One of Ford’s green initiatives involves the use of recycled paper. In the past year, Ford has reduced its use of paper made exclusively from virgin sources by 6,000 tons.
The results were achieved through the use of recycled paper for all high-volume consumer and employee printing projects. Starting this year, about 2.2 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicle owner’s manuals will be printed annually in the U.S. on paper that contains at least 10 percent recycled fiber.
"Increasing the use of recycled paper may sound like a small step for an automotive company, but the results have been anything but small," said John Viera, Ford's director of Sustainability and Environmental Policy. "Ford is working to educate our employees, designers, printers and suppliers on the value of using FSC-certified paper and incorporating it into all of our projects."
Ford’s project has lead to multiple environmental benefits that helped reduce water and energy use, lower CO2 emissions and save trees. The initiatives include:
• More than 12,000 trees preserved. Experts say 12,000 mature trees absorb 3 million pounds of CO2 annually and produce enough oxygen to support 24,000 humans
• Nearly 5.2 million gallons of waste water flow saved.
• Nearly 600,000 pounds of solid waste not generated.
• More than 1.1 million pounds net greenhouse gases prevented
• More than 8.6 billion BTUs of energy not consumed.
As Ford uses FSC-certified paper, the company is supporting multiple sustainable benefits such as reducing waste to landfills and ensuring that paper pulp is not harvested from endangered rainforest timber.
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