Carmaker Ford said it will slash landfill waste by 70 per cent over the next five years across its European production arm, including at its three UK manufacturing plants.
The ambitious
waste reduction target is part of a new
green manufacturing plan Ford is rolling out across Europe. The plan will also see the carmaker cut
water use by 30 per cent per vehicle
production between now and 2016 at its Southampton, Bridgend and Dagenham plants in the UK, as well as at plants in Belgium, Spain and Germany.
"Our goal is to manufacture as quickly as possible and with lowest levels of utilities coming in and the lowest levels of
waste going out," said Dirk Heller, director of manufacturing, Power Train Operations, Ford Europe.
Three of Ford’s plants in Europe – Genk in Belgium and Saarlouis and Cologne in Germany – are already waste-to-landfill free.
Waste commitment
The new waste commitment will save 5.5 billion kilograms (kg) of rubbish going to landfill a year across Ford’s European factories. This will be equivalent to reducing the carmaker’s waste per car and van by 30 per cent from 5 kg per vehicle to 1.5 kg, the company said. It builds on a previous commitment to reduce waste to landfill by 40 per cent since 2007.
Water commitment
By cutting water usage by 30 per cent over the next five years, Ford of Europe said it will save 1.7 billion litres of water every year – the equivalent of 520 Olympic size pools – and save €2.3 million (£1.9 million) from the company’s bottom line. Since 2007, the company has reduced water use by 37 per cent.
"This plan represents our pledge to minimize Ford’s impact on the environment both before and after our customers get behind the wheel," said Stephen Odell, chairman and ceo, Ford of Europe. "This goes hand in hand with our commitment to develop the most fuel efficient vehicles."
Greener vehiclesFord will launch its first pure electric passenger vehicle, the Ford Focus Electric, later this year. Meanwhile, the company is about to start producing its smallest engine yet, the
EcoBoost, at its Cologne plant. The 1.0 litre engine, which was developed in Britain, is the first three-cylinder engine ever built by Ford and will first appear in the Ford B-MAX.
Greener production
The EcoBoost has seen the introduction of a new production and new manufacturing techniques at the Cologne plant, which has reduced water use by 37 per cent compared to the manufacturing line it replaced. One part of the process sees the amount of coolant used to produce aluminum engine parts reduced from two litres to five millilitres, Ford said.
"Sustainability enables us to make car production leaner and more cost-efficient. It’s both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do," said Heller.
As part of its sustainability drive, Ford is committed to reducing the tailpipe emissions of its vehicles on the road by 30 per cent by 2020 and embedded carbon of its vehicles by 30 per cent by 2025.
Andreas Reiss, manager of Environmental Quality Office, Ford of Europe, said the company had so far reduced tailpipe emissions by 11 per cent since 2006 and was "on track" to achieve its 2020 goal.
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