Pirelli has announced that it has produced the world’s first Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified tyre, which uses rubber procured in a sustainable manner

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Photos: Pirelli

MILAN, ITALY

Italian tyre company Pirelli has announced that it has developed the world’s first tyre that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which ensures that the materials used in manufacturing the tyre has been procured in a sustainable manner.

Appropriately, the new FSC-certified Pirelli P Zero tyre will be fitted as standard equipment on the BMW X5 xDrive45e plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV), underlining the company’s commitment towards sustainability and responsibility to the environment. The new tyre uses natural rubber and rayon sourced from FSC-certified plantation, and will be produced at Pirelli’s plant in Georgia, USA. Pirelli says that the FSC-certified P Zero offers low rolling resistance, which improves fuel consumption and reduces consequent harmful emissions, while also reducing noise, resulting in lower noise pollution.

The FSC certifies that rubber plantations from which its approved products source their materials from are managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers, while ensuring it sustains economic viability. The complex FSC chain of custody certification process verifies that FSC-certified material has been identified and separated from non-certified material as it makes its way along the supply chain, from the plantations to the tyre manufacturer.

Developing the FSC-certified P Zero tyre is in line with Pirelli’s principles and values from the company’s Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy, which was issued in 2017. The policy outlines objectives for supporting the sustainable development of the rubber business, and was developed in conjunction with Pirelli’s main natural rubber suppliers, growers and traders within the supply chain, automotive customers, and multilateral global organisations. 

Giovanni Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli’s Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Future Mobility, said, “Before even reaching the road, sustainable mobility begins with raw materials. With the world’s first FSC-certified tyre, Pirelli once again demonstrates its commitment to pursuing increasingly challenging goals in terms of sustainability, a testament to the constant work on innovative materials and increasingly cutting-edge production processes. We continue to invest in sustainable growth for our planet, aware that this is also essential for the future of our businesses.”