Ford’s Automotive Sustainability and Waste Reduction Efforts

Sustainability and waste reduction have been increasingly important topics in recent years. Everyone has taken steps in their daily life to help reduce their carbon footprint from using more energy efficient appliances in their homes to stepping up their recycling efforts. Ford Motor Company has made tremendous strides in reducing the amount of waste that they send to landfills each year. Globally, Ford has reduced the amount of waste sent to landfills by 39% over the past five years. An article from Ford In The News called, “Ford Celebrates Waste-reduction Efforts” discusses how Ford has gone about reducing their waste. Take a look:

In the last five years, Ford has cut the amount of landfill waste it produces while manufacturing its vehicles by some 44 percent, keeping approximately 100 million pounds of trash from reaching the world’s landfills. But that doesn’t mean the company is about to rest on its (very green) laurels; instead, Ford has now committed itself to lowering landfill waste by another 10 percent per vehicle by the end of 2013—at which point, the automaker would be creating an average of just 20 lbs. of waste materials per vehicle.

And impressively, the Blue Oval has been doing an even better job at reducing its impact on the environment here in the U.S., where the company has reduced its manufacturing landfill waste by 49 percent in the 2007-2011 period. That’s thanks to the efforts of Ford facilities like its plant in Flat Rock, Mich., where the Ford Mustang is built. Using a new finishing process, waste paint solids are being recaptured and recycled into energy that helps keep the line running. The Wolverine State hosts Ford’s Milford Proving Ground as well, where a solar-powered trash compactor also is helping transform waste into energy—not landfill deposits. Combined with previous recycling programs at the Proving Ground, the facility now sends exactly zero waste to landfills.

And similar efforts are ongoing throughout the country.

“Reducing waste to landfills is one of our top environmental priorities and we continue to challenge our teams to identify and implement innovative solutions,” said Andy Hobbs, director of Ford’s Environmental Quality Office.

At Brighton Ford we strive to continue these efforts to be more ‘green’ and reduce our waste as well. If you have any questions about Ford’s waste reduction efforts please feel free to Contact Us, we would be happy to answer.

Brighton Ford is located at 8240 Grand River Ave. just north of I-96 in Brighton. We are a family owned and operated business that strives on customer satisfaction. Brighton Ford proudly serves the Brighton Ford dealership needs, Howell Ford dealership needs, Fowlerville Ford dealership needs, South Lyon Ford dealership needs, Whitmore Lake Ford dealership needs and Ann Arbor Ford dealership needs. For more information on Brighton Ford visit BrightonFord.com or give us a call at (800)-836-8206.

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Lets Help Alexandra Fischer Get to the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment!

BRIGHTON, Mich. May 3, 2012 - Recently we were approached by a lovely young lady who is trying to raise money to go to the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment in Washington, D.C. this summer from June 24^th –June 29^th. Meet Alexandra Fischer: Alexandra is sophomore at Brighton High School who has been nominated as a National Youth Delegate to attend the Summit by one of her teachers. After listening to Alex’s story we were more than happy to help sponsor her trip. After reading this we hope that you’ll help too.

The Washington Youth Summit on the Environment is a once in a lifetime opportunity. As a National Youth Delegate, she will be recognized as one of the most promising young leaders in environmental conservation and will join the select group of other young leaders like her from across the country to share in this experience. This convention will be held at George Mason University in Washington D.C. and will be hosted by The National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian National Museum. Alex was nominated, anonymously by one of her teachers because of her outstanding academic record and her sincere interest in environmental preservation.

Meet Alexandra Fischer

Alexandra was born and raised right here in Brighton, MI. She is currently finishing up her sophomore year at Brighton High School. Alex is on the BHS Equestrian team and is also involved in the Top Dogs Sports Leadership program, which is a program for sophomores on sports teams with potential to become great team captains. On average, Alex rides 2-3 days a week over at Higgins Stables and on Saturdays she works at the barn to help pay off her lessons. She usually grooms the horses, helps give riding lessons, or lends a hand where she can. Alex is very dedicated to her schoolwork, she said she spends a lot of time studying and doing homework. She even said she is a, “self-proclaimed nerd.” We believe Alex is one of the best well-rounded students around, not just a “nerd.” In what we can only imagine is a very small amount of free-time in this busy girl’s life she enjoys watching Glee and Criminal Minds, reading The Hunger Games, and listening to Keane, Fun, Young the Giant, the Bravery, Augustana, and Passion Pit.

After high school, Alex would like to study environmental science or environmental engineering at a technical institute like MIT or Stanford. She is also considering applying to schools in Chicago and New York to experience life in a big city while furthering he education, or applying to the Naval Academy. Wherever she goes she wants to follow her passion and study environmental science.

After getting to know Alexandra and learning about the Washington National Youth Summit on the Environment we were more than happy to help sponsor her. We are not alone either, many other Brighton businesses are stepping up and lending Alex a hand including:

·      Towne and Country Animal Hospital

·      Corrigan Oil Co.

