SAAB: Twenty years following the Conservation and Environmental Grants were launched globally, and as this program enters its fifth anniversary in the Middle East, where do you see the biggest achievement?
ACHO: I think that the biggest achievement is probably the way the program has been received as an extremely credible initiative, committed to help organizations and individuals that are focusing their attention on the preservation of the natural environment. The Grant Program supports conservation in a noteworthy manner, to give serious people an opportunity not only to get funding from Ford, which is important, but frankly even more important is to give them visibility and recognition, and show that what they are working on are terrific projects that have been chosen by a group of jurors who are extremely prominent. It is important to note that the independent jurors are chosen from among local experts, so they can themselves see what's important in their regions, and are therefore the best to select local projects that are worthy of receiving support from Ford Motor Company.
SAAB: Ford jury meetings in the Middle East are often considered as a sort of regional environmental summit, as they gather leaders of national environmental institutions.
ACHO: True. When I saw the list of Arab jurors, gathering the Secretary General of the Saudi National Commission for Wildlife Conservation & Development, the Chairman and Director General of the Environment Public Authority in Kuwait, the Director of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan, among other prominent figures, supported by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and your leading regional magazine, I knew that we had a great team. The credibility of the jury in the Arab region was a crucial element that contributed to the success of the Grants Program. We are also happy to hear that on the sidelines of the Jury sessions, this team could discuss regional issues and coordinate environmental action during some of its periodic meetings.
SAAB: Can you single out 3 projects which received Ford grants, at the global level, that were most unique?
ACHO: There were quite a few, because you have got to remember that we are talking about thousands of projects. But I particularly like one in Costa Rica where women were cutting rainforest wood for cooking. As a result of our grant, trees in the rainforest were protected, as women started to use solar power for cooking. Working with a local university, they were able to utilize simple solar energy techniques to cook. That's a real progress that helps not only the environment but it's something that is replicable elsewhere, in regions including rural areas in the Middle East. Another project that sticks in my mind is one in Tibet where a group of people were organized to save endangered species, and some of the members of the organization were actually being shot by poachers. That organization received Ford funding that enabled the project to continue. Projects that I particularly like in the Middle East are those concerning environmental education, as this really helps to set a stage for the future and to be able to conserve our environment. You have young caring people, knowing that they ought to be keepers of the environment not just users of it.
SAAB: In which way does the Grants Program reflect Ford's philosophy and corporate commitment?
ACHO: I think the best way to answer that is in the words of Bill Ford, our Chairman of the Board. Bill Ford said that the difference between a good company and a great company is that a good company offers excellent products and services, whereas a great company not only offers excellent products and services but strives to make the world a better place. He also believes that Ford Motor Company ought to be about 3 things: We ought to be about great products, a strong business and a better world. The Grants Program is really one manifestation of the better world philosophy that Ford Motor Company has, where we try to be good corporate citizens in the communities where we do business.
SAAB: Are environmentally-friendly practices inherent in Ford Motor Company's culture?
ACHO: Very much so. I'll give you a personal perspective for background. Back in 1990, I was in corporate strategy at Ford Motor Company and my job was to run around the world looking at markets and see what we need to be doing from a business perspective. My boss then was a young man by the name of Bill Ford, who was the head of corporate strategy. Bill Ford said that we need to be doing much more for the environment than we were doing then. My great grandfather, he used to tell us, started this company and cared about the environment. He used to ask one supplier from whom he ordered bearings to deliver them in wooden boxes, made of a specific type of wood. They found out later that after taking the bearings out, Ford used the wood to make interior parts of a station wagon. The Founder Ford was someone who really cared about the environment. He believed that we needed to do significantly more for the environment, and as a result we've done a number of things. I am just putting things in perspective before I answer your question. We now have each and every one of our 100 manufacturing facilities around the world, scattered in 25 countries over 5 continents, certified to a global environmental management standard ISO 14001. One manufacturing facility that we are completing now in Dearborn, Michigan - the Rouge - will be the icon of the 21st century sustainable manufacturing, where we have the largest living roof in the world. It is a 40,000 square meter roof that behaves like a living growing plant, with virtually no need for maintenance, and its water absorption system captures water but also saves money by doubling the life of the roof and reducing the temperature load on our plant so that we use less energy. We have a porous parking lot, where the water is collected and purified, before it is sent to the river as clean water. We have a way to capture the paint fumes from our paint facility and turn it into hydrogen that we then use for a fuel cell to help power our plants. One Ford plant in the UK is partially powered by solar energy. We have started to introduce wind power. One of plants gets power from the methane gas from a local landfill. Protecting the environment at Ford is a way of life and not a slogan.
SAAB: Some multinationals avoid launching environmental initiatives in the Middle East, claiming that the people of the region do not care about the environment. Based on the Ford Grants experience, how do you compare Middle East projects to those from other regions? Do they reflect much different concerns?
ACHO: When we first launched the program in the Middle East, there were a lot of skeptics. There were people that said I can't believe there is enough interest in the Middle East to have a great program, because there are not many people that care about the environment. So, I think this was a major myth at that time, as what we have seen in the Middle East represented a terrific amount of interest in natural environment of problems and concerns for education. When you see projects like the study of whales and dolphins in Oman, marine turtles in Kuwait and the UAE, or mangrove conservation projects in Saudi Arabia, among many other interesting initiatives, you are impressed. We also realize that we wouldn't have known about those great ideas if not for the Grants program. Ford Motor Company itself is not knowledgeable about all these things going on. The contribution of the jurors was essential to open the doors to a lot of these initiatives and make people aware of the Ford program. Judging by the interest that the Grants program has generated in the Arab region so far, I am hoping that the response will only be greater and more widespread to the extent that a real difference is made starting at grassroots level.
SAAB: How do you envisage the future of the Ford Grants Program in the Middle East?
ACHO: I think what we have to do is continue to be concerned and dedicated to providing ingenious environmental solutions, and at the same time we need to continue to make a difference in the communities that we serve. The Grants Program is our major way to do that, with the help of jurors who really understand what's important for a particular region. What we are doing in the Middle East countries is exactly what we are doing in 40 countries around the world where we have jurors from each country, who determine who gets the grant. So when I went to the Dominican Republic, the president of the country came out to help with the grants. When I was in Hungary, it was the Archduke who supported the program. We have had terrific support in the Middle East so far, which encourages us to strengthen the program, and hope to attract more interest every year, and also witness serious environmental action across the region. Let's all continue to find ways to preserve the environment for the future generations. Ford will always be willing to be a partner to this endeavor. Inshalah!!