Three years ahead of schedule Nokian Tyres Inc. surpassed its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% at its plants, so the tire maker has stepped up its efforts by joining the Science Based Targets initiative.
“In terms of environmental responsibility, we are already considering the entire product life cycle and all of our functions,” says Teppo Huovila, who is in charge of the company’s sustainability efforts. “Our target for 2020 was a 20% reduction in the CO2 emissions from our factories’ production. By the end of 2017, we had already exceeded 36%. Joining the initiative is a natural continuation of our long-term work for the environment.”
The initiative will help Nokian set more precise goals, and also have them approved by an external organization. The new climate goals will be linked to the company’s value chain as well as the environmental impacts of products.
“We are continuously developing tires with an even lower rolling resistance than before, which significantly decreases the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions generated during their use,” says Huovila. “For example, the average 7% reduction of the rolling resistance of our tires sold in 2017 reduce CO2 emissions each year by as much as 54,000 passenger cars emissions annually.”
The company is aiming to achieve approval for Science Based Targets in 2019.
The Science Based Targets initiative encourages companies to set scientific targets for combating climate change. The initiative is a partnership between UN Global Compact, CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), WRI (World Resources Institute) and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) for promoting the best practices in setting scientific climate goals.
The initiative then independently assesses and approves companies’ and communities’ targets. All participating companies are listed on the Science Based Targets website.
For more information about Nokian, visit www.nokiantires.com.
