Ford Motor Company Will Soon Have Large Solar Carport

I can’t say enough about the people who work in entry-level positions at the iconic ad agency Ogilvy and Mather. They work hard, they’re fabulously bright, and they’re profoundly respectful. One in particular (whom I won’t identify) and I have forged something of a friendship during her tenure at O&M, in her service of their mega-client, Ford Motor Company. She asked me to write something about Ford’s press release the other day, and, with these keystrokes, I’m doing precisely that.

It seems that recently:

Ford Motor Company announced its plans to build Michigan’s largest solar carport….The project, funded by DTE Energy, will provide employees with 360 covered parking spaces and 30 charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles.

“Ford has a long history of innovation and a deep commitment to sustainability,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. “Our fundamental purpose as a company is to make people’s lives better. We do that by creating outstanding products, by investing in communities where our employees live and work, and by using technology to tackle global sustainability challenges. Those beliefs are embodied in this project.”

But, with as much respect for O&M’s spokespeople as I have, I need clarification on this. First of all, if the project is funded by DTE Energy (the local Detroit-based power utility), it’s not clear how/why Ford is taking credit for it. If DTE wants to spend its own money to put solar PV on our roof here at 2GreenEnergy, I promise that they’ll receive top billing for the project.

Also, though I think Bill Ford is an extremely capable guy, I have to question his assertion that his company’s purpose is to “make people’s lives better.”  To his credit, Mr. Ford understands the sustainability issues associated with the growing number of cars on our roads, and sees a day when his company will be forced to re-invent itself as a provider of “transportation solutions,” rather than an automaker per se.  Speaking for all of us with lungs, that day can’t come soon enough.

In particular, I challenge Mr. Ford as follows:  If you really want to make people’s lives better, the very first thing you need to do is to get your Explorer and the other eco-obscenities off the road. Obviously, you can’t retract the vehicles already in existence, but you could certainly stop building them–an act that would communicate a sincere commitment to making people’s lives better in some material way.