The future of transportation is electric.
Despite some recent bumps in the road, that much is clear to Bob Holycross, Ford’s chief sustainability officer and a company veteran of more than 30 years.
Electrifying its global vehicle portfolio will play a key role in helping Ford achieve its goal of being carbon neutral across its vehicles, operations, and supply chain by 2050. With progress well underway in the first two areas, Holycross is focused on what he calls the “next big frontier”: decarbonizing the company’s supplier base.
“We’re into this phase of the journey where more of our electric vehicles are getting out there. We’ve done a lot of work on water, air, waste, and energy,” Holycross told Tech Brew during an interview at Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Eliminating emissions from the automotive supply base is sure to be a challenge; automakers rely on vast networks—ranging from mom-and-pop operations to Fortune 500 companies—to supply them with tens of thousands of components for each vehicle.
Enter a new initiative called Transform: Auto, spearheaded by the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment. The program brings together Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota Motor North America, and Magna in an alliance—supported by energy advisory company Trio—aimed at helping suppliers reduce energy-related emissions. The group will collectively invest in renewable energy in North America, and eventually around the world.
The initiative will help auto suppliers procure renewable energy “through voluntary green tariffs, onsite solar, community solar, utility-scale renewable energy power purchase agreements, and environmental attribute certificates,” per a news release.
Getting suppliers on board: Holycross said that the first step to bringing suppliers along on its sustainability mission is ensuring there’s accurate data across the entire supply chain. Emerging technologies like blockchain have been helpful in providing a more granular picture.
“The way we start with our suppliers, we set the expectations,” he said. “‘Here’s the data we want to understand.’ We want to know who their sub-tiers of suppliers are. Some of the challenges can be that they have proprietary technology or relationships that they may not want to be completely disclosed. So, we work our way through that to make sure that we understand what we need to know, and then it all flows from there.”
Next, he said, it’s important to confirm that expectations are being met. For example, Ford might ask suppliers whether they’re following standards established by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, a third-party assessment program.
Keep up with the innovative tech transforming business
Tech Brew keeps business leaders up-to-date on the latest innovations, automation advances, policy shifts, and more, so they can make informed decisions about tech.
Ford is still in the process of establishing sustainability targets for its suppliers.
Bumps in the road: The transition away from fossil fuel-burning vehicles now appears to be happening a bit slower than automakers initially anticipated.
Indeed, Ford has been candid about the challenges of going all-electric. In recent months, the automaker has dialed back its electrification plans, doubled down on hybrid vehicles, and invested heavily in the combustion engine vehicles that generate profits.
So, how does this slowdown affect the company’s march toward carbon neutrality?
Holycross said that the company settled on 2050 as a target in part because it recognized that the transition would take time, but pointed out that it’s still pursuing interim targets in the 2030s.
If there is slower uptake of all-electric vehicles, he acknowledged, the company does have to evaluate what that means for its decarbonization strategy. These dynamics require careful management to ensure the company doesn’t get off-track from meeting its interim goals.
One way Ford is doing this is by offering a portfolio of ICE, hybrid, and battery-electric vehicles.
“But then it also is another reminder for us that it’s not just about the propulsion system,” Holycross said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, what are we doing to incorporate more use of non-petroleum-based materials in our products, whether it’s recycled content or advanced carbon neutral-type materials, polymers, other things?”
Scaling up: In March, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new tailpipe emissions standards that would have battery-electric vehicles make up between 30% and 56% of new light-duty vehicle sales by 2032.
Despite the possibility of regulatory rollbacks if there’s another Trump presidency Holycross said the auto industry is planning far further ahead than the 2024 election: “History has shown us…that when it comes to looking at 2030, 2035, beyond that, we’re going to have to be prepared beyond just the short-term election cycles.”
Now, he views previous industry debates about the technology of the future as settled.
“This focus on broader electrification—whether it is through fuel cells, hybridization, pure battery—has really given us a clear vision of what we need to do, how we truly get to zero,” he said, “And now it’s, ‘How do we bring everything else around and go as fast as we can, but not get ahead of any customer or constituency?’”