xcel
07-19-2006, 03:28 PM
Ford of Europe puts sustainability into product creation. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=23866&make_id=trust)
Michael J. Ureel - Ford - July 19, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Ford_Sustainable_Future.jpg
Ford is working toward sustainable future … In Europe anyway.
DEARBORN - Whether their efforts involve improving fuel economy, recycling or social policy issues, Ford Motor Company employees are working every day on sustainability projects. The Sustainable Learning Community works to bring these people together to share ideas for future sustainability issues.
"We found that in the last few years there have been a lot of informal groups working on various sustainability projects without the proper infrastructure," said Dave Berdish, leader of the Sustainable Learning Community. "The purpose of this community is to bring people working on sustainable projects together so they can learn from each other, understand best practices."
Ford defines sustainability as a business model that seeks to create value for stakeholders by preserving or enhancing environmental, social and economic capital.
The SLC is part of the Sustainable Business Strategies Office, formed in 2004 to guide and define clear sustainable business strategies and metrics. The SLC raises awareness and understanding of sustainability issues through its Web site and periodic workshops.
A recent three-day Sustainable Innovation Summit in Dearborn gave participants a chance to brainstorm solutions to the question: "How can Ford use sustainability principles to grow and profit in a 21st-century mobility market?"
"We brought people together who have a lot of different ideas in order to facilitate better possibilities for the future of sustainable mobility," said Patty Sampson, a Ford systems analyst and part of the team that planned the event.
Summit participants defined future challenges of sustainable mobility-such as congestion, pollution and auto injuries-and then took a four-pronged approach to brainstorming solutions to achieve by 2030:
Discover: The identification of organizational processes that work well
Dream: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future
Design: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well
Deliver: The implementation (execution) of the proposed designThe outcome of the three-day summit was the development of an action plan of eight sustainability objectives. Teams going forward will meet regularly to implement these ideas. The group will hold another summit in November to assess progress.
Susan Brennan, director of the Manufacturing Business Office and the environmental champion for Vehicle Operations for the last four years, was a summit participant. She said one of the goals of the summit was to look at Ford's overall business plan differently by looking at outside perspectives.
"We are changing the business model from just building cars and trucks to being in the mobility industry," said Brennan.
For example, the way people use mobility is changing. One businesswoman Sampson spoke with has built a very successful car-sharing business. Whole neighborhoods are looking into sharing one vehicle such as a Ford Expedition.
"As far as getting people into your cars and trucks - reliable cars and trucks - these are examples of untapped markets," said Brennan, who used Detroit as an example of a city in need of alternative mobility options.
The community of sustainability-minded Ford workers has been growing since it began two years ago, said Brennan.
"I'm always optimistic and each time I go to an event like this it gets larger and larger, and that increases my optimism," she said. "We are getting more and more working-level people engaged in this sustainability community."
The SLC is building an infrastructure to ensure future sustainability.
"This is Bill Ford's vision, and we are building the business case on why sustainability is so important with different stories of groups that are doing this stuff every day," said Berdish.
Michael J. Ureel - Ford - July 19, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Ford_Sustainable_Future.jpg
Ford is working toward sustainable future … In Europe anyway.
DEARBORN - Whether their efforts involve improving fuel economy, recycling or social policy issues, Ford Motor Company employees are working every day on sustainability projects. The Sustainable Learning Community works to bring these people together to share ideas for future sustainability issues.
"We found that in the last few years there have been a lot of informal groups working on various sustainability projects without the proper infrastructure," said Dave Berdish, leader of the Sustainable Learning Community. "The purpose of this community is to bring people working on sustainable projects together so they can learn from each other, understand best practices."
Ford defines sustainability as a business model that seeks to create value for stakeholders by preserving or enhancing environmental, social and economic capital.
The SLC is part of the Sustainable Business Strategies Office, formed in 2004 to guide and define clear sustainable business strategies and metrics. The SLC raises awareness and understanding of sustainability issues through its Web site and periodic workshops.
A recent three-day Sustainable Innovation Summit in Dearborn gave participants a chance to brainstorm solutions to the question: "How can Ford use sustainability principles to grow and profit in a 21st-century mobility market?"
"We brought people together who have a lot of different ideas in order to facilitate better possibilities for the future of sustainable mobility," said Patty Sampson, a Ford systems analyst and part of the team that planned the event.
Summit participants defined future challenges of sustainable mobility-such as congestion, pollution and auto injuries-and then took a four-pronged approach to brainstorming solutions to achieve by 2030:
Discover: The identification of organizational processes that work well
Dream: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future
Design: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well
Deliver: The implementation (execution) of the proposed designThe outcome of the three-day summit was the development of an action plan of eight sustainability objectives. Teams going forward will meet regularly to implement these ideas. The group will hold another summit in November to assess progress.
Susan Brennan, director of the Manufacturing Business Office and the environmental champion for Vehicle Operations for the last four years, was a summit participant. She said one of the goals of the summit was to look at Ford's overall business plan differently by looking at outside perspectives.
"We are changing the business model from just building cars and trucks to being in the mobility industry," said Brennan.
For example, the way people use mobility is changing. One businesswoman Sampson spoke with has built a very successful car-sharing business. Whole neighborhoods are looking into sharing one vehicle such as a Ford Expedition.
"As far as getting people into your cars and trucks - reliable cars and trucks - these are examples of untapped markets," said Brennan, who used Detroit as an example of a city in need of alternative mobility options.
The community of sustainability-minded Ford workers has been growing since it began two years ago, said Brennan.
"I'm always optimistic and each time I go to an event like this it gets larger and larger, and that increases my optimism," she said. "We are getting more and more working-level people engaged in this sustainability community."
The SLC is building an infrastructure to ensure future sustainability.
"This is Bill Ford's vision, and we are building the business case on why sustainability is so important with different stories of groups that are doing this stuff every day," said Berdish.