Tire Industry CEOs commit to sustainability workplan

The CEOs of 10 leading tyre manufacturers have gathered to confirm a two-year Tire Industry Project (TIP) workplan focused on “sustainability in the tyre lifecycle”. The plans includes targets relating to tyre-emission research and end-of-life tyre management amongst other points.

TIP’s workplan for 2024 and 2025 builds on its established programme of scientific research with enhanced action and stakeholder engagement across projects relevant to environmental, social and governance (ESG) in the tyre sector.

“Our new workplan underscores the commitment of our members to a tyre value-chain that has positive impact on people and planet,” said TIP Executive Director Larisa Kryachkova. “We are evolving and taking an increasingly collaborative and solution-oriented approach to building the knowledge, engagement, and action required to drive a sustainable tyre lifecycle.”

The goals were agreed during a meeting at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel at the edge of the Pacific Ocean (Photo: Tyre Industry Project; Getty Images).

The CEOs of TIP member companies meet regularly to review project progress and approve workplans. The workplans are reviewed by an Assurance Group of independent scientists who provide guidance on the scientific relevance and robustness of planned research.

“I am pleased to see TIP’s progress. TIP has expanded its reporting on the environmental performance of manufacturing operations and is considering mitigation actions while advancing scientific understanding of TRWP. TIP has also skillfully facilitated stakeholders to confront the challenges of end-of-life tire management. While there is much that remains to be addressed, there is no question that this influential WBCSD Sector Project is making a positive contribution”, said Professor John Spengler, who is Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and has been an independent member of TIP’s assurance group for over a decade.

2024 to 2025 workplan

On the subject of tyre-emission research and mitigation, components of the new 2024 and 2025 workplan include the commitment that “TIP will initiate a global conference to bring the scientific community and other subject matter experts together to advance both scientific understanding and mitigation action on tyre emissions, including tyre and road wear particles (TRWP).” TIP will also organize open calls for projects, to catalyze studies into tyre emissions beyond TRWP.

In addition, TIP will continue efforts to “generate representative tyre emissions to advance tyre emission risk assessments.” In parallel, the generation of data and methods to guide mitigation actions and the launch of TRWP-mitigation pilot projects is another milestone on the workplan.

When it comes to end-of-life tyre (ELT) management, TIP will contribute expertise to updating international guidelines that will drive more sustainable global movement and management of ELT. Complementing this, TIP will deliver workshops, tools, and data to build stakeholder capacity for more circular ELT management.

In order to make more effective sustainability assessments, TIP has committed to developing tyre specific sustainability definitions and methodologies. The definitions and methodologies are expected to improve tyre sector alignment on sustainability reporting, improving both the transparency of claims, and making it easier to compare progress across the sector.

A review of 2022 and 2023 workplan noted the publication of six peer-reviewed scientific studies, including the development of methods that help the identification of TRWP in environmental samples, and research to better understand the aging of TRWP in the environment. Other achievements included the culmination of a series of regional end-of-life tyre management workshops with the publication of the report ‘Perspectives on End-of-Life Tire (ELT) Management: Challenges and Potential Solutions in the US, Europe and China’. The report recommends measures aimed at providing organizations and individuals with the tools and frameworks for knowledge exchange and collaboration that are required to effectively lead the development of better – more circular – ELT management systems. A recent workshop in India continued this work.

The 2022-2023 review also covered the expansion of TIP’s reporting on key performance indicators for an improved assessment of industry contributions to the most relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets.

TIP’s members are Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Toyo Tires, and Yokohama. TIP is co-chaired by Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, and Michelin.