At the latest meeting of the Tire Industry Project, CEOs of leading tire manufacturers reviewed the project’s progress and commended it for charting a sustainability roadmap for the tire sector amid the pandemic. They also laid out the group’s next two-year plan.

Founded in 2005, the Tire Industry Project (TIP) is a global CEO-led initiative undertaken by leading tire manufacturing companies to research potential human health and environmental impacts of tires throughout their lifecycle. TIP operates under the umbrella of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and is co-chaired by Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin.

Representing more than 60% of the world’s tire manufacturing capacity, TIP member CEOs meet biennially to review project progress and approve a two-year work plan, the group said. The work plan is also reviewed by a group of independent scientists who provide guidance on the scientific relevance and robustness of planned research.

In their review of the 2020-2021 work program, CEOs commended TIP on delivering its work plan despite the pandemic, and in particular, the publication of a sustainability roadmap for the tire sector. “Sustainability Driven: Accelerating Impact with the Tire Sector SDG Roadmap,” was published in May 2021 by TIP member companies in consultation with value-chain stakeholders, the group said. The roadmap identifies how the tire value chain interacts with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the areas where the tire sector can have the most significant impact; and, key actions to scale and accelerate contribution to the SDGs.

Upon publication of the 2021 edition of the TIP report on environmental key performance indicators (KPIs) for tire manufacturing, the CEOs requested that ongoing KPI reporting be adapted to contribute to measuring company progress toward the SDGs.

CEOs recognized TIP’s progress in tire and road wear particle (TRWP) research and communication, underlining the importance of a new website that shares all TIP TRWP research and provides an accessible multimedia introduction to the topic, the group said. The CEOs went on to validate a TRWP work plan for 2022-2023, building on more than a decade of TIP-sponsored TRWP research and featuring continued exposure and hazard assessments – including field sampling, assessment of tread leachates and the potential for bioaccumulation, the group said. The work plan will also see further development of scientific methods and standards for TRWP research that will be of benefit to the scientific community.