With rising gas prices and a looming 35mpg CAFE standard, domestic automakers have been scrambling recently to make their lineups cleaner and more efficient. All three companies have dedicated significant resources toward developing new hybrid technologies and smaller engines, but Ford has become the first U.S. brand to officially pledge a 30 percent reduction in vehicle emissions between now and 2020.
Recently a coalition led by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility has been pressuring American companies to cut emissions linked to global warming. Using shareholder activists, they introduce resolutions calling for the cuts at corporate meetings and encourage company boards to adopt them. The group has filed 54 resolutions with American firms, but so far Ford is the first one to actually agree to group's request. The activists plan to target GM next with pressure to publicly match the blue oval's commitment.
Ford's declaration is welcome news not just to the group, but environmentalists everywhere -- the only question is whether it can follow up. Similar undertakings have failed in the past, such as the automaker's 2000 plan to improve the efficiency of its SUVs by 25 percent, or its vow to build 250,000 hybrids per year by 2010. Of course unlike previous commitments, this one is very similar to the new federally mandated CAFE standard, which also goes into effect in 2020. Ford may be the first to publically commit to reducing tailpipe emissions, but in reality the other American automakers will soon be forced to do the same.
Source: Detroit Free Press