Ford Motor Company

Sustainable mobilityAt Ford, sustainability and environmental issues are as important as producing cleaner, more efficient vehicles, group vice-president Sue Cischke explains to Gary Toushek. These are challenging times indeed for the Big Three automakers in Detroit, as they re-focus and re-tool for more energy efficient and alternative energy vehicles. Along with its own major strategic initiative to produce vehicles with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, the Ford Motor Company is formally recognizing its responsibility as a cooperative corporate citizen to reduce its own carbon footprint as a manufacturer.Sue Cischke is group vice-president of sustainability, environment & safety engineering, reporting directly to Alan Mulally, FordÔÇÖs president and CEO. She defines her title as being reflective of FordÔÇÖs ÔÇ£triple bottom line ÔÇô financial, social, environmental ÔÇô we need a strategic plan that everyone can understand, and that addresses all three critical areas, but if the plan is not profitable, it is not sustainable.ÔÇØ With degrees in engineering and management, sheÔÇÖs been with Ford for 32 years, and admits sheÔÇÖs seen ÔÇ£some significant changes, especially relating to women. Thirty-two years ago, there were very few women in this industry. The industry has come a long way since then, even though it remains male dominated.ÔÇØ She considers it part of her role to help foster a network of women executives concerned about issues in the auto industry. She chairs the Professional WomenÔÇÖs Network within Ford, an organization that seeks to be a driving force to help Ford attract, develop and retain women employees and customers. ÔÇ£And letÔÇÖs not forget how many times women are directly involved in a familyÔÇÖs decision to purchase an automobile,ÔÇØ she notes. ÔÇ£What factors are included in that decision today? A womanÔÇÖs perspective has significant value in this business.ÔÇØ And in terms of workplace inclusiveness, she looks at ÔÇ£the micro inequalities that make people feel excluded, such as being lesbian, gay or bisexual, or their religious faith or ethnicity. Years ago, women at Ford didnÔÇÖt even want to meet separately, as a group, because the feeling was that they had to be part of the male team.ÔÇØPart of her purview is vehicle safety, both in-house testing such as analysis of various kinds of crashes, but also how Ford vehicles operate in terms of safety ÔÇ£out in the real world.ÔÇØ She leads the strategy that guides FordÔÇÖs research, development and implementation of safety equipment and technology for its vehicles. Another major component of her responsibility is the status of the various Ford plants globally, in terms of their environmental footprint. Ford continues to search for new ways to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions in its manufacturing operations in all parts of the world. But the crux of the publicÔÇÖs concern at the moment, and therefore one of CischkeÔÇÖs priorities, is what Ford is doing to make its products more energy efficient and environmentally responsible. And when will those products be available for consumers? ÔÇ£There is no silver bullet solution. We have to develop a portfolio of technologies to deliver our part of the solution, including refining technologies we already have. Since the combustion engine hasnÔÇÖt changed in principle since its invention a century ago, I see no reason for it not to be around for another century, but it will be refined. There will always be a demand for a fuel that allows long range driving, and that infrastructure is already in place. Other alternatives will become more widely used, such as hybrids, and plug-ins and hydrogen fuel cells. In the near term, our sustainability objective is to downsize gasoline engines while increasing fuel economy. And our focus is on volume related, affordable technology like the EcoBoost engines. We aim to build half a million vehicles equipped with EcoBoost engines on an annual basis in North America within five years ÔÇô beginning with the new Lincoln MKS sedan in 2009.As far as electric ÔÇ£plug-inÔÇØ vehicles that are re-charged via electrical outlet, those are currently not commercial, she says. ÔÇ£Although Ford does believe hybrids have a place on the roads today, they are just one part of a broader alternative fuel vehicle plan. We know the public wants hybrids and we are preparing to produce two additional models: the Ford Fusion and the Mercury Milan beginning later this year. Also in FordÔÇÖs alternative fuel line-up are several flexible fuel vehicles that can operate on up to 85 percent ethanol. Plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are longer-term technologies under research and development at Ford. Additional ongoing development includes improving the aerodynamics of a vehicle to help boost fuel economy. Another strategy that looks to the future is FordÔÇÖs Urban Mobility Network, a pilot program in collaboration with the University of MichiganÔÇÖs Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Research and Transformation initiative. With an estimated two-thirds of the worldÔÇÖs population living in urban areas by 2015, traffic congestion will challenge basic transportation and personal mobility. This program explores how to coordinate a variety of transportation options and provide real-time transportation information to residents of densely populated urban centers. Since Cape Town, South Africa is preparing a public transport infrastructure for the Football (soccer) World Cup in 2010, which will effectively ban private vehicles from the city center, Ford is first conducting a pilot program there. London is already charging private vehicles a fee to enter the downtown core, and New York City is considering a similar scheme. Cischke predicts that by 2020 there will be at least 40 large cities globally that could benefit from an Urban Mobility Network, and Ford is preparing to help bring interested parties together to implement such projects. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve looked at systems like the Octopus in Hong Kong, and other pay-to-enter or taxi-only schemes, as well as improved public transit systems. Major cities in developing countries with residents that canÔÇÖt afford cars will require a cohesive urban transportation system. So our goal is to help find affordable transportation solutions that improve, not impede, the quality of urban life.ÔÇØShe notes that Ford was the first, and is still the only, major automaker on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), North AmericaÔÇÖs only voluntary greenhouse gas reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects. CCX uses independent verification and has been trading gas emission allowances since 2003. Companies joining the exchange commit to reducing their aggregate emissions by six percent by 2010. To date the exchange has more than 350 members, and operates as a financial institution whose objectives are to apply financial innovation and incentives to advance social, environmental and economic goals through various platforms. Why is Ford a member? The company believes this is an important step towards developing an innovative mechanism to realize cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The program will develop data that will inform the public debate about market-based CO2 reduction mechanisms.Ford also wants to ensure that it has all necessary processes in place. By using its experience derived from the European auto market where the accurate measuring of gas emissions is obligatory, Ford will have a competitive advantage in North America.Ford is also the first automaker to join the Climate Registry, a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides practical information for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by establishing consistent, transparent standards throughout North America, in order for businesses and governments to calculate, verify and publicly report their carbon footprints via a common data infrastructure, in a single, unified registry. And another first: Ford is the first automaker to submit a voluntary greenhouse gas report in China for its Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. facility in Chongqing, China.┬á