Panel: Urgency required if tire makers are serious about sustainability

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—It's time to start seriously thinking about ELTs.

More than that, it's time to take some action.

During a sustainability panel discussion hosted during the Smithers Traction Summit in Charlotte Aug. 13-14, panelists took a step back to offer honest evaluations of and insights on where the industry is and needs to go when it comes to sustainability aims.

First and foremost? Tire makers are doing big things. They're bringing to market better performing, more sustainable tires—and they're doing it without comprising safety. Those are big steps.

But John Baldwin, senior vice president and chief product and technical strategist for Discount Tire, contends there are big steps left untaken. Because, he said, generally speaking, the industry has failed to give the right amount of consideration to the end life of tires.

"The industry has not pitched in in the U.S.," Baldwin said. "Let me say this very clearly: The tire manufacturers have not pitched in in the United States for what happens to scrap tires. That is a fact. I would be willing to have that debate, but it is a fact."

Jay Spears, director of standards and regulations for Continental Tire the Americas and head of sustainability in the Americas, didn't argue. There is a lot more that tire makers can and should be doing to address the scrap tire dilemma, he said.

"I will say that Mr. Baldwin is correct. We, as an industry, have gotten away from (end of life tire issues) for a long time," Spears said. "I don't think it's out of place to say that for the last 100 years the tire industry has made a tire and kind of pushed it out the door and waved goodbye and said 'another happy customer. Let's go make another tire.'

"I think those days are ending."

He was quick to note that U.S. tire makers are taking some good first steps and pointed to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association and its recent partnership with the Tire Industry Association.

Together, the two associations have formed the Tire Recycling Foundation to help encourage and fund the big ideas that can help address the growing scrap tire problem.

"I think we are a little bit slower to the game here, but there is no way that we can't be a part of that game," Spears said. "Because, as you see, the amount of tires that are sitting in landfills is growing. … We have to find ways to put them back into making tires again, into making roads, into making lots of products that we use. And that is not going to be an easy game."

Perhaps one of the industry's biggest mistakes, Baldwin said, is taking the long view when it comes to ELT solutions.

Yes, it will take time to scale some of the solutions, but perhaps, he said, the industry isn't moving aggressively enough to bring the best solutions to the market now—or at least sooner rather than later.

"As a retailer, we take off over 100,000 scrap tires a day," Baldwin said, "and what I am allergic to anymore in all of these conversations is about … all this stuff that is going to happen 30 years from now.

"What are we doing today? There is a lot of opportunities to do something today.

Today, tire makers are making strides, particularly when it comes to more sustainable materials usage.

And that strength is also one of the industry's greatest challenges. Because, Spears said, there's a conundrum. Developing and manufacturing more sustainable tires becomes more difficult as you make sustainable progress. That's something tire makers are experiencing now as they stare down 2030 and 2050 sustainability goals.

And the 2050 goals? Those, Spears said, are huge. Because major tire makers, including Continental, have pledged to manufacture 100-percent sustainable tires within the next 25 years.

"That is not easy," Spears said. "The closer you get to 100 the harder it is. It is not unlike the way that rolling resistance has gone over the years."

But if tire makers are going to do that—if they are really going to reach their 2030 and 2050 goals—those that aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement and include net zero operations—then it will require some good, old-fashioned discipline.

Well, that and a very clearly articulated plan for how to get there.

"I do wonder sometimes about the Paris Accord, quite frankly," Baldwin said. "Because the way it is written, there is no way mark, they're no way points. It's like, 'OK I'm going to quit smoking by 2035, and I'm going to drop 40 pounds by 2050, and then you're still reaching for those cigarettes in 2034. And from what I can tell … (it doesn't appear) that anyone is going to get there. So, then what are we going to do? What is the next point?"

Ultimately, he said, achieving meaningful sustainability aims must come back to the simple truth that sustainability is the right thing to do.

But more than that, he said, the industry needs some urgency. It needs to capture the potential of sustainable business models and take risks to lead it forward.

"We have to find a way to make a sustainable business model that works," Baldwin said. "… With scrap tires, we think there is a business there. Not a business 10 years from now, but a business that we can get to scale and get moving sooner rather than later. That, to me, is the way the industry needs to start thinking about this."