Prometeon Tyre Group is pleased to report that its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Risk Rating has been graded as low, further strengthening the tyre manufacturer’s commitment to its corporate social responsibility and sustainability goals.
Carried out by ESG experts Morningstar Sustainalytics, the assessment yielded positive results with an ESG Risk Rating score of 14.9 out of 100 (the closer the score is to zero, the better a company performs). This figure places Prometeon at the top end of the global rankings among both car component manufacturers and tyre manufacturers.
Nicolas Marchi, Chief Internal Audit & Sustainability Officer of Prometeon Tyre Group, commented: “The ESG rating assesses how a company tackles environmental, social and governance issues, with reference to the management and maximisation of its non-financial risk.”
He added: “Companies with an ESG rating are proving that, in many cases, they are better equipped for tackling the challenges lying ahead. Moreover, doing that before the time comes means looking to the future by optimising investments and focusing them on activities regarded as necessary and concrete.”
Morningstar Sustainalytics based its assessment on Prometeon’s 2021 Sustainability Statement and examined the following parameters: governance, social, environmental and economic dimension. Prometeon was found to have the following strengths: its procedures and processes; human capital, regarded as the economic value of a worker’s experience and skills; products – their technology and the Quality certifications; as well as excellent knowledge of the market.
Along with the ‘low’ ESG Risk rating, Prometeon was also judged to have a ‘strong’ management level out of three possible ratings (weak, average, strong).
SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED LOAN
The assessment is particularly significant in light of a three-year sustainability-linked loan amounting to €350m issued in December 2021 to Prometeon.
The loan’s pricing is linked to the sustainability policies adopted by the Group and Prometeon has defined specific targets to be attained by the end of 2025. These include: training imparted to employees on sustainability issues; the reduction of waste (tyres); and control of the supply chain through second-party audits.
The results will be presented in Prometeon’s 2022 Sustainability Statement, after which Morningstar Sustainalytics will conduct a second assessment.
WORLDWIDE INVESTMENTS
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Prometeon Tyre Group approved the increase of the production capacity in Turkey, which will take the plant to an output of over 1.8 million pieces, for an overall expenditure of just under €40m. During the first half-year of 2022, the investment for the technological upgrading of the factory in Egypt, totalling around €30m, was approved. As a result, the production of the new-generation Serie 02 PIRELLI-branded tyres – the epitome of sustainability – will be increased.
At the same time, a €25m package, already partly invested, is further enhancing the research and development activities in the R&D facilities in Turkey, Italy and Egypt.
Thanks to the new Prometeon technologies focusing on the sustainability of tyres, starting from the raw materials and production process used to make them up to their recovery, the Serie 02, with its five product lines, makes the management of fleet operating costs more efficient by guaranteeing high mileage, a longer tyre life and a lower rolling resistance. This translates into a decrease in tyre and fuel consumption, which ultimately reduces CO2 emissions.
