Goodyear has accounted for all its associates in Ukraine and “continues to monitor the situation and support associates and customers”. Writing in a statement sent in answer to Tyres & Accessories questions on the matter, a company spokesperson outlined Goodyear’s current position:
Tyremakers Pirelli and Hankook are amongst those rated in the latest Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI). Full results will be published on 20 November, but some details have been previewed already namely that Hankook has been recognized as the best-in-class sustainability leader in the (DJSI) World for the sixth consecutive year. Similarly, Pirelli scored maximum points in the social context for social reporting category.
Locally harvested natural rubber is the key raw material that Sri Lankan tyre maker GRI Tires utilises. It thus views natural rubber farmers as important stakeholders in the ‘GRI ecosystem’. This is an ecosystem that “focuses on sustainability and aims to inspire the farming communities by recognising their work as well as providing knowledge and skills for their development and optimising the yields from their natural rubber farms.”
Sri Lankan tyre maker GRI Tires strives to be a responsible company that always recognises the importance of giving back to the country and its people, especially in times of need. Managing director Prabhash Subasinghe states that it “is ingrained in our DNA as an organisation to give back to society.”
Everton in the Community and Davanti Tyres are distributing school uniforms to pupils from Liverpool’s most socially deprived areas. The football club’s official global tyre partner has donated £10,000 to support the distribution of more than 480 complete school uniforms. The uniforms will be given to children from the most disadvantaged wards across Merseyside, whose families have been hit hard financially by the long-term effects of the pandemic.
Kwik Fit is marking its 50th birthday by encouraging people to don their overalls and dancing boots and do the famous ‘Kwik Fit fitter dance’, whilst helping to highlight the increased risk of prostate cancer to men aged over 50.
As far as auto components are concerned, Pirelli has come out on top in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook 2021, following the confirmation that it is rated as “Gold Class”. The Sustainability Yearbook 2021, which is published by S&P Global and takes into consideration the sustainability profiles of over 7,000 companies, also mentioned three other tyremakers: Hankook, Nokian and Bridgestone in the ranking.
Campaign group Mighty Earth has published a report alleging that Michelin “covered up industrial-scale deforestation of over 2,500 hectares of rainforest in the run-up to the launch of its flagship ‘eco-friendly’ sustainable natural rubber joint venture project in Sumatra, Indonesia”. The project is currently seeking an additional $120 million in investment from green financiers. Michelin’s joint-venture Indonesia natural rubber project Royal Lestari Utama (RLU) robustly denied the allegations.
Members of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) convened the annual General Assembly on 23 September 2020. The event saw the approval of a members’ sustainability policy framework and the creation of a new membership category for smallholder producers of natural rubber.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company released its eighth annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability Report – “Responsibility the Cooper Way” – on 21 September.
The UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), brought together Chief Financial officers from leading companies around the world to launch “CFO Principles of Integrated SDG investments and finance” in the context of the 75th UN General Assembly on 21 September 2020.
Bridgestone Corporation has been selected for inclusion in the Euronext Vigeo World 120 index, a leading stock investment index focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, for the second consecutive year.
Avon Tyres will support the Leicestershire & Rutland Blood Bikes (LRBB) this year by equipping the charitable organisation’s van and motorcycle fleet. Under the arrangement, the tyre maker will supply Avon ZT7 van tyres and Avon Spirit ST motorcycle tyres, products it says are designed to deal with the variety of roads and weather conditions encountered by the LRBB.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has been named on the 2019 Climate Change A List announced on 20 January by CDP, a global environmental impact non-profit organization (NPO) that aims to promote the realization of a sustainable economy. Inclusion on the internationally prestigious CDP A List of companies with outstanding environmental performance recognizes Yokohama Rubber’s efforts to mitigate climate change as being of the highest global standard. This is the second time Yokohama Rubber has been included in the CDP Climate Change A List, following its first listing in 2016.
Nokian Tyres is changing its tyre bags to more environmentally friendly ones. Producing bags partially from biomaterial reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 75 per cent compared to making bags from virgin or recycled plastic.
Hankook
Davanti
S&P Global
Mighty Earth
Cooper
Euronext Vigeo World 120