Ford Motor Co. has lofty goals of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and powering all facilities globally with renewable energy by 2035. Bob Holycross is tasked with getting it there. 

Holycross, 51, has been Ford’s top environment and safety officer since 2019. This summer, the automaker took a big stride toward reaching its renewable energy goals. 

In August, Ford and DTE, a Michigan utility company, signed an agreement for the automaker to buy at least $120 million of solar power annually, a deal billed as the largest renewable energy purchase from a utility in the nation. 

As part of the deal, DTE will add 650 megawatts of new solar energy in the state to power Ford facilities. That means, by 2025, all the electricity Ford uses to build vehicles in its home state will be produced with renewable energy, the company said. 

Ford also is working to ensure its supply base can help meet its 2050 goals. This month it joined M2030, a platform that can help suppliers measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions. 

Holycross has been a staunch advocate for ensuring the U.S. is at the forefront of the transition to electric vehicles. 

Speaking virtually to a House of Representatives panel in March, he said the U.S. has reached an “inflection point” for electric vehicles, and policymakers should support the transition before the country loses a leadership role.

“This isn’t about a long-term ambition,” Holycross told Automotive News earlier this year. “The inflection is now.”