As most of the world celebrates Earth Day this week in April, effective climate change has only become more necessary. Ford is honored to be recognized as the automotive industry leader for environmental impact in the 2022 Rankings of America’s Most Just Companies.
“At Ford, our goal is to create a positive impact on people and the planet. Because the future of this company centers on a purpose bigger than building vehicles,” said Ford Director of Global Sustainability, Mary Wroten.
“That’s why we’re investing more than US$50 billion in electric vehicles by 2026, and accelerating our progress to carbon neutrality no later than 2050. We’re focused on lowering our carbon footprint, investing in renewable energy and pushing the boundaries of innovation and technologies needed for the future.”
Ford previously published a press release revealing its partnership with RouteZero, a global alliance that strives to reduce global warming by producing all new cars and vans zero-emissions by 2040 globally, and by 2035 in large markets.
Ford also officially showed its sustainable financing framework to prioritize investments in social and environmental programs, incentivizing the creation of the company's first green bond, which brought in US$2.5 billion over a 10-year period to better support its new electric vehicle lineup.
Beyond Ford's goal to reach carbon neutrality in their production process by 2050, the carmaker has intermediate targets set to be reached by 2035. Based on Ford's report, this includes voluntary climate-related disclosures and highlights Ford's progress toward reducing emissions per-vehicle by 50% from the 2019 base year.
Back In 2021, the automaker cut its absolute manufacturing greenhouse gas footprint by 35% compared to 2017 levels. The switch to electric vehicles is essential to Ford's sustainability ambitions, but it brings with its own set of challenges, including obtaining raw materials, end-of-life battery recycling, and more.
Ford is also creating a human rights report, a first for Ford and the US auto sector, as well as an united task force on climate-related financial disclosures and a climate risk scenario study to provide further information on these matters.