“Ford has donated one of its two prototype Electric Ford Focuses to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
But unlike past electric car “retirements” in California, this one marks a beginning, not an end. The Focus Electric is expected to hit the consumer market late this year.”
Ford’s Electric Focus lands at LA auto museum via ABC Green Right Now
“Remember when the family went car shopping, and Dad patrolled the vehicle, weighing the glitz of a shiny new car against the sobering cost of filling the tank? What would Pop think of today’s Ford? The company is curbing petroleum use not only through fuel but also in the guts of their vehicles, which are now 85 percent recyclable by weight.
“What was once see as ‘nice to have’ is now recognized as imperative to our business and our planet,” says Ford’s Susan M. Cischke. Soy foam seat cushions, in more than 20 Ford vehicles, have helped Ford reduce its annual petroleum oil usage by more than 10,500 barrels and cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds – the annual equivalent of 965 typical American households.”
Meet one of PINK’s Top 10 Women in Sustainability, 2011 – Susan Cischke – Group Vice President, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company via Rachel Pomerance – Little Pink Book
“For years, Toyota has been the darling of the green business world. The hybrid Prius was a legitimate business home run (2 million sold), and it helped both differentiate Toyota’s brand as the market innovator and propel Toyota to unprecedented profits. But now the company faces renewed competition for the title of green auto leader.
In the last couple of years, every auto giant has launched alternative vehicles, which they’ve been touting aggressively at the current Detroit Auto Show (see my newsletter on the different strategies the big companies are pursuing). GM’s “extended range” Chevy Volt and Nissan’s all-electric LEAF are potential blockbusters, with strong early sales and serious buzz.
But I want to focus on Ford. The company announced its own electric vehicle, the Ford Focus EV, at the recent Consumer Electronics Show.”
Ford’s Impressive Sustainability Strategy via Andrew Winston - Harvard Business Review
“NEW YORK–The car of the future is here, at least according to Ford, which unveiled its first all-electric car today with glitzy events here in New York and in Las Vegas.
Unlike its competitors, Ford will roll out its electric vehicle as a new version of an existing model, the popular Ford Focus. In a further move to distinguish itself from the field, the Focus will be available not just as an all-electric car, but also as a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, and as a conventional gas engine vehicle.”
Ford Unveils New All-Electric Focus via Amy Lee at Huffington Post
“In a signal that electric cars could be moving a little more mainstream, Best Buy Co. is going to sell charging stations for Ford Motor Co.’s models this year.
The companies will team up to install household charging stations for the new Focus Electric cars being launched in the U.S., Ford said Friday.”
Best Buy to Sell Ford’s Electric Charging Stations via Naureen S. Malik at Wall Street Journal
“DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Friday that an electric version of its Ford Focus sedan will go on sale in North America by the end of this year.
Ford introduced the electric Focus at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The car is expected to go up to 100 miles on an electric charge.
The automaker says the Focus can be fully charged in three to four hours using a 240-volt outlet. That’s half the time it takes to charge the Nissan Leaf, a competitor that went on sale last month.”
Ford introduces electric Focus, to go on sale by the end of this year via Dee-Ann Durbin LA Times
“Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mullaly took to a stage at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this morning to announce a gadget much bigger and more mobile than most products at the gadget expo: The company’s first-ever gas free, zero emissions fully electric car.”
Ford Launches Its First Fully Electric Car via David M. Ewalt at Forbes
“The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf may have stolen the show for electric vehicles in 2010, but Ford is hoping to make big waves in 2011 with its first EV passenger car, the Focus Electric. The zero-emissions Focus hatchback makes its official debut at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show and Ford says the car will officially launch at the end of 2011 here in North America, with European customers expected to take delivery sometime before 2013.”
CES 2011: Ford Focus Electric ready to steal the EV spotlight via Stephen J. Ewing at AutoBlogGreen
Washington, D.C. – November 22, 2010 Green Festival hosted more than 30,000 socially and environmentally conscious participants on October 23 – 24, to celebrate what’s working in regional communities and engage in solutions to create a cleaner, greener and more socially-responsible world.
