ERJ Sustainability Tracker 2026: Latest news & developments

MAY

Covestro is investing “a low double-digit million-euro” amount in a new steam compressor at its Dormagen site in what the company described as its largest energy-efficiency project to date. The project is expected to reduce Covestro’s annual energy consumption in Germany by around 2% compared with 2025 levels, saving a low three-digit GWh volume of energy and more than 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The compressor will recover waste heat generated during TDI production and convert it into usable steam for manufacturing processes. Construction is due to begin later this year, with start-up planned for mid-2027.

Dunlop has announced that its smallholder support programme in South Sumatra, Indonesia, has increased rubber yields by up to 19% and farmer earnings by around 25% between 2022 and 2025. The initiative, carried out since 2022 with supply chain partner Halcyon Agri and its Indonesian subsidiary PT Hok Tong, has provided more than 1,000 farmers with technical training, fertilisers and cultivation support aimed at improving traceability, transparency and agricultural practices.

Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling has released its 2025 sustainability report, noting its achievement of an EcoVadis 'bronze' rating. Improved energy, fuel, and resource management, it added, drove a 6% reduction in location-based Scope 2 emissions, 10% reduction in market-based emissions, and 8% improvement in energy intensity. Liberty, meanwhile, maintained an 81% utilisation rate "through beneficial reuse across 219m tires collected." Also reported were an 11% reduction in 'lost time injury rate' and 9% lower employee turnover.

APRIL

Chinese tire maker Sailun Group is working with partners in Thailand to support smallholder natural rubber farmers through a sustainability programme covering farm practices, compliance and education. The project, launched in 2025 through the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber shared investment mechanism, is focused on eastern Thailand and involves Thailand’s Rubber Authority, Rayong branch, and Save the Children Thailand.  ERJ report

Yokohama Rubber’s 2035 greenhouse gas reduction targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), confirming alignment with Paris Agreement standards. The group targets a 63.0% cut in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 37.5% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2035, using 2024 as the baseline. Yokohama said it has been expanding solar power and renewable electricity use at plants worldwide and is seeking to accelerate emissions reductions across its supply chain.

Toyoda Gosei has launched its eighth environmental action plan, covering the period to 2030. The plan is built on three pillars: carbon neutrality, circular economy and nature positivity, which the company described as “mutually interconnected elements.” Toyoda Gosei said it had achieved all targets under its previous five-year plan and reiterated its goal of carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, brought forward from 2050. The group said it will continue environmentally focused activities across the full product lifecycle under its global environmental charter.

Synthos has estimated that around 140m tires produced in 2025 contain Sprintan solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) from its plants in Germany and Poland. The demand, it said, reflects how the next-gen, functionalised SSBR grades lower energy use, reduce tire wear and extend service life. This, added Synthos, translates into significant reductions in CO2 emissions and tire wear particles, with further environmental gains on the way via increased use of circular and bio-materials.

MARCH

Giti Tire has been awarded the ‘EcoVadis Platinum’ medal for the second consecutive year, placing the company in the top 1% of companies assessed globally. Giti said the rating reflects its performance across environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. The tire maker said the recognition highlights its “continued commitment to responsible business practices” and demonstrates that its sustainability efforts are “consistently improving year after year.”

In Arnhem, The Netherlands, Teijin Aramid was also awarded the EcoVadis Platinum medal, having scored 88/100 in the latest assessment. Up from 80 a year earlier, the new rating reflects progress in recycling, emissions reduction and responsible sourcing, said the company. CEO Taiichi Machida said the company was “accelerating circular innovation” and improving environmental performance across its global operations.

Yokohama Rubber said its Hiratsuka and Shinshiro plants have been certified as “nature-friendly sites” under Japan’s biodiversity initiative, bringing its total to five certified locations. The scheme supports the “30 by 30” goal of conserving 30% of land and sea by 2030. The company said both sites were recognised for biodiversity conservation, including habitat monitoring and invasive species control, as well as efforts to promote material cycling through composting.

