The reasons why TrustFord won the 2024 AM Award for sustainability

The winner of The Sustainability Award is TrustFord.

Chief executive Stuart Mustoe (below, centre) collected the award from Martin Bleasby, managing director of sponsor EnergyForce on stage at the 2024 AM Awards event in London.

New for 2024, The Sustainability Award is aimed to recognise motor retail businesses that are focused on a more sustainable future for dealerships and their communities.

The judges found TrustFord was the leading light among the entrants.

It all plays into the Ford brand’s overall goal to reach net zero by 2050, but TrustFord knows this will mean a fundamental change in approach to how each department thinks about operating more sustainably, rather than just offsetting with carbon credits.

As the largest Ford dealer group in the world, the business openly invites the spotlight on its operations and how it can be doing more to reduce the impact it has on the environment across its 60 locations.

The group’s sustainability strategy has buy-in from all departments and its senior leadership.

TrustFord is now monitoring and measuring each department’s impact on sustainability and has taken action to address lighting, heating, ventilation, solar, EV charging, energy management, waste, recycling and more.

Every department is seeing emissions reductions as a result of the work being carried out.

Ford’s relationship with Centrica ensures the majority of electricity delivered to the group is from renewable sources and the rest is from nuclear.

The group’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) sites have a 100% pass rate from the Energy Savings Trust and every location has an energy champion. Colleagues are encouraged to switch to EV and are incentivised with £100 towards home charging each month.

A hybrid working policy and the use of video technology for sales consultations has contributed to a £2 million reduction in travel and fuel costs.

Another big win as part of TrustFord’s sustainability strategy includes installing solar arrays at its Dagenham Ford Store and its Thurrock Parts Distribution centre that have helped reduce CO2 emissions by 79.8 tonnes annually.

The group has its own budget for sustainability improvements across its property portfolio and is also challenging the suppliers it works with to meet its own high standards on sustainability.

TrustFord knows there is more work to be done on the road to net zero, but the AM Awards judges have applauded its approach and the significant progress it has made to change the way automotive retailers can operate in a more sustainable way.

Finalists:

• eStar Truck & Van
• FOW Car Supermarket
• Sandal Group
• TrustFord

Sponsor's comment:

"Congratulations to all the winners at the 2024 AM Online Awards from everyone at EnergyForce. It was an absolute honor to be part of this year’s awards, which brought together our industry’s best and brightest! It certainly was some night!

It was particularly great to present TrustFord with the Sustainability Award, which EnergyForce was proud to sponsor. Working closely, as we do, with dealership groups and independents to provide renewable energy solutions, we can see there is a real desire across the industry to become greener and more sustainable.

So, it was brilliant to be able to hand the award to the TrustFord team, whose fantastic efforts to boost sustainability in their business reflect a growing trend in this industry. Reducing the sector’s impact on the environment, both in terms of the vehicles sold, as well as the dealerships up and down the country cutting their carbon emissions and controlling their energy usage and costs, is a vital part of the UK’s drive towards net zero.

This is an exciting and pivotal time for the motor retail industry, and the awards proved that all the dealers and their suppliers are coming together for a brighter and greener future."

Matthew Bleasby, renewable energy consultant, EnergyForce