Creating a Sustainable Supply Chain: Ford’s Approach

At Ford, we promote long-term relationships with our suppliers and seek alignment with them on sustainability-related issues such as human rights and environmental responsibility. We work to ensure that Ford and our suppliers have management systems in place to mitigate potential risks, ensure continuity of supply and improve the overall sustainability of the complex global automotive supply chain. Our aim is to leverage our supply chain – and our industry – to make a positive impact in the markets in which we do business.

We take a three-pronged approach to creating a sustainable supply chain and managing sustainability issues throughout our supply chain:

  1. Building strong relationships with suppliers and engaging strategic suppliers: Strong relationships improve our ability to encourage and influence the sustainability goals and management processes of our suppliers. We base supplier relationships on open communication, clear expectations and consistent requirements and processes. We have developed an Aligned Business Framework (ABF) with our most strategic suppliers, which helps us increase mutual profitability, improve quality, drive innovation and encourage shared commitment to sustainability goals. We work with our ABF suppliers at the corporate level to align and enhance approaches to a range of sustainability issues.

  2. Developing shared commitment and supplier capability: We seek to foster a shared commitment to sustainability throughout our supply chain and to help our suppliers build the capability they need to manage sustainability issues internally and throughout their own supply chains. We do this through dialogue and engagement, training, contract requirements, compliance assessments and, where necessary, remediation at individual factories.

  3. Collaborating across the automotive industry: To influence and achieve lasting change at all levels of the automotive supply chain, we are leading work with our counterparts in the automotive industry to develop common approaches to a full range of sustainability issues. We do this work through the Automotive Industry Action Group and other industry and cross-industry initiatives.

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