Ford has pledged to reduce average CO2 emissions from its US and European vehicles by 30% between now and 2020.
The company is one of the first US companies to respond to pressure from the Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) calling on them to set out detailed plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Ford joins the ranks of just a few vehicle manufacturers that have set goals for reducing CO2 emissions from their vehicles. Nissan has a long-term target to reduce CO2 emissions from its vehicles by 70% by 2050, and Honda has a target of 10% between 2001 and 2011. No other manufacturers have set CO2 reduction goals.
While manufacturers have set percentage goals, none have set specific targets for the average level of CO2 emissions from their sales fleet. Indeed not publishing such a figure makes it difficult to track or verify any progress.
According to a report by Centre Info, published last year, Ford’s average CO2 emissions per car were 255g/km in 2005. A 30% reduction by 2020 would still put it behind Toyota’s average CO2//km per vehicle in 2005.
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By GlobalDataIt should also be noted that a 30% reduction in CO2 from Ford’s US sales fleet would be required by law to comply with new corporte average fuel economy (CAFE) standards that will apply from 2020. Although no CO2 standards are yet in force in Europe, a figure of 95g/km average for all cars sold in Europe by 2020 has been mentioned at European Commission level. A 30% reduction in average CO2 from Ford vehicles sold in Europe would not allow it to comply with this figure.
An ICCR representative praised Ford for the way it is trying to address the issue.“The target is not even the win here; Ford has wrestled with various analyses to arrive at reduction goals. No other company has entered into this discipline. This goes far beyond acknowledging global warming or disclosing emissions.”
In a statement on the ICCR website, Ford’s Susan Cischke, group vice president, sustainability, environment and safety engineering, said “Ford has spent more than three years studying a range of potential actions we would need to take to achieve these reductions in CO2 emissions. We shared our findings with these institutional investors to help them understand our commitments and strategy.”
Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, and director of the INCR, said: “Ford is taking a critical first step to align its products with the climate change challenge before us. But, let’s not fool ourselves, this step is only a beginning. Ford, as well as General Motors, need to do much more, and quickly, to reclaim their leadership role in the global marketplace.”