SI Group has earned a 2026 EcoVadis Silver rating, placing it in the top 15% of companies assessed globally and marking an improvement from Bronze in 2025. The company scored ‘above industry average’ across all four categories.

The Tire Industry Project has just released its End-of-Life Tire Toolkit 2.0, billed as a 'science-led, practical guide that helps professionals in managing over 1 billion end-of-life tires annually across fragmented global markets.' TIP said it has built on five years of research since the first edition from November 2021 - to help manufacturers, recyclers and operators optimise their systems and capture real-value recovery opportunities. See TIP’s ELT Toolkit 2.0

Arlanxeo’s Therban (HNBR) and Buna (BR) production units at its Orange, Texas site have achieved ISCC+ certification, allowing the facility to produce and supply these elastomers under the company’s ‘Eco label’ line using a mass balance approach. The company said the site is the first Therban HNBR facility to receive the certification, strengthening its portfolio of sustainable high-performance elastomers.

Birla Carbon Spain has secured a €2 million grant from regional development agency Sodercan to support an energy autonomy project at its Cantabria carbon black plant. The funding will help install a 4MW back-pressure steam turbine, enabling the facility to generate electricity and steam internally, reduce CO2 emissions and lower water consumption.

In Sweden, Trelleborg AB has adopted new climate targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), committing to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 75% by 2030 from a 2021 base year. The Swedish group also introduced a net-zero target across its value chain (Scopes 1-3) by 2050.

ELT pyrolysis company Pyrum Innovations has received ISCC EU certification for the thermolysis oil produced from end-of-life tires at its Dillingen facility, enabling the material to be used as a sustainable feedstock for biofuel production under the EU’s “RED II and RED III directives.” The certification opens access to regulated renewable energy markets and confirms compliance with EU sustainability criteria, including greenhouse gas reductions and traceability across the supply chain, said Pyrum.

Orion SA has gained an EcoVadis 'platinum' rating for its 2025 sustainability performance, placing it in the top 1% of companies in the agency's global ratings for: environment, ethics, sustainable procurement, and labour & human rights. “Among many achievements, we launched bio-circular grades of carbon black, improved energy efficiency across our operations [and] expanded leadership training,” said CEO, Corning Painter. Orion also reported a "strong" B score from CDP, which tracks environmental impact.

BASF’s intermediates division has introduced new reduced product carbon footprint (PCF) butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, polyTHF, and n-methylpyrrolidone, produced at its 'verbund' site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. They are said to offer a carbon footprint at least 10% lower than corresponding standard products manufactured there. This is achieved through low-emission feedstocks and utilities at the site.

FEBRUARY

Nokian Tyres’ tire plant factory in Oradea, Romania has earned LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) v4 Gold certification for sustainable building from the US Green Building Council. “It is the first LEED Gold certified tire factory in the world,” said the company, noting that the award recognises facilities that “consume less energy and water, have lower CO2 emissions, divert more waste from landfills, and are healthier environments for people.”

Rubber moulding machinery maker REP has obtained ISO 14001 certification, following an audit in December 2025. This certification is an international benchmark in environmental management covering: The management of environmental impacts; Compliance with regulatory requirements; Structured focused on continuous improvement. Obtaining ISO 14001 certification is “a significative achievement especially in the rubber industry,” said REP.

Independent environmental disclosure organisation CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) has awarded Continental an ‘A’ rating for its approach to mitigating climate change, progress in reducing CO? emissions, and transparency along the supply-chain. The company also performed well in the water management category, achieving a ‘B’ rating for the second year in a row. CDP also recognised Conti’s use of renewable electricity and switch to low-emission fuels like biomass.

Giti Tire has secured its first ISCC Plus mark for its Anhui and Fujian Province plant in China, which makes PCR, LTR and TBR tires for the European market. The global standard confirming sustainability in raw-material sourcing, production and supply-chain management puts Giti “in a strong position to move forward with the option of advancing towards ISCC Plus labelled tires.”

