Ontario dealer first to hit environmental standard

A Burlington, Ont., Canada, dealership is the first in Ford’s North American chain to achieve ISO 14001 certification for environmental management.

Discovery Ford is being recognized after more than a year of work to identify chemicals and waste products used and generated by its operations. The dealership’s 100-plus staff members evaluated the manner in which these items were handled to ensure they are stored and disposed of in accordance with environmentally responsible practices -- including recycling.

Their efforts were enough to satisfy auditors from KPMG Quality Registrar Inc., which confirmed Discovery Ford had met the necessary requirements for ISO 14001 certification.

Newly appointed Ford of Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Alain Batty echoes sentiments that, stated and restated by Ford Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. and President and CEO Jacques Nasser, have become a recurring theme for the automaker.

“Whether it’s with our employees, our production plants, our products or our dealers, Ford is sending a clear message that protecting the environment is everyone’s job,” says newly appointed Ford of Canada President Alain Batty, adding a quote from the late Canadian academic, Marshall McLuhan. “There are no passengers on planet Earth. We are all crew.”

In presiding over a celebration of Discovery Ford’s achievement, Mr. Batty -- appointed less than a month ago -- continues a run of good fortune that also saw Ford of Canada’s Essex Engine Plant named the sole Canadian winner of the North America-wide Shingo Prize for manufacturing excellence. Essex Engine Plant, which produces the 3.8L V-6 engine for Ford Windstar and Mustang, along with the 4.2L V-6 for F-Series pickups, is joined by the Avon Lake, OH, assembly plant as the two Ford operations to take home the honors for 2001.

Avon Lake builds Mercury Villager, Nissan Quest and bodies for Ford Econoline and Club Wagon.

Last year, Ford of Canada’s Windsor Engine Plant also won the Shingo Prize, which is awarded annually to organizations that utilize lean business principals and techniques for world-class performance in quality, cost and delivery.