Nokian progresses sustainability projects

Nokia, Finland – Nokian Tyres has reported significant progress in improving the energy-efficiency of its tires as well as in advancing sustainability projects around alternative tire-rubber and recycling.

The company reduced the rolling resistance of its tires by 7%, compared to the 2013 baseline, as part of a product-sustainability drive, the Finnish tire-maker said in its 2017 annual review.

The sustainability goal was delivered three years ahead of target, said Nokian, adding that the achievement reduced CO2 emissions from traffic by 500 million kilograms.

Another sustainability initiative by the Finnish tire-maker involved establishing a test plantation for growing guayule in Spain, in cooperation with the local university.

“As part of the development of future tires, we established a test plantation for cultivating guayule in Santa Cruz de la Zarza in 2017,” Nokian said in its annual report.

In the future, the company went on to say, “we aim to utilise even eco-friendlier raw materials in tire manufacturing.”

The company is also building a new testing and technology centre for winter and summer tires at Santa Cruz de la Zarza .

The testing and technology centre, spanning some 300 hectares and located south of Madrid, is expected  to start operation in 2019.

The Finnish tire maker went on to highlight its progress in the area of recycling during 2017.

The company’s Nokia factory, last year, recycled 100% of production waste, while its Russian tire plant in Vsevolozhsk, near St Petersburg, achieved a recycling rate of nearly 90%.