Materiality Matrix

Reporting Priorities

  • Issues in this box set the agenda for our sustainability strategy and our printed summary report
  • Issues in these boxes set the agenda for the rest of the web report and future reporting
  • Issues in these boxes are not currently covered in detail by reporting

High Impact, High Concern

14 material issues have been identified at this level

Sustainability vision and management

Sustainability vision, governance and management

Definition/Description Includes governance structures, goals and indicators, business case, stakeholder engagement, reporting
Comments Continued to increase in importance to stakeholders since last analysis. Added the sub-issue of linking management performance assessments and compensation to sustainability issues.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Increased in importance to stakeholders
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Public policy

GHG/fuel economy regulation

Definition/Description Regulation of vehicle emissions globally, state-by-state regulation in U.S.; increasing stringency and inconsistency of regulation; challenges posed by lack of U.S. federal climate legislation
Comments Some decrease in concern for stakeholders on this issue, likely due to passage of new national Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements in the U.S., new EU requirements in Europe and lack of progress on national GHG regulations in the U.S. However, both stakeholder concern and impact on Ford remained high enough to maintain this issue as an “upper right, most material” issue.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Governance

Human rights strategy

Definition/Description Includes Ford’s policies and practices related to human rights
Comments In previous analyses, an issue of top concern for stakeholders. It fell to mid-concern in the last analysis but returned to high concern in this analysis.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Increased in importance to stakeholders
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Climate Change

Low-carbon strategy

Definition/Description Ford’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions from products and operations; goals and targets; use of renewable energy and offsets
Comments Strongly related to other material issues; of high interest to government and investors and increased in interest to communities since the last analysis.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Vehicle GHG emissions

Definition/Description Ford’s product actions to meet its carbon dioxide (CO2) target
Comments Increasingly driven by regulatory requirements as well as Ford’s voluntary product CO2 goal.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Electrification strategy

Definition/Description Ford’s strategy to deliver electric vehicles to the marketplace and work with partners to address infrastructure and utility interface issues
Comments Reflects the challenges of transitioning from traditionally fueled vehicles to plug-in vehicles and modest consumer uptake of electric vehicles.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Water

Water strategy – local community impacts

Definition/Description Includes growing recognition of water as a key sustainability issue, including water scarcity and risks, need for water risk assessments, and understanding of linkages between water and carbon
Comments Reorganized for this analysis to disaggregate the impacts of water issues on communities, Ford operations, and Ford product decisions. Added issue of human right to water.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Water strategy – water impacts of products

Definition/Description A new issue incorporating the water impacts of different powertrain, fuel and other vehicle technology decisions
Comments Impacts largely occur at raw materials phase of Ford value chain (e.g., materials for batteries) and use phase (e.g., upstream impacts of fuel production).
Trend (from previous analysis)

NEW
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Water strategy – water impacts of operations

Definition/Description Includes impacts on water sources, water management, cost of water and discharges to water
Comments Particular concern in areas of water scarcity; issue gaining a higher public profile.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Increased in importance to stakeholders
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Operations

Environmental management

Definition/Description High-level environmental operational concerns, including environmental management, environmental compliance
Comments Continues to have highest importance to Ford, reflecting continued management focus on achieving environmental targets. Increased in importance to external stakeholders since last analysis.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Increased in importance to stakeholders
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Supply chain sustainability

Human rights in the supply chain

Definition/Description Issues covered by Ford’s working conditions code; need for industry cooperation
Comments Increased in importance to investors since last analysis, remains of high interest to communities, suppliers and NGOs.
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Supplier relationships

Definition/Description Includes importance of Ford’s financial viability to suppliers and vice versa, and importance of strong relationships as well as the established policies and performance commitments
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Sustainable raw materials

Definition/Description Includes issues around conflict minerals, rare earth metals and other strategic materials, and overall impacts of raw material extraction on the environment, communities, geopolitics and Ford’s costs
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
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Supply chain environmental sustainability

Definition/Description Includes the need to address carbon and water issues in supply chain relationships
Trend (from previous analysis)

Already at the highest level
More information

Downloads

Download Summary Report

Ford’s 2012/13 Sustainability Report is summarized in this 8-page downloadable document.

Visit our Downloads page for this report in full or as separate sections along with supplementary publications.