A global company wih local roots

We’re all responsible for the environment

Naturally, we're always looking for ways to minimise our impact on the environment, through technology and the conservation of energy and resources. This is why we were the first car manufacturer to embrace the environmental standard of ISO 14001 by certifying all of our manufacturing facilities worldwide. All major suppliers are also certified.

Here are just some of the positive improvements we have made:

Introduced bio-fuel cars to Ireland

• In 2005, Ford introduced Ireland's first bio-fuel car, the Focus FlexiFuel Vehicle.
• The vehicle could run on conventional unleaded petrol or natural bio-ethanol, or any combination of the two.
• This was revolutionary in Irish motoring as fuel prices were, and still are, climbing while there was increased awareness of environmental issues and the effect of CO2 emissions on our atmosphere.
• The fuel itself is approximately 15-20 cent per litre cheaper than unleaded 95 The use of bio-ethanol is an innovative way of helping our environment. CO2 emissions are the main greenhouse gasses responsible for global warming. Bio-ethanol is a renewable fuel from plants and waste. Therefore the CO2 emitted by your vehicle was originally extracted during plant growth through photosynthesis. By closing the CO2 circle, the use of bioethanol can lead to up to 80% reduction in these emissions.

Bio-ethanol Production in Ireland

Ireland has recently become the third best-selling market of cars that run on bio-ethanol fuel. In 2007 sales of Flexifuel vehicles in Ireland will have risen to almost 1,000 units. To put this in perspective, almost four times as many will be sold in Ireland as in the UK despite the fact that the UK new car market is eight and a half times as large as Ireland's.

Ford's Flexifuel partner is Maxol who provide the bio-ethanol that is used to run the Ford FFV models. The bulk of Ireland's ethanol is domestically produced by the Carbery Group at a time when most of Europe relies on Brazil for supply. This Group produce the fuel from whey i.e. the leftovers from cheese production. Based in Co. Cork, the factory is the single largest cheese producing facility in Ireland and their bio-ethanol is considered among the cleanest in the world. This is because unlike other forms of bio-fuel, it is made without any greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon in the whey is a biological resource so you are releasing the CO2 that was extracted from the atmosphere.

The potential for the agricultural sector in this area is huge as a new market is evolving for different uses for crops and waste. This is important for the industry and will help secure local jobs and energy supplies. The cows which produce the milk are 90% grass fed with the balance made up of cereals. On this basis the ethanol is derived from renewable source i.e. grass and cereals.

There are 25 Maxol service stations across the country.