By
DEE-ANN DURBIN
AP
Auto Writer
MAR.
31 3:52 P.M. ET Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will write a report about
global warming, including details on emissions from Ford vehicles and
factories, in response to complaints from some shareholders that the nation's
second biggest automaker isn't doing enough to reduce pollution.
A
group of environmentally oriented shareholders responded by withdrawing a
petition asking Ford to detail how it plans to remain competitive as
environmental laws get stricter in California and elsewhere.
Ford
plans to complete the report by the end of the year and said it will consult
with climate experts in addition to the shareholders.
"We
have long identified climate change as a serious environmental issue, and
shareholders are increasingly asking about the risks as well as the
opportunities associated with it," Ford chairman and CEO Bill Ford said in
a statement. "It's time for a broader, more inclusive public dialogue on
the complex and important challenge of climate change."
Sister
Patricia Daly, who heads the New Jersey-based Tri-State Coalition for
Responsible Investment and filed the resolution, said she was satisfied with
Ford's action.
"Let's
take on the issues before us and the realities that will be before us in the
next couple of decades," Daly said. "It's no longer an environmental
concern. It's a business concern, and corporations are starting to understand
that."
Denise
Nappier, Connecticut's state treasurer, said companies must prepare for the
financial implications of global warming. Connecticut's public pension fund
also was a party in the resolution.
Ford
said the report will analyze climate change issues and look at the potential
impact of various government actions. Ford said it already is developing
cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, and will reduce
emissions from its manufacturing plants by 14 percent by the end of this year.
Mindy
Lubber, president of the Boston-based environmental shareholder group Ceres,
said Ford's report will be the first from an automaker to examine the emissions
from its vehicles. Lubber said shareholders have similar resolutions before
General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker.
Not
all investors are satisfied. At least two groups have no plans to withdraw
resolutions that will be up for consideration this year by Ford shareholders.
The company plans to hold its annual meeting in May.
Boston-based
Green Century Capital Management wants Ford to detail the amount it is spending
to lobby against an increase in federal fuel efficiency standards. Bluewater
Network, an environmental group based in San Francisco, also has a resolution
that calls on Ford to link senior executives' pay to their performance on
global warming issues.
"Ford
does nice reports, but they're still suing California, lobbying against higher
federal mileage standards and their new vehicles still create more global
warming pollution than any major automaker," said Russell Long, director
of the Bluewater Network.
The
Sierra Club also has targeted Ford's environmental record, particularly after
the company decided in 2003 to back off a promised improvement in fuel
efficiency. On Thursday, the Sierra Club launched a new campaign to enlist Ford
dealers in the effort to make the company's vehicles more environmentally
friendly.
Ford
shares slipped 6 cents to $11.38 in late afternoon trading on the New York
Stock Exchange. Its shares have traded in a range of $10.94 and $16.48 over the
past 52 weeks.
------