ERJ Sustainability Tracker 2026: News & views

FEBRUARY

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