Progress and Data
The average fleet fuel consumption of our vehicles sold in Europe has continued to improve. In the United States, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of our cars and trucks increased 5.9 percent for the 2007 model year, with a 2.4 percent increase for cars and a 5.2 percent increase for trucks. Preliminary data for the 2008 model year shows a 0.7 percent improvement in CAFE compared to 2007, with a 1.3 percent improvement for cars and a 4.0 percent improvement for trucks.
For the 2008 model year, Ford has five U.S. models that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better (based on the highway fuel economy estimates of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)), and several of our vehicles were recognized in the EPA/Department of Energy Fuel Economy Guide for best-in-class fuel economy. According to the Guide:
- The Ford Ranger and Mazda B2300 with manual transmission are the best small pickup trucks
- The Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute Hybrids are the best sport utility vehicles
- The Mazda MX-5 with manual transmission is the best two-seater
- The Mazda 5 is the best minivan
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy rates as "superior" or "better than average" for environmental performance the vehicles listed above, as well as the Ford Taurus (automatic), Ford Taurus X (automatic), Ford F-150 (manual), Ford Focus (manual and automatic), Mazda 3 (manual) and Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute (manual). (See www.greenercars.org.)
We have eliminated over 23 million pounds of smog-forming emissions from our U.S. cars and light trucks over the 2004 to 2007 model years. In the United States in 2007, Ford's brands certified more models to the PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) standard – the cleanest tailpipe pollution standard in the country – than any of our competitors.
We continue to improve the environmental performance of our facilities. In 2007 we implemented a new global facilities environmental scorecard and emissions management database to better track and improve our facilities' environmental impacts. Our global environmental goals address the range of our environmental impacts, including energy use, emissions, water use and waste generation, and include a detailed scorecard for every facility so that we can track and accelerate improvements (see table below). Our Global Emissions Manager database provides a globally consistent approach for measuring and monitoring environmental data, which helps us track and improve our efforts to reduce water consumption, energy usage, carbon dioxide emissions and the amount of waste sent to landfills.
RELATED LINKS
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| Environmental Performance Metric | 2007 Goal | 2007 Actual | 2008 Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
Energy use |
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| Facility energy efficiency (global) | 3% improvement | 5% improvement | 3% improvement |
| Facility energy efficiency (United States) | 3% improvement | 4.5% improvement | 3% improvement |
| Energy usage | No specific goal; continue use reductions | 30% reduction compared to 2000 levels | No specific goal; continue use reductions |
Emissions |
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| VOC emissions from painting at assembly plants | Reduce to 29 g/sq meter | Reduced to 24 g/sq meter | Maintain 24 g/sq meter |
Water use |
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| Water use (global) | 3% reduction | 21% reduction | 3% reduction |
Waste production |
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| Landfill waste | No specific goal | Produced 132 million kg, or 4.6 kg/vehicle produced | 5% reduction |
By 2007, we had reduced global energy use by 30 percent compared to 2000 levels. In 2008, we were recognized by the EPA as an Energy Star Partner of the Year, the first time an automaker has received this recognition for three consecutive years. The 2008 award was for Sustained Excellence and recognizes Ford's continued leadership and commitment to protecting the environment through energy efficiency.
We are continuing to improve our energy efficiency and reduce volatile organic compound emissions by expanding our "fumes-to-fuel" program. This program captures emissions from our paint shops and uses them to provide power to the assembly facility. We are currently implementing a third fumes-to-fuel system at the Oakville plant in Ontario, building on what we learned from developmental systems implemented at the Michigan Truck Plant and Dearborn Truck Plant.
We have also made significant progress in our use of sustainable materials. For example, in 2007 we became the first automaker to implement soy-based foam in seat cushions; we used this new foam in the seats of the Ford Mustang, Expedition, F-150 and Lincoln Navigator. Our use of this material has resulted in a net decrease of more than 2.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually. We are also using 100 percent recycled seat fabric in the Ford Escape Hybrid and have committed to using seat fabrics with at least 25 percent post-industrial recycled content in all of our vehicles by 2009. In addition, all of our non-woven headliner fabrics now contain 50 to 75 percent recycled yarns, depending on their color.