Nokian Tyres is passionate about improving sustainability, and these numbers highlight its impact on the environment.
Car owners have more ways to make environmentally friendly choices than they may realize. One way is choosing tyres with a lower rolling resistance: this will save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions.
Nokian Tyres works hard to make tyres greener: the rolling resistance of its tyres has been reduced by 8% in average compared to 2013. This equals to the exhaust fumes of 65,000 cars.
Rolling resistance refers to the energy lost when the tyre is moving as you drive. The lower the rolling resistance, the less energy is lost and less fuel needed. Better fuel efficiency affects positively the environment and the driver’s carbon footprint by reducing CO2 emissions. For electric cars lower rolling resistance means also longer driving range.
Here’s a powerful example of the impact of rolling resistance: if all passenger cars in Finland, Sweden and Norway used low rolling resistance Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 winter tyres over the product’s life cycle instead of other premium winter tyres, benefits would be remarkable. The fuel savings would be nearly 300 million litres and carbon dioxide emissions would decrease by some 710,000 tons.*
In EU, traffic is estimated to form around 24% of the greenhouse gas emissions. The target is to reduce GHG emissions by 20% by 2020 compared with the levels of 1990. Stricter targets set by EU will apply from 2021 on.
Premium tyre manufacturers like Nokian Tyres are actively working to reduce rolling resistance by developing advanced rubber compounds and introducing new innovative tread designs and tyre constructions.
“Our engineers work hard to keep up the good work: our goal is to reduce the rolling resistance of each new tyre generation without compromising safety”, said Teppo Huovila, Nokian Tyres’ vice president of quality and sustainability.
Save fuel – and the environment
Over 90% of Nokian Tyres’ tyres are in the best rolling resistance categories A, B or C. To give some perspective: the most common passenger car tyre label in the market is in the E category (ETRMA analysis, October 2018). The difference is huge for a car owner – and not just environmentally. A class summer tyre that has a correct tyre pressure can save up to 0,5 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres compared to the lowest performing tyres.
Nokian Tyres has worked for years with sustainability at the core of its business. In the RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook 2019 the company received the Silver Class distinction. Although over 85 percent of the carbon footprint of a tyre comes from its use, Nokian Tyres continues to work to reduce the environmental impacts of a tyre throughout its entyre life cycle.
That is why we are also proud of these achievements:
RECYCLING
100% of the waste in our Nokia factory was recycled in 2018. Almost 100% of used tyres are recycled in the Nordic countries and around 95% in Europe.
SAVING ENERGY
Installing a new scrubber to the Nokia energy plant which provides our factory and headquarters in Nokia with hot water and steam, has already saved 185 truckloads of fuel.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
At our factory and head office in Nokia, Finland about 47% of all used energy is produced with renewable energy sources. We have installed solar panels in our warehouse in Vermont, US.
SUSTAINABLE RAW MATERIALS
Nokian Tyres joined the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber in March 2019. The GPSNR will work to improve respect for human rights, prevent land-grabbing, protect biodiversity and water resources, improve yields, and increase supply chain transparency and traceability.
IMPROVEMENTS IN LABOR RIGHTS
Nokian Tyres’ sustainability follow-up-audits in Malaysia and Indonesia showed improvements in labour rights in 2018 compared to weaknesses highlighted in earlier audits. Workers were educated on their rights, worked shorter shifts with more rest days and enjoyed better access to water as they worked, among other quality-of-life enhancements.