Trinseo recently announced the recipients of its 2025 ‘triple zero’ awards, recognising exceptional EH&S performance across its global operations. This year, 39 teams — representing 1,838 employees and contractors — achieved zero recordable injuries or illnesses, zero reportable spills, and zero process safety incidents. In total, 85% of eligible teams earned ‘triple zero’ recognition.

Nokian Tyres has published its climate transition plan, based on near- and long-term targets approved by the SBTi in 2024, including a net-zero target for Scope 1, 2 and 3 CO2e emissions. By the end of 2025, the company had reduced absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by more than 38% from its 2022 base year, approaching its 2030 target of a 42% reduction. The plan outlines key emission sources and the main measures to cut emissions across its own operations and value chain to meet 2030 targets and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Pirelli has been included in the “Top 1%” of S&P Global’s sustainability yearbook 2026, making it ‘the only tire manufacturer’ worldwide to achieve the distinction this year. The recognition is based on ESG performance among more than 9,200 companies assessed by S&P Global and reflects Pirelli’s score of 86 points in the 2025 ‘corporate sustainability assessment.’ The score, Pirelli said is the highest in both the Auto Components and Automobiles sectors.

Kraiburg TPE article: 'The principles of the circular economy are becoming increasingly important in the plastics industry. The aim is to use resources efficiently, avoid waste, close material cycles, and design products to be sustainable throughout their entire life cycle. Thermoplastic elastomers play a special role in this context – they combine the flexibility of elastomers with the thermoplastic processability of plastics, thereby opening a wide range of approaches to conserving resources...' Read more

UK tire recycler Murfitts Industries has gained an EcoVadis silver medal, placing it in the top 15% of companies assessed by the sustainability ratings provider. The assessment focused on environment, labour & human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement - including the company’s commitment to converting end-of-life tires into valuable raw material. Commenting on the award, Murfitts MD Jayne Phillips said: “We won’t rest on our laurels… Our research work never stops and we look forward to introducing new developments into tire recycling to enhance its sustainability even further.”

JANUARY 2026

Hexpol has expanded its ‘carbon literacy’ training programme to all 52 group companies worldwide, following its initial development at the group’s TPE site in the UK. Accredited by ‘the carbon literacy project in 2025’, the programme aims to raise awareness of carbon impacts across operations, R&D, supply chain, commercial and leadership functions, supporting Hexpol’s wider sustainability agenda, which includes ‘scope 3’ emissions reduction.

Tire sustainability alliance AZuR has visited Nokian Tyres’ manufacturing and retreading operations in Finland to examine the progress of retreading activities in the Scandinavian markets. According to AZuR, retreaded tires account for up to 50% of the commercial vehicle market in the region. During the visit to Nokian's “new, highly automated factory” near Tampere and its retreading plant in Sastamala, AZuR partners exchanged technical insights on retreading processes, automation, AI-supported systems and future solutions for sustainable tire recycling.

Kraton Corp. has achieved ISCC+ certification for its Panama City, Florida manufacturing facility, from where it provides biobased polyterpene resins. This is the fourth Kraton cite that has been awarded the ISCC+ certification.

Datwyler has received SBTi validation of its near-term, group-wide GHG reduction targets. The Swiss group has committed to cutting absolute scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions 63% by 2035, versus a 2023 base year. SBTi also validated a reduction of absolute scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services by 37.5% by 2035, versus a 2024 base year. In 2025, Datwyler gained an EcoVadis Platinum rating for a second year in a row.

Tire sustainability alliance AZuR has released a video outlining the role of pyrolysis in recycling end-of-life tires in Germany and EU-wide. In its video, AZuR explained ELT pyrolysis process and its products, including pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black (rCB). According to AZuR, pyrolysis can recover around 2.5 litres of oil and 3.5kg of rCB per tire, with rCB cutting CO2 emissions by up to 80% versus conventional carbon black. 

