Automakers are increasingly turning their attention not just to the emissions of the cars they build but also to the environmental and human rights impact of making them. Ford is the latest automaker to take a big step on that front. It is strengthening the code of conduct it expects its suppliers to follow.
Automakers generally don’t build every component of the cars they sell. Hundreds of companies can be involved in building a car, supplying everything from glues and fasteners to software.
Ford’s new supplier code of conduct applies not just to the company’s Tier 1 suppliers, but also to their partners as well.
Details of the Supplier Code of Conduct
- Protect and respect human rights: This includes treating their workforce humanely and with dignity, following ethical recruiting practices. It extends to providing a healthy and safe working environment. It calls for refusing to tolerate child labor, modern slavery, forced labor, or harassment of any kind.
- Protect the environment: This includes complying with Ford’s environmental requirements and policies. Among these are all relevant national, regional, environmental, and chemical legislation. Ford expects suppliers to minimize their impact on climate change, aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement. Ford is also striving toward carbon neutrality through the use of recycled and renewable materials in packaging. It also seeks to utilize materials with reduced toxicity in the manufacturing process.
- Responsibly source materials: This includes providing information upon request to verify that materials supplied to Ford are responsible in their sourcing. It requires that they follow Ford’s Responsible Materials Sourcing Policy by conducting due diligence and increasing transparency related to raw materials. This applies particularly to materials sourced from conflict-affected or high-risk areas.
- Maintain responsible business practices: This includes conducting business free from bribery and corruption. The policy also requires maintaining effective privacy and cyber-security practices, and complying with applicable trade and customs rules.
“Caring for each other is a core tenet of the Ford plan, and that includes safeguarding human rights, protecting the environment, and requiring responsible sourcing and ethical practices,” said Jonathan Jennings, vice president, Global Commodity Purchasing and Supplier Technical Assistance. “We hold our suppliers to the same high standards we require of ourselves, and this code formalizes the standards we’ll work together to achieve.”
The move comes as General Motors has released its own Sustainability Report, and shortly after BMW unveiled a plan to clean up the lithium mining industry crucial to building EV batteries.
