Embracing the MBDC Design Paradigm at the Ford Motor Company

By Tim O'Brien, Director, Ford Environmental Quality Office
Edited from a presentation given at the EnvironDesign5 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, 25 April 2001

During the spring of 1999 Ford Motor Company announced the long-term, $2 billion restoration of its 1,100-acre Rouge River plant in Dearborn, Michigan (illustration at right). Following a design paradigm developed by William McDonough, Michael Braungart, and their teams at MBDC and William McDonough + Partners, the project, says Ford chairman Bill Ford Jr., will "transform a 20th century industrial icon into a model of 21st century sustainable manufacturing." It is one of the most sweeping, ambitious acts of industrial restoration ever.

As Director of Ford's Environmental Quality Office, it's my job to manage this visionary effort. In fact, I can see the Rouge plant from my office window, and each day, as I watch the changes unfold, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be associated with these first steps of the Next Industrial Revolution.

I must admit, however, that when I was first introduced to the MBDC design paradigm I found myself wondering how we could ever do the things it proposed. I sat through a year of design exercises for the Rouge site, thinking, "Oh my God, what have we gotten ourselves into?"

William McDonough + Partners was proposing an assembly plant with skylights for daylighting the factory floor and a 450,000 square-foot roof covered with growing plants. The "living roof," in concert with a series of constructed wetlands and swales, would provide habitat for birds, insects and microorganisms, while controlling stormwater runoff. Grasses and thousands of trees would be planted to restore the soil. MBDC's vision extended to the materials and the manufacturing processes used to make new cars.

I cannot count the number of times my colleagues at Ford asked: "Do you know what they want to do now?" Like me, they were accustomed to the 20th century idea that business and the environment could not co-exist. In the old industrial framework, for example, an environmental administrator's first exercise is not to know anything. If you do know something your job is to try to do whatever is minimally required under the law to deal with the problem.

The MBDC design paradigm turned that notion on its head: It offered Ford Motor a way to build a lean, effective, world-class manufacturing facility while restoring the Rouge Center landscape. In fact, the disciplined attention of MBDC and William McDonough + Partners to both business and the environment led to innovations that will make regulations obsolete, save money and enhance our productivity.

The natural stormwater management system is a good example. The living roof and the swales, along with green space and porous paving, will replace traditional technical controls and potentially save Ford up to $35 million. That's effective. That makes sense. And it is a really easy thing to do.

In the midst of a transformation, however, change can feel anything but easy. So if you're contemplating big changes for your business you might consider a few key ideas that have helped us sustain and nourish an ecologically intelligent vision at Ford.

Let your heart lead you…the mind will follow.
When I was first exposed to MBDC's design paradigm, my rational side conjured all kinds of reasons we could never carry it out. But in my heart I knew we had to find a way. Focus your intellect on "how to" rather than "why we can't" and you will achieve great things.

"Do you know what they want to do now?"
As we have seen, this can be a common question. Respond with a few questions of your own and you may find that the real issue is not what but how. The amazing thing about human beings is that we have the spirit to imagine what and the intellect to develop how. Don't abandon an idea because the how is not obvious. Try.

"I am not content."
Michael Braungart made this comment in a meeting at Ford. I have embraced it. At Ford, after we have completed the first stage of the Rouge Center restoration, it would be very easy for us to say, "Ok, we've done the sustainability thing in a big way. What's next?" But that's just the first step. More important is continuing in the direction we're heading.

Money talks—and walks.
The overall budget for our Rouge project was not increased by one cent to account for the sustainability agenda. In fact, the MBDC paradigm can lead to significant savings as well as significant business opportunities. It is not a compromise.

This is fun!
Working on the Rouge project is just plain fun. It's interesting, it's challenging, it's exciting. Even on a tough day, the work is profoundly fulfilling.

I would do this job for free.

Tim O'Brien has been the Director of Ford's Environmental Quality Office since 1995, having worked in various capacities at Ford since 1973. In 1995-1998, the Environmental Quality Office led Ford's initiative to become the first automotive company to have all of its manufacturing plants in the world certified to the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard. (In July 2001 McGraw-Hill published Tim's book Ford & ISO14001: The Synergy Between Preserving the Environment and Rewarding Shareholders.) At the present time, Tim is leading the Rouge Heritage 2000 initiative to transform that site into the model of 21st century sustainable manufacturing.

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