ARP Technologies has been selected for China’s ‘national energy-saving and CO2-reduction technology recommendation catalogue’ - recognising its electromagnetic induction–based nitrogen circulation heating tire curing technology. Versus conventional curing, ARP said its system “operates without steam, eliminating condensate interference and avoiding risks such as heat loss from steam pipelines and steam leakage.” Benefits are said to include an energy-saving rate of up to 60% per ton of rubber cured, saving 82 tons/yr of fossil fuel and cutting CO2 emissions by about 210 tons/yr.

For the seventh time in a row, climate protection initiative CDP has A-listed Lanxess for climate protection. The rating ranks the chemicals maker among the top 4% of more than 22,100 companies assessed worldwide. CDP gave particularly positive ratings in the areas of business strategy, targets, emissions reduction and climate-friendly products, governance and value chain. In the area of water, CDP rated the Lanxess’ water management with the second-best grade of A-.

EcoVadis has confirmed Lanxess’ ‘gold’ status following an evaluation in December 2025. With 83 out of a possible 100 points, the chemicals company improved on its previous year’s performance to be among the top 2% of all companies evaluated.

Houston-based Kuraray America Inc. announced that its EVAL business unit received the ISCC+ designation based on transparency, traceability, and sustainable practices across supply-chains. The certification confirms that Kuraray’s EVAL operations in Pasadena, Texas, meet ISCC+ standards for responsible sourcing and management of renewable and circular feedstocks.

Toyo Tire has been named to the CDP Climate Change A List for the first time, the organisation’s highest rating. CDP assesses companies’ disclosures and performance on climate, water and forestry issues. Ratings are based on an eight-point scale, with A as the top score.

Toyoda Gosei has received A ratings from CDP for both climate change and water security. This marks the second consecutive year the company has achieved an A for climate and its first A for water. CDP cited Toyoda Gosei’s SBTi-approved 2030 CO2 targets, water reduction measures and disclosure under TCFD and TNFD frameworks.

For the sixth consecutive year, Nokian Tyres scored an A- from CDP for actions aimed at reducing GHG emissions and mitigating climate change-related risks. The CDP Climate rating is deemed one of the most trusted indicators for corporate performance on decarbonization. Scores A and A- represent leadership level among nearly 20,000 compsanies that were scored in 2025.

In its recently issues Integrated Report 2025, Japanese rubber products major NOK Corp. reported a carbon emissions intensity (CEI) of 0.86 (Unit: 1,000 tons-CO2) for its fiscal year 2024 – versus 1.10 lats year. This year’s figure represented a 33.2% reduction on base year 2018 levels and beat the group’s target of reducing CEI to 0.92 by 2030.

Bridgestone Aircraft Tire Europe (BAE) has received a ‘gold’ rating from EcoVadis: placing it among the top 5% of 130k companies worldwide evaluated by EcoVadis across 220 industry sectors. Last year, BAE was in the top 15%. Progress n 2025 included: a full carbon footprint assessment (Scopes 1, 2, and 3); an energy audit and decarbonisation roadmap; zero lost-time accidents for four consecutive years; projects involving regional and national sports or charitable activities.

Pirelli has been included for the eighth consecutive year in the CDP Climate “A List”, receiving the highest possible rating for its climate change performance: reflecting 'its decarbonisation strategy across the value chain, including supply-chain emissions reduction, electrification of production processes and the development of high energy-efficiency products'. Pirelli is targeting net-zero emissions by 2040, a goal validated by the SBTI.

Apollo Tyres has achieved an A- leadership rating from the CDP for both climate change and water security, placing it among the top-performing companies for environmental disclosure and action. The tire maker began reporting to CDP in 2020 and said it has improved its scores, moving from a D rating in climate change to A- across both categories in 2025. The company said the rating reflects stronger governance, emissions-reduction efforts and science-aligned targets, as it works toward its net-zero emissions goal by 2050.

More to follow...

ERJ Sustainability Tracker 2025