfully cutting carbon emissions from our vehicles means bringing our customers along on the journey. This is a challenge, as global consumer preferences continue to shift away from smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles toward trucks and SUVs, partially driven by continued low fuel prices. The share of U.S. customers who purchased trucks has steadily risen from 66 percent in 2018 to 68 percent in 2019 and 73 percent in 2020.

We have responded to this challenge by improving the fuel economy for our vehicles: Our Ford Escape is an excellent example, with over a 40 percent improvement in the 2012–2020 timeframe.* We will continue to improve fuel economy for our internal combustion vehicles for the foreseeable future, but also rapidly increasing the sales rate of our electrified vehicles.

Sustainable Materials in Vehicle Design

Automobiles are among the world’s most recycled consumer products. Although many products are theoretically 100 percent recyclable, few are actually highly recycled. In North America and the EU, over 85 percent of vehicle parts and materials are recycled and reused at their end of life. We focus on areas we can improve, using sustainable materials in vehicle design, sourcing materials responsibly, “closing the loop” by recycling in our plants and processes, and reducing end-of-life impacts.

Metals make up about three-quarters of a typical vehicle, and the metallic portion of a vehicle is highly recycled, contains a large amount of recycled content and has a well-established recycling infrastructure. Of the rest, about 17 percent of a typical vehicle comprises plastics, elastomers and textiles, key areas of focus for us. We are increasing the sustainability of plastics in our vehicles’ designs by adding both recycled and renewable content. Much of this content comes from waste products generated by other industries.

Recycled and Renewable Materials

We are keeping waste out of landfill by using recycled plastics, as well as cutting down on the consumption of natural resources and energy. We have been incorporating recycled plastic in our vehicle manufacturing for many years, by using discarded carpet in molded engine components and recycled tires in extension dash panels. We continue to look at other innovative by-products and waste streams, such as conducting trials on how ocean plastics can be turned into automotive parts.

Our scientists have been exploring ways to use plant-based materials in place of petroleum-based plastics since 2000. We were the first automotive company to launch soy-based foam in 2007 and since then, we have introduced new composites including wheat straw (2010), kenaf (2013), rice hulls and cellulose (2014), and coffee chaff (2019) into our vehicles. These materials have helped to improve production efficiency, support vehicle weight reductions and avoid the use of fossil-fuel-based plastics.

Read more about recycled and renewable materials in our Integrated Sustainability and Financial Report 2021 (PDF, 14MB).

Our Science-Based Approach

Maximizing the efficiency of our operations is the key to lowering GHG emissions and energy use.

We have committed to an approved science-based target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from our operations by 76 percent by 2035 from a 2017 baseline.

We are continuously rethinking the way we use energy at our manufacturing facilities and other sites to help address climate change. We are using energy more efficiently and are increasingly focused on procuring electricity from renewable sources, to reduce GHG emissions, and making our transportation and logistics more fuel-efficient.

We also seek opportunities for our operations to create a positive impact in the local community and surrounding ecosystem.

Carbon Emissions

We have committed to an approved science-based target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from our operations by 76 percent by 2035 from a 2017 baseline.

To help us achieve our present target – an 18 percent absolute reduction in tCO₂e by 2023 – we are focused on securing a reliable and renewable electricity supply for our manufacturing plants, continuing to make those facilities more efficient, and collecting, storing and managing data and analytics.

We achieved our previous GHG emissions target eight years early, through initiatives such as installing LED lights and updating our painting operations. In 2020, we reduced our absolute emissions by 15.1 percent, or 0.53 million metric tons.

Renewable Electricity

Across our business, our goal of using 100 percent local, renewable electricity for all manufacturing plants by 2035 is closely linked to our commitment to electrified vehicles. We secure renewable electricity through relationships with geographically local utilities, power producers and independent project developers.

Our Dearborn Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant and several new buildings on our Research and Engineering and Corktown campuses will be powered by 100 percent locally sourced renewable electricity by Q2 2021.

Waste and Water

We are committed to targeting true zero waste to landfill through the “reduce, reuse, recycle” model, and working to eliminate single-use plastics. Our waste targets remained largely unchanged despite COVID-19. We made some operational adjustments based on impacts at site level but our initial glidepath remains constant. The focus of our global waste strategy is to manage and minimize the waste we generate. We are working hard to reduce costs and keep waste out of landfill. In 2020, Ford facilities around the world sent approximately 17,469 metric tons of waste to landfill, 36 percent less than in 2019.

Our global manufacturing water strategy is targeting a 15 percent reduction in absolute freshwater use by 2025, building on our 75 percent reduction since 2000, and focuses on using freshwater for only human consumption. Some of our 2020 metrics, including facility emissions and water use, have been affected by COVID-19 plant closures.

Minimizing Our Supply Chain Impacts

We engage with our supply chain to understand our collective environmental footprint and work with selected suppliers through target setting and cascading best practices to reduce their CO₂ emissions, energy consumption, water use and waste generation.

By sharing successful initiatives with more than 50 key suppliers through our Partnership for a Cleaner Environment (PACE) program, we are cascading best practice through our supply chain. Around 182 million gallons of water savings are expected between 2020 and 2030 through PACE suppliers.

Our new streamlined version of the program, FastPACE, is helping reduce the impact of key partners in China, India, Thailand and South Africa. FastPACE suppliers are on track to save an estimated 4,909 metric tons of CO₂ and 24 million gallons of water over the next three years.