·      Cook and Hayden Vision Care Center

·      Natural View Market

Alexandra is keeping a blog called Alex on the Environment, which will keep everyone posted on the Washington National Youth Summit on the Environment convention events and her thoughts about them. Right now her blog is documenting her fundraising efforts and thanking her sponsors. If you are interested in helping Alex out with her fundraising efforts please send her an email: acfischer12795@gmail.com

Brighton Ford is located at 8240 Grand River Ave. just north of I-96 in Brighton. We are a family owned and operated business that strives on customer satisfaction. Brighton Ford proudly serves the Brighton Ford dealership needs, Howell Ford dealership needs, Fowlerville Ford dealership needs, South Lyon Ford dealership needs, Whitmore Lake Ford dealership needs and Ann Arbor Ford dealership needs. For more information on Brighton Ford visit BrightonFord.com or give us a call at (800)-836-8206.

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Increasing Oil Costs Have Ford Considering The Use of Shredded U.S. Currency To Make Car Parts!

Sustainability has become a high priority for automakers around the globe and Ford is no exception. For years they’ve been finding ways to include recyclable materials in the vehicles they produce and now they plan on taking things a step further by literally shredding money and using it to create car parts. 

Don’t freak out, its really not as crazy as it sounds. Currently 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of retired paper currency (that’s a lot) are shredded everyday and all those Benjamins are usually just burned or thrown into landfills. Why not actually put them to use instead of creating more waste?

“Ford has a long history of developing green technologies because it’s the right thing to do from an environmental perspective,” said John Viera, Ford’s global director of Sustainability and Vehicle Environmental matters. “Now, finding alternative sources for materials is becoming imperative as petroleum prices continue to rise and traditional, less sustainable materials become more expensive.

“The potential to reuse some of the country’s paper currency once it has been taken out of circulation is a great example of the kind of research we are doing,” Viera added.

Using old paper money isn’t Ford’s first foray into sustainable materials. They save approximately 5 million pounds of petroleum annually through the use of soybean-based cushions in all of their North American vehicles, including the all-new 2013 Fusion. The 2013 Ford Escape is also on the green path with door bolsters partially made of kenaf (a tropical plant in the cotton family), which offsets the use of 300,000 pounds of oil-based resins.

Check out the infographic below for more on what Ford is doing to cut down on its use of petroleum-based products.

If you have any questions about the New 2013 Ford Escape, 2013 Ford Fusion or anything else please feel free to Contact Us. We would be happy to field any questions you may have!

Brighton Ford is located at 8240 Grand River Ave. just north of I-96 in Brighton. We are a family owned and operated business that strives on customer satisfaction. Brighton Ford proudly serves the Brighton Ford dealership needs, Howell Ford dealership needs, Fowlerville Ford dealership needs, South Lyon Ford dealership needs, Whitmore Lake Ford dealership needs, and Ann Arbor Ford dealership needs. For more information on Brighton Ford visit BrightonFord.com or give us a call at (800)-836-8206.

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10 Tips For Driving Green and Saving Green

BRIGHTON, Mich., Feb. 1, 2012 – Most people today are constantly looking for ways to save money. By driving “green” you will not only be helping out the environment but you will save money as well and the planet and your wallet will thank you. Here are ten things you can do to drive green and save green:

1. Get you air conditioning system serviced properly – A/C systems contain chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gasses that harm the ozone layer. Our service technicians at Brighton Ford Service Center can capture the CFC gases during service instead of allowing the gases to escape randomly on the road.

2.    Slow down – mileage decreases exponentially as speeds increase. The marginal time added by slowing down on the highway can add 2-4 MPG over an extended trip.

3.    Keep tires properly inflated – When your tires are underinflated the engine has to work harder to move the vehicle, as well as wheels that are out of alignment. Properly maintained tires not only help you improve fuel economy, but they last longer saving you money on tire replacement and less tires have to be discarded which is beneficial for the planet. For a great “how to” article on tire inflation and maintenance check out Edmunds.com

You can't "tune-a"fish, but you can tune an engine!

  4. Keep the engine in tune – minor details such as a misfiring sparkplug can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 30%!  Be sure to follow the service schedule listed in your owners manual

  5.  Plan your daily trips – routing logistics isn’t just a practice for big business. Consolidate your daily errands to eliminate unnecessary driving. Plan trips for lighter traffic times to avoid stop-and-go conditions and you can reduce the amount of gas wasted idling and help reduce the emissions your car produces.

  

   6.  Avoid Idling – when you’re waiting to pick the kids up from school or stopped at railroad crossing, turn the engine off, even if it’s just for a couple minutes. The minutes add up which equals wasted fuel and increased pollution.

7. Less junk in the trunk – lighter loads means better mileage, simple as that.

"Whatchya gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside that trunk?"

8.    Keep the windows up – open windows create aerodynamic drag while driving making the engine work harder. Some experts say that open windows while freeway driving can reduce fuel economy by as much as 10%.

9.     Take it easy on the accelerator – “stomping” on the gas pedal to get up to the speed limit quickly greatly reduces fuel economy. Use cruise control on open roads when possible. Avoid slamming on the breaks, coast to a stop when possible, this will help you save fuel as well as reduce wear on your breaks.

10. Buy the right type of gas – fill your vehicle up with the type of gas prescribed by your owner’s manual. Using premium grade fuel doesn’t improve fuel economy if the vehicle is designed to run on regular and will only end up costing you more at the pump.

Brighton ford is located at 8240 Grand River Ave. just north of I-96 in Brighton. We are a family owned and operated business that strives on customer satisfaction. For more information on Brighton Ford, visit www.BrightonFord.com.

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