Ford is reducing its use of virgin steel by an estimated 119 tons a year by making Explorer’s noise-dampening fender baffles from the steel left over from stamping out the door openings of F-150 body sides.

Using less virgin steel also reduces CO₂ emissions by approximately 119 tons—about the same amount emitted by a midsize car driving the circumference of the earth 14 times.

The 2011 Explorer uses 25% recycled fiber in its interior fabrics, including seat upholstery, bolster and carpeting. The use of recycled fiber instead of virgin fiber results in an estimated 20% reduction in energy consumption, 17% waste elimination and 14% reduction in CO₂ emissions for the Explorer’s seating materials.

The new Explorer is the latest Ford vehicle to feature 40 percent soy polyurethane foam in seat cushions and seatbacks. Ford remains committed to using the bio-based material in nearly 100% of its North American vehicle lineup by the end of the year.

Soy foam has helped Ford reduce its annual petroleum oil usage by more than 10,500 barrels, and is up to 24% more renewable than petroleum-based foam. The use of soy foam also has helped Ford reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds—the annual equivalent of 965 typical American households.

The new Explorer offers two new more fuel-efficient engines: a V6 and a turbocharged, direct-injection 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine. The EcoBoost engine delivers more than 30% better fuel economy than the current V6-powered Explorer, without sacrificing capability and performance. (Earlier post.)