Ford has unveiled ambitious plans to slash its water use and the amount of waste it sends to landfill across its European plants over the next five years.

The car manufacturer's European arm has already cut landfill-waste generation by 40 per cent and reduced water use by 37 per cent since 2007. However, it announced yesterday a series of fresh targets as part of its New Green Manufacturing Plan.

The company estimates it will save €2.3m (£1.9m) by reducing the amount of water it uses by 30 per cent to produce 1.2 million vehicles a year, equating to about 1.3 billion litres or 1,100 litres for each car or van manufactured.

It also intends to send 70 per cent less waste to landfill across Europe, preventing 5.5 billion tonnes of waste being dumped, primarily by increasing the proportion of waste the company recycles and reuses.

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