Sustainable NR and zero landfill among Nokian 2025 targets

Nokia, Finland – Nokian Tyres has unveiled a new set of sustainability targets for 2025 which will see the company addressing emissions and supply chain sustainability over the next five years.

In its annual sustainability report, published 15 March, the Finnish tire maker said it expected to improve energy efficiency within its operations by 10% by 2025, compared to the base year of 2015.

The tire maker said it achieved a total reduction of 10.4% in energy consumption between 2016 and 2019. 

Nokian also surpassed its target of 20% CO2 emissions reduction between 2013 and 2020, cutting emissions by 33% over the seven-year period.

In terms of product development, Nokian said it lowered the rolling resistance of its tires by 8.5% on average since 2013, thereby decreasing 500 million kg in CO2 emissions from traffic.

“In 2015, we set a goal for 2020 to reduce the rolling resistance of our product range by 7% on average when compared to the 2013 baseline. We reached this goal clearly ahead of schedule in 2017,” said Nokian. 

In 2020, the tire maker said it reduced the rolling resistance further, reaching a reduction of 8.5% on average compared to 2013. 

According to Nokian, tires with low rolling resistance can save more than 0.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, and thus reduce CO2 emissions.

Without offering a target, Nokian said it aimed to “further develop lowering the rolling resistance of tires.” 

As part of its 2025 target, the tire maker said it aimed to achieve zero waste to landfill at all of its three factories in Finland, Russia and the US.

Presently, 100% of all waste is recycled at the company’s plant in Nokia, Finland. Factories in Vsevolozhsk, Russia and Dayton, Tennessee recycle 99% of waste, according to Nokian.

On the ‘people’ front, Nokian said it is developing a human rights policy and increasing safety participation level to 100% of employees. 

The tire maker noted that injury frequency rate dropped 75% between 2015 and 2020. By 2025, Nokian aims to decrease the rate from 8.3 in 2018 to 1.5. 

For supply chain, the manufacturer said it is currently creating and implementing a policy for sustainable natural rubber procurement. In addition, it will audit all its “critical active” suppliers for sustainability by 2025.