The registry is linked to the California Climate Action Registry and the Eastern Climate Registry and nearly all U.S. states as well as many Canadian provinces and some Mexican states. By adopting TCR’s program, governments and industry have been able to eliminate a patchwork of different reporting standards that have led to confusion and complexity in the system.
The reasoning behind Ford's willingness to join the registry is to allow it to concentrate on reducing greenhouse gases rather than concerning itself with reporting standards that differ across the world.
The implication of this means Ford will voluntarily measure, verify and report greenhouse gas emissions annually and members of the public will be able to see these figures, meaning Ford will have to make a concentrated effort to reduce greenhouse gases in order to keep public opinion in its favor.
The registry measures not just emissions of Ford's vehicles, but the effects of its production processes to look at how to reduce greenhouse gas creation from a base level, rather than an end-product level.
Hopefully the move should force other carmakers to submit themselves to the same level of scrutiny, although joining the registry is entirely voluntary and unenforceable.