Ford Official Discusses Sustainability

Ford Motor Company’s top environmental official spoke yesterday on “Sustainability, Environment, and Safety Engineering” as the final guest in this year’s Future of Energy Series.

While hosting an automobile industry official like Susan M. Cischke in a series dedicated to “finding a secure, safe, and reliable source of energy to power the world,” may come as a surprise, the choice was an intentional effort by the Harvard University Center of the Environment (HUCE) to address all facets of this challenge.

“We’ve heard from a variety of perspectives,” said Daniel P. Schrag, an earth and planetary sciences professor and the director of HUCE, who introduced Cischke. “But nowhere is energy more immediate to our awareness than in the automobiles we drive.”

This emphasis on collaboration across all spheres was a theme that resonated in Cischke’s speech.

She stressed that a commitment to sustainability is a choice that we all have to make.

“Addressing climate change and energy security issues will require the involvement of all stakeholders,” said Cischke. “[In addition to] car manufacturers, the fuel industry, government and consumers must take responsibility.”

Cischke said Ford has been developing an all-inclusive business model—financial, social and environmental—to tackle sustainable mobility.

“[The model’s] goals are to reduce carbon emissions and secure our energy future,” Cischke said. Ford will begin implementing its short-term goals in 2012, she said.

In the past, Cischke has come under fire from some environmental advocates for opposing more stringent fuel economy standards.

“It’s as if the Yankees promoted manager Joe Torre to reach out to the Red Sox,” Dan Becker, director of the global warming program at the Sierra Club, told The New York Times when Cischke was appointed in 2007.

But yesterday, she focused on Ford’s top environmental priorities, including “ecoboosting”—reducing carbon emissions and increasing fuel economy without compromising performance—and reducing the weight of their cars. Ford has begun researching advanced technologies such as biofuel, hybrid engines, and hydrogen fuel cells in their cars and plans to begin implementing them in the next fifteen years.

Cischke emphasized that none of the various solutions that are being researched at the moment will be a panacea.

“There’s a lot we’re working on, but there is no silver bullet,” Cischke said. “We’re going to have to rely on a whole bunch of solutions.”

Cischke also spoke about the impact of consumer markets on Fords’ manufacturing decisions.

In particular, she contrasted the American consumer market with the European one.

In Europe, 80 percent of cars are manual, which are estimated to be 10 percent more fuel efficient than automatic cars, while only eight percent are manual in America.

Eighty-nine percent of cars in Europe also have engines with four cylinders or less, which is more fuel-efficient, while only 28 percent of cars in America have comparably-sized engines.

In general, the European market has a higher propensity to buy eco-conscious cars, like Ford’s eco-netic focus model.

“We will sell whatever people want to buy,” said Cischke. “An eco-netic is considered a very small car here.”

Following the talk, one audience member, a retired physicist, asked whether car companies should prioritize consumer interests over environmental concerns.

“[Why is] driving four people in an eco-conscious station wagon a badge of shame?” he asked. “I drive a four-cylinder car, and the performance isn’t great. But it works for me and it’s adequate for most people.”

The audience burst into applause by the end of his question.

Cischke agreed but stressed the complexity of the issue.

“We have to make driving a big vehicle just as unacceptable as throwing trash on the ground,” Cischke said, “but you have to have the market coming together at the right time to implement these changes.”

—Staff writer Natasha S. Whitney can be reached at nwhitney@fas.harvard.edu.