Ford is the first automaker to sign on to voluntary greenhouse gas reporting program for all industries established by India-based organizations, says the company, which has two plants in Chennai, India.
Ford already voluntarily reports greenhouse gas emissions in the US, China, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. The company has set a goal to reduce GHG emissions at global facilities 30 percent per vehicle by 2025, from a 2010 baseline.
India's program is a joint effort between the World Resources Institute, the Energy and Resources Institute and the Confederation of Indian Industry. As the first automaker to participate in the program, Ford’s role will be to assist in the establishment of credible and verifiable GHG inventories, the company says.
In India, Ford operates a manufacturing plant that produces the Ford Figo, Ford Fiesta, Ford Classic, Ford Endeavour and Ford EcoSport, and an engine plant that produces 17 variants of gasoline and diesel engines. A vehicle assembly and engine plant complex are under construction in Sanand, Gujarat.
The Chennai facilities are equipped to reuse 100 percent of wastewater generated. The assembly plant has reduced water use 30 percent per vehicle produced in the last three years and reduced energy consumption 10 percent per vehicle produced.
Ford’s worldwide facility CO2 emissions per vehicle fell 1 percent from 2011 to 2012, from 0.91 to 0.90 metric tons, according to the company’s most recent sustainability report. Ford says total CO2 emissions at its global facilities have dropped 47 percent, or by 4.65 million metric tons, since 2000.
In April, Ford announced that it would expand the capacity of its 3-Wet paint process (pictured) by 50 percent this year, adding the system to four more plants on three continents. The process allows three layers of paint to be applied while each layer is still wet, eliminating the need for a dedicated oven and blowers. This cuts CO2 emissions by 15 to 25 percent and volatile organic compound emissions by 10 percent, compared to conventional systems, Ford says.
Ford India’s Chennai manufacturing plant was the company’s first to use the process.
