US automotive major Ford said it reduced its average water use by 8.5 per cent per vehicle between 2011 and 2012.

On the occasion of World Water Day on March 22, the car major said this was more than halfway toward its current goal of using an average of just 4 cubic meters per vehicle globally by 2015.

“Ford has reduced the amount of water it uses in everything, from cooling towers to parts washing and paint operations by 10.6 billion gallons, or 62 per cent. That’s equal to the amount… enough to fill 16,000 Olympic-size pools,” the company said in a release here on Thursday.

At its Maraimalai Nagar manufacturing facility, near Chennai, Ford India, claimed it was able to save over 264 million gallons of water in the past five years by adopting conservation methods and technology such as membrane bio reactor and zero liquid discharge systems.

“This is a 100 per cent water recycling plant that is also ‘Best in Ford’ in terms of water consumption per car,” the company, which manufactures and distributes automobiles and engines at this facility, said. The company's models in India include the Endeavour, Fiesta and the Figo.

The company said its second manufacturing plant in Sanand, Gujarat, which was under construction, would soon become a ‘zero water discharge site’. “100 per cent of the wastewater generated will be treated on-site and re-used in the process or for irrigation of site green spaces,” it said.

Andy Hobbs, Director, Environmental Quality Office, said Ford’s water reduction success was a result of aggressive monitoring and managing just about every drop of water going into and out of its facilities and properties.

In addition, the automotive major’s Ford Fund was also supporting 19 water-related projects in India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Germany and South Africa.

>aditi.n@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW