Ford India : Span Magazine India - American Center, New Delhi

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Ford India, headquartered in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, has been honored as a finalist in the State Department's Award for Corporate Excellence program because of the company's achievements in assisting local economic development, engaging in exemplary employment practices, adhering to transparency and international law. Ford adopted a fishing village after the 2004 tsunami; instituted an HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment program for employees; and has an impressive track record in environmental stewardship.

Ford partnered with the Confederation of Indian Industry to adopt the fishing village of Panaiyur Periya Kuppam, which had been devastated by the December 2004 tsunami. A two-year roadmap of support has been drawn up to achieve sustainable development by building a self-reliant community in the village.

Ford also distributed emergency relief and provisions to victims of the Orissa flood and Gujarat earthquake and rebuilt the K.G. Manek English School in Anjar after the 2001 earthquake. Ford set up a fully equipped Primary Health Center to provide free health care to more than 50 villages neighboring the plant. The center has treated more than 200,000 patients since opening in 1999. Ford made an endowment of two ambulances for the use of Trauma Care Consortium, Chennai. Over the last four years, the ambulances have provided assistance in more than 1,000 accident cases and more than 3,000 other medical emergencies. Ford also operates a tuition and scholarship program for students enrolled in government schools at Maraimalai Nagar and S.P. Koil Street near the plant.

Ford has an HIV/AIDS policy for its employees that provides access to medical resources and counseling of the patient and family and provides the patient with continued care if diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, all with dignity and confidentiality. Ford India has made two endowments for Henry Ford Chairs at the Indian Institutes of Technology in Chennai and New Delhi, for research in vehicle emission and transportation safety. Ford India has supplied advanced testing equipment to the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India to upgrade the association's research facilities, and has provided training to its engineers.

Commitment to environmental sensitivity is embodied in Ford's state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that uses biological and chemical processes to make used water available for recycling. An automated system prevents discharge of the treated water if it does not meet the most stringent standards set by regulators. No treated effluent is discharged outside Ford India. It is all used in irrigation to develop a green belt on the property.

The company has instituted strict ethics policies on honesty and integrity, harassment, open communication, substance abuse and empowerment.