Ford of Europe's Product Sustainability Index

Automotive industry is facing a multitude of challenges towards sustainability that can be partly also addressed by product design: o Climate change and oil dependency. The growing weight of evidence holds that manmade greenhouse gas emissions are starting to influence the world’s climate in ways that affect all parts of the globe (IPCC 2007) – along with growing concerns over the use and availability of fossil carbon. There is a need for timely action including those in vehicle design. o Air Quality and other emissions as noise. Summer smog situa tions frequently lead to traffic restrictions for vehicles not compliant to most recent emission standards. Other emissions as noise affect up to 80 million citizens – much of it caused by the transport sector (roads, railway, aircraft, etc.) (ERF 2007). o Mobility Capability. Fulfilling the societal mobility demand is a key factor enabling (sustainable) development. This is challenged where the infrastructure is not aligned to the mobility demand and where the mobility capability of the individual transport mode (cars, trains, etc.) are not fulfilling these needs – leading to unnecessary travel time and emissions (traffic jams, non-direct connections, lack of parking opportunities, etc.). In such areas, insufficient infrastructure is the reason for 38% of CO2 vehicle emissions (SINTEF 2007). Industry has also to consider changing mobility needs in aging societies. o Safety. Road accidents (including all related transport modes as well as pedestrians) result to 1.2 million fatalities globally according to the World Bank. o Affordability. As mobility is an important precondition for any development it is important that all the mobility solutions are affordable for the targeted regions and markets. All these challenges are both, risks and business opportunities.