Sustainable rubber – Hankook supplying eco-friendly coagulant

Hankook Tire has announced it will provide formic acid, an eco-friendly coagulant, to rubber farmers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It says this measure furthers its “commitment to enhance the sustainability across its value chain for natural rubber.”

Tyre production accounts for about 70 per cent of global natural rubber consumption, and approximately 85 per cent of global rubber production relies on smallholders in Southeast Asia. The production of natural rubber begins with a small rubber lump that is created through coagulation of natural rubber latex collected by farmers. Various types of coagulants are used to produce these rubber lumps, but some are potentially dangerous to both the farmers and the ecosystem.

To tackle the issue, Hankook Tire will provide formic acid, an eco-friendly coagulant, to local rubber farmers in Indonesia. Formic acid is more environmentally friendly in that it brings less damage to trees and that there is a lower risk of water pollution unlike other coagulants that can be a threat for wet land biodiversity. Formic acid can also provide safety at work with lower toxicity and being less irritant. Hankook decided to sponsor a total of 6,000 litres of formic acid to more than 100 natural rubber famers of Kirana, an Indonesian rubber processor.

This is in line with Hankook’s efforts for sustainability as a member of Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), an international membership driven platform set up to define sustainability for the natural rubber value chain. Hankook established a sustainable natural rubber policy in 2018 and has updated it last year in compliance with the new GSPNR policy across diverse fields such as human rights, environmental protection and management transparency. In terms of environmental protection, prevention of deforestation, prevention of water pollution caused by the use of chemicals, prevention of resource depletion, and prohibition on development or procurement of peatland farming of natural rubber are regulated.

A small but significant part

“Supporting sustainable materials for a small but significant part of the natural rubber supply chain is only the start,” says Sooil Lee, president and chief executive officer of Hankook Tire & Technology, “Throughout the 80 years of Hankook’s existence, I believe we have always operated with the mindset of contributing towards a better world. Keeping the topic of sustainability in the deepest parts of our business, we’ll continue to incorporating environment-caring initiatives in all our business.”