Ford aims to become carbon neutral by 2050

KUALA LUMPUR: Back in 2010, Ford announced its plans to minimize carbon emissions from its manufacturing operations by 30% per vehicle produced by 2025. The company met its goal eight years ahead of schedule and marked an excellent concern for the environment.

Ford always remains focused on reducing vehicle emissions by doing its part to deliver on CO2 reductions. To address the urgency of climate change, the automaker has now pledged to reach carbon neutrality globally by 2050.

For this, the company will address the three primary sources of its CO2 output - its factories, emissions from suppliers, and the vehicles it sells. The automaker hopes that all its manufacturing plants would be powered with locally-sourced renewable energy by 2035.

“We believe that making great vehicles and maintaining a strong business do not have to be at the cost of protecting our planet,” said Bob Holycross, vice president, chief sustainability, environment, and safety officer. “We know that getting to carbon neutrality in 2050 is a significant challenge, and we don’t have all the answers yet, but we have the determination to work with all of our partners and stakeholders to get there.”

In 2019, the carmaker expanded its climate strategy to find more effective ways to achieve its goals. A cross-functional team from around the globe developed its carbon-neutral approach by analyzing the environment, customers, technology, energy, legislation, competitive plans, life-cycle assessments, and other trends.

It is also true that the goal won’t be achieved without handling the outside challenges comprising customer acceptance, economic conditions, government regulations, and the availability of renewable fuels and carbon-neutral electricity. But the company has taken this challenge as a key responsibility. It would also help in limiting the global temperature increase in line with the Paris Agreement. 

The company has already invested more than $11.5 billion in electric vehicles. It has introduced the zero-emission iterations of a few of its popular models - Mustang Mach-E and Transit Commercial EV. Moreover, an electric F-150 is about to come in mid-2022. 

For helping customers confidently switch to an all-electric lifestyle, Ford also introduced  North America’s largest public charging network - the FordPass Charging Network, which has more than 13,500 charging stations and almost 40,000 individual charge plugs. 

We hope more and more automakers join the league for a pollution-free planet.

Also read: Ford-Volkswagen teamed up, next-gen VW Amarok to be underpinned by Ranger pickup