Ford shares are on the move higher Wednesday after the company introduced what it called the North American auto industry’s first sustainable financing framework.

The company said, “the framework will cover a variety of both unsecured and securitization funding transactions, including ESG bonds issued by Ford and Ford Credit to finance environmental and social projects, and how Ford’s electrification and mobility projects will be evaluated and selected.”

Ford named four areas in which net proceeds from sustainable financing will be invested and expended. Ford’s framework will focus on clean transportation, clean manufacturing, making lives better, and community revitalization.

“Winning businesses are financially healthy and lead in sustainability – it’s not a choice, they rely on each other,” CFO John Lawler said in the press release. “We’re again putting our money where our mouth is, prioritizing and allocating capital to environmental and social initiatives that are good for people, good for the planet, and good for Ford.”

We can’t help but love the emphasis Ford is placing on its total ESG impact.

Separately, Ford announced this morning a cash tender off to repurchase up to $5 billion of the company’s higher-cost debt. The move will further de-risk the balance sheet and reduce the cash that goes out the door each year from interest expenses. The debt repayment should also help Ford’s credit rating get one step closer to returning to investment grade.

Bottom line:

Something to keep in mind is that Ford’s debt repurchase news follows the decision announced last week to reinstate the dividend. Ford paying a dividend and reducing its debt is a tremendous sign of confidence in free cash flow generation.

Ford is trading higher in Thursday’s session with shares pushing near $19, a level the stock has not above since 2001. We continue to be impressed by the execution of CEO Jim Farley and Co. and how they have balanced significant investments in Ford+, electric vehicles, batteries, and autonomous technology with shareholder returns and balance sheet optimization.

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