A project of Green America and Global Exchange, two leading non profit organizations dedicated to environmental and social justice for more than twenty-six years, Green Festival serves as a foundation to explore and build sustainable solutions to benefit communities and the environment, discover new environmentally-friendly products and practices and connect with like minded individuals from all over the nation.
Green Festival stimulated the green economy by giving back $20,000 to more than 300 local, regional and national sustainable businesses through the new “GF Bucks” admissions policy.
Also, new this fall, Green Festival gave 10,000 free tickets, a $150,000 value, to local non profit organizations and asked community members to give back to their local communities in exchange for free admission.
Green Festival’s new admissions policy, “Pay it Forward, Get it Back at Green Festival,” engaged community members with 10 local non profit organizations to create year-round community engagement. These non profit allies engaged with new volunteers and donors by providing free Green Festival admission as incentive. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) raised over $800 in new membership fees through their promotional ticket offers.
“We are very excited to be a Green Festival nonprofit ally, and really appreciated tickets to reward our members and reach out to new people,” said WABA Membership and Development Coordinator Jenn Bress. “We marketed the promotion through Facebook, Twitter and the new WABA blog and as a result, recruited not only valuable funds to strengthen WABA, but most of all, a brand new generation of bicycling enthusiasts!”
Programming highlights of the weekend included inspiring presentations from Ralph Nader, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and Corporate Innovator Ford’s Sustainable Business Strategies Director, John Viera. Participants had the opportunity to test drive Ford’s newest line of hybrid vehicles, including the Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid outside of the convention center.
Additional fun highlights included stellar performances from local musicians, a fun and interesting Old Timey Seed Swap in the Mother Earth News Fair Pavilion and stylish, high energy eco-fashion runway shows featuring adult couture, teens, kids clothing and green weddings.
Green Festival partnered with T-Mobile to recycle old, unused cell phones in exchange for free admission. T-Mobile representatives were thrilled to report that an impressive 960 cell phones were collected at Green Festival for recycling, as well as a large amount of phone accessories, such as wall and car chargers.
Recycling cell phones is incredibly important, as it aids the recycling of energy and preserves a significant amount of precious resource metals, including gold, silver, copper and palladium.
In a continuing commitment to green event management, Green Festival diverted over 8,000 lb. of waste over the weekend, for a 94% percent diversion rate. Only 540 lb. of waste went to landfill. In 2009, almost 15,000 lb. of waste was diverted and 1,000 lb. went to landfill.
The 2010 resource recovery rate from Washington DC Green Festival represents a sizeable decrease in the overall ecological footprint of the event and an encouraging increase in efficiency of waste management.
Special thanks to: Bgreen, Honest Tea, MOM’s, Corporate Innovator Ford andWUSA.
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About Green America
Green America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982, providing the economic strategies, organizing power and practicing tools for businesses and individuals to address today’s social and environmental problems. Its Green Business Network is the largest national network of businesses screened for their social and environmental responsibility. www.greenamericatoday.org
About Global Exchange
Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Since its founding in 1988, Global Exchange has successfully increased public awareness of root causes of injustice while building international partnerships and mobilizing for change. www.globalexchange.org
About Seven-Star, Inc.
Seven-Star, Inc. is the nation’s premier green full-service event company focusing exclusively on green events. Since 1999, Seven-Star has provided turn-key green event services for environmentally Responsible and socially Respectful (eR/sR) festivals, trade and consumer expositions, conferences and concerts. From the greening of the 2007 International Live Earth events, to the 2008 Democratic National Convention events, to producing the nation’s largest consumer Green Festivals, Seven-Star has defined itself as the company for eR/sR event production. Seven-Star is the first event company to have won the EPA’s Gold Waste Wise Award for Excellence in recognition for their proprietary system of event waste diversion, which has consistently achieved greater than 85%. www.sevenstarevents.com