Ford of Canada and local dealers are taking a range of unique tactics to help drivers become more environmentally focused. Ford has recently announced plans to further reduce the amount of water used to make vehicles and continue showing efficiency is not only inherent in its vehicle line-up, but also in its manufacturing practices.
Ford of Canada's new aggressive water strategy calls for global reduction target of 30 per cent per vehicle by 2015. Between 2000 and 2010, Ford reduced its global water use by 62 per cent, or 10.5 billion gallons; 71 per cent in North America. That's the equivalent of how much water 105,000 average American residences use annually, based on figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
On a per-vehicle basis, global water use decreased by 49 per cent between 2000 and 2010; 45 per cent in North America.
If Ford meets its goal of reducing the amount of water used globally by 30 per cent between 2009 and 2015, the amount of water used to make a vehicle will have dropped from 9.5 cubic meters in 2000 to approximately 3.5 cubic meters in 2015. One cubic meter is equal to 264.2 gallons of water.
"Water remains one of our top environmental priorities and our aggressive reduction target helps ensure continued focus on this critical resource," said Sue Cischke, group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering for Ford of Canada.
Ford is also developing year-over-year efficiency targets as part of its annual environmental business planning process and has established a cross-functional team spanning several divisions to review water usage more holistically.
Dealerships like Great Plains Ford are taking action to recycle as much of the waste as possible in the servicing and sales of vehicles.
Currently Great Plains Ford recycles oils and filters, plastic jugs, varsol, antifreeze, tires, metal, aluminum, cardboard, bumpers, batteries, paint thinner and much more.
"We are very pleased at how much of our waste we have been able to recycle and we are continually looking for other ways we can recycle and reduce our waste," said Jeff Tosczak, General Manager of Great Plains Ford. "Recycling really is a win for all, for Ford, for our customers, and for the environment."
