Investors Call on Ford Motor Co. to Support National Climate Policy and Set Greenhouse Reduction Goals

In the wake of General Motors’ endorsement of a national climate change policy calling for a 60 to 80 percent reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, leading institutional investors today called on the Ford Motor Co., which is holding its annual corporate meeting Thursday May 10, to take the same step.

Investors also announced they will be supporting a shareholder resolution filed with Ford requesting that the company set specific, company-wide targets for reducing global warming pollution from its products and operations. The resolution, which is being supported by three key proxy voting advisory firms, Institutional Shareholders Services, Glass Lewis and Proxy Governance Inc., will be voted on at tomorrow’s annual meeting in Delaware.

“It is crucial for corporations to engage in the discipline of establishing reduction goals for products and operations in the near term,” said Caldwell Dominican Sister Patricia Daly, OP Executive Director of the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment and lead filer of the shareholder resolution with Ford. “Targets for 2050 are meaningless unless companies acknowledge that a strategic plan needs to be in place in the short term.”

“Winning the support from the nation’s largest automaker for mandatory national legislation is a big shift in moving policymakers and our economy towards a low-carbon future,” said Ceres President Mindy S. Lubber, who also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk, a $4 trillion network of investors focused on the business impacts of climate change. “Now we’d like to see the same commitment from the country’s second-largest automaker. By supporting a tough national policy and setting goals to reduce tailpipe emissions from its products, Ford would send a strong message to investors that it is ready to protect its global competitiveness by taking the steps necessary to provide cleaner, more fuel efficient vehicles that the world is demanding.”

Yesterday GM was among a dozen leading companies – and the first automaker – to join the United States Climate Action Partnership, a diverse alliance of businesses and environmental groups calling for the federal government to enact mandatory national legislation with tangible economy-wide greenhouse gas reductions. The auto industry accounts for 20 percent of domestic greenhouse emissions and 12 percent globally and is the fastest growing major source of emissions globally.

Ford has instituted various programs to build climate change into its strategy. In December 2005, it published the first industry report focused on the business impacts that climate regulations and other climate-related trends would have on the company. In addition, Ford has cut CO2 emissions from its operations by 15 percent from 2000-2005 and has introduced more fuel-efficient vehicles, including several new models of hybrid vehicles.

But many institutional investors believe that because the company has not set quantitative goals for reducing global warming pollution from its vehicles, Ford still lacks the cornerstone element for a comprehensive strategy to meet the growing global demand for cleaner, more fuel efficient vehicles. Setting greenhouse reduction goals for its products and operations would be an important step to achieve such a strategy, and would give shareholders and management a tool for measuring success.

The resolution requesting that the board of directors set greenhouse reduction goals is being supported by numerous public pension funds, such as the Connecticut State Treasurer’s Office, as well as members of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), including the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, NJ.

“As investors in Ford, we are pleased that the company is starting to offer fuel efficient products,” said John Wilson, director of socially responsible investing for Christian Brothers Investment Services, which is supporting the resolution. “But this strategy will only be successful if it is paired with public policy positions that are supportive of these efforts.”

“In light of the challenges that have faced the company, as well as the potential shifts in the regulatory environment and consumer demand, ISS believes that Ford could benefit from establishing GHG emissions reductions goals as a means of guiding its overall strategies,” wrote Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), in its April 25 proxy voting recommendation to institutional investors.

Similar resolutions have been filed and are pending with General Motors, ExxonMobil and Southern Co., which are among the largest greenhouse gas emitting companies in the country.

About Ceres

Ceres is a leading coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Ceres and ICCR help coordinate the filing of climate-related shareholder resolutions with companies. For more information, visit http://wwww.ceres.org andhttp://www.iccr.org