NOKIAN Tyres says it has reached one of its key emissions reduction targets seven years ahead of schedule.

One of the company’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals was to cut its tyre factories’ CO2 emissions by 52 per cent per production tonne by 2030 compared to the emissions level in 2015. 

The target was already achieved in 2023. According to Nokian, its factory emissions per production tonne are the lowest in the tyre industry, but the company continues its work to reduce them even more.

Teppo Huovila, vice president of quality, sustainability and supply operations business development at Nokian Tyres, said: “Urgent actions are needed to tackle climate change, so even though Nokian Tyres’ factory greenhouse gas emissions are at an industry-leading level, we consider it important to cut the emissions to zero as soon as technically possible. 

"In the best case, it leads to setting new sustainability benchmarks that can have a positive impact on how the whole industry operates." 

In 2015, the direct CO2 emissions from Nokian's factories were 723 kilogrammes per tonne of tyres, so reducing them by 52 per cent means that they are below 347 kilogrammes per tonne of tyres, which was the target level for the year 2030. However, in 2023 Nokian Tyres is already progressing rapidly toward a level of less than 200 kilograms per tonne of tyres manufactured. 

Teppo added: “Besides the emissions from tyre manufacturing, the emissions during tyre use are something that Nokian Tyres’ own actions and choices can influence the most. 

"The lower the rolling resistance of tyres, the less fuel or energy the vehicle consumes. Between 2013–2022, Nokian Tyres has reduced the rolling resistance of its tires by 8.5 per cent on average. This equals to the exhaust fumes of 65,000 cars annually." 

Nokian Tyres is in the process of updating its climate targets to be even more ambitious. The company is committed to setting targets that enable net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

An important step on the journey is the new factory that Nokian Tyres is currently building in Oradea, Romania, as it will be the first zero CO2 emission tyre factory in the world.