25 Nov 05 17:27
Ford has been named Best Performing Corporate Organisation in green awards organised by London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
Ford's 473-acre site at Dagenham was praised for its use of recycled-content products - enough to stop 21,000 tonnes of material going to landfill sites - and for its reuse of waste products at the facility.
Livingstone and his judges were impressed by sections of the Dagenham roadway that incorporated shredded tyres - which not only stopped the tyres going to landfill, but led to quieter road surfaces. They also approved of the recycling of 1,700 tonnes of metal and oil sludge a year, by-products of engine block machining: Ford has developed a process to separate the metal and oil to produce briquettes, which can be used for road-surfacing, steel-making and refuelling cement kilns, with the oil used again for engine-making.
The Dagenham site also features two wind turbines, which generate enough power for the diesel engineering and engine production facilities. These clean-power generators are claimed to save 5,762 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 67 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 20 tonnes of nitrogen oxide from entering the atmosphere each year.
Talking about the Green Procurement Code awards, Livingstone said: "They provide an ideal opportunity to recognise the outstanding achievements of companies in creating a sustainable city for the future. These companies are not only recycling their waste, but are closing the recycling loop by also buying recycled products."
BMW is also reporting its eco-friendly production methods today. It has released its first UK Environmental report on its production facilities in the UK and detailed improvements at these sites.
Water consumption per Mini, produced at the Cowley plant near Oxford, has been reduced by 25% in the period 2001-2004 and the cleanliness of the waste water discharged has been improved. The plant has also reduced the amount of processed waste sent to landfill by nearly two-thirds.
BMW also said: "Improvements in biodiversity have been achieved at the Hams Hall engine plant in North Warwickshire, which used to be an ash-covered power station site, and the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars manufacturing plant at Goodwood, which was previously a monoculture destined to become a gravel pit. Both now support a wide range of flora and fauna."
