BUILDING ON CDP A LIST RANKING FOR WATER AND CLIMATE

Water is widely considered the world’s greatest natural resource. Protecting water supplies around the world will not only safeguard communities, but also will help ensure strong and resilient economies. Ford was one of the first companies to publicly make water stewardship a core sustainability priority, and that commitment has never been more important.

Ford Recognized as a Leader in CDP Water Report
This week, Ford was recognized by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a leading global environmental nonprofit that holds the largest environmental database in the world, in a report highlighting current water risks and future water-related financial opportunities for companies. The report acknowledges Ford’s water-saving innovations in its manufacturing facilities around the world as real-world business success stories.

“Ford has unquestioningly benefitted from our years-long relationship with CDP and we appreciate the valuable insight its water security program has offered,” said Andy Hobbs, global director, Environmental Quality Office, Environmental & Safety Compliance at Ford. “It’s gratifying, each year, to see our progress toward zero water withdrawals for manufacturing processes. Together with CDP and a growing number of our suppliers, we are ensuring billions of gallons of water are preserved for human consumption.”

Since 1970, the world has experienced a dramatic 84% decline in fresh water and, according to the United Nations (UN), 2.3 billion people currently live in water-stressed areas. That is why Ford aspires to make zero water withdrawals for manufacturing processes and use fresh water only for human consumption. Current UN projections suggest that the world may face a 40% shortfall in water availability by 2030, making the issue critical not only for Ford, but for the entire business community and countries everywhere.

“To address challenges of the magnitude of water security, it is essential we trigger a transformation in the way markets function and companies grow, to harness their power and ingenuity. Properly harnessed, they can deliver our global water goals at scale and deliver the future that we all need.” said Cate Lamb, CDP’s global director of Water Security. 

Ford’s Commitment to Water Conservation
Ford’s water saving efforts have made a significant impact to date. Since 2000, Ford has achieved a 76.2% reduction in absolute freshwater use, accounting for a cumulative 186.3 billion gallons of water saved. In 2022, Ford used 22 percent less water globally, the equivalent of providing a year’s worth of water to 1.7 million homes.

Ford’s CDP A-Ranking for Water and Climate
In a global evaluation of more than 15,500 global companies, Ford’s efforts in the areas of water security and climate stewardship received a coveted double ‘A’ score from CDP last year. Ford was the only automaker to achieve the CDP ‘A List’ in both water and climate.

“We were grateful to receive a double ‘A’ score from CDP and also encouraged to see an increasing number of companies participating in CDP’s data collection,” said Cynthia Williams, Global Director, Sustainability, Homologation and Compliance, Ford. “This is an important metric, which Ford will remain committed to as we push toward our goal of carbon neutrality. We encourage our suppliers and partners to do the same.”

More details around Ford’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and achievements are outlined in our Integrated Financial and Sustainability Report, which is released each year in April.