World Water Day: Ford to share water conservation practices at G7 Alliance meet

Ford Motor Company is set to introduce its PACE program at a forum of the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency workshop in Washington DC, highlighting details of its best practices and addressing key environmental issues on the occasion of World Water Day.

PACE is a program that aims to help the carmaker’s suppliers minimize their impact on the environment by sharing details for water, energy and carbon dioxide reduction. 

Hau Thai-Tang, Ford group vice president, global purchasing said, “We are committed to expanding our stewardship with our global suppliers to help minimize our environmental impact more broadly. By sharing our practices and our processes at the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency workshop, we hope to foster innovation and collaboration to address sustainability-related issues and advance environmental responsibility.”

The G7 Alliance brings together the nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States to improve health, empower women and promote climate protection. The G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency workshop serves as a forum for participants to share their best practices and innovations with businesses and other relevant agencies.

“Ford views commodities such as water as a basic right for people everywhere – a resource that should be clean, affordable and accessible,” said the company’s official statement.

30% reduction in water consumption

In 2000, the US-based automaker began setting year-over-year reduction targets with a global manufacturing goal of reducing water use per vehicle by 30 percent by 2015 using a 2009 baseline. Ford met its goal two years ahead of schedule and is now setting new long-term targets. The company’s water strategy aligns with the United Nations CEO Water Mandate – a private-public initiative launched by the secretary general of the organization in 2007 committing to a water management strategy and to publicly reporting on its progress annually.

Ford began testing PACE in 2014, and has expanded the program to include a total of 25 strategic suppliers representing 800 manufacturing sites in 41 countries. Lear Corporation, a leading global supplier of seating and electrical systems, participated in PACE last year. Based in Southeast Michigan, Lear operates in 240 locations in 36 countries, and employs 136,000 people.

“By implementing select best practices from Ford, Lear expects to realize cost savings at its facilities worldwide,” said Doug Andrews, Lear environmental sustainability manager. “But the true impact will be Lear’s contribution to helping protect the environment, because at the end of the day Ford’s PACE program is not just about sustaining its business, but about doing the right thing.”

Ford was recently named to the 2016 Ethisphere Institute list of World’s Most Ethical Companies for the seventh consecutive year, the only automaker to make the list.

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