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Environmental Stewardship
Our commitment to environmental stewardship
USTMA members demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship throughout a tire’s life cycle and seek out opportunities for continuous improvement.
These efforts include conducting research and investing in development to identify new, more sustainable tire materials; reducing the environmental footprint of manufacturing facilities, products and processes; improving the rolling efficiency of a tire throughout its life and supporting sustainable scrap tire markets.
Read more about our climate principles.
Vision 3: Tire Materials
USTMA MEMBERS STRIVE TO INCREASE THE USE OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS IN THE TIRES WE MANUFACTURE.
Tires contain many rubber compounds and other materials because they are required to safely perform in the face of a wide range of demanding conditions. Compounding–the process of selecting and combining materials for a specific tire component–is complex.
The specific makeup of each tire compound is dictated by how and where it will be used within the tire — tread or sidewall, structural plies or stabilizing bead — and the specific safety and performance attributes desired. Improved sustainability performance must complement these essential attributes, an opportunity and a challenge USTMA members have embraced.
Vision 4: GHG Emissions
USTMA MEMBERS STRIVE TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS THROUGHOUT A TIRE’S LIFE CYCLE.
Tire manufacturers recognize our role in mitigating climate change throughout a tire’s life cycle. USTMA members are committed to:
Manufacturing products that reduce CO2 emissions;
Research and development of materials with lower carbon footprints;
Proactive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our manufacturing facilities; and
Advancing the circular economy for scrap tires.
Read more about our efforts here.
Vision 5: Commitment to research
USTMA MEMBERS ARE COMMITTED TO UNDERSTANDING OUR PRODUCTS IMPACT.
USTMA members are committed to sustainable practices in every aspect of their businesses and embrace a shared responsibility of helping to achieve a more sustainable society, continually looking for new ways to improve the societal contributions of their products and operations. As part of this, we remain committed to understanding any potential impacts of our tires on human health and the environment.
Vision 6: End-of-Life Tires
USTMA MEMBERS SHARE THE GOAL THAT ALL END-OF-LIFE TIRES ENTER SUSTAINABLE AND CIRCULAR END USE MARKETS.
Tires are one of the most recycled products in the U.S. The management of end-of-life tires has been a priority for USTMA members for almost three decades. USTMA works with stakeholders, including states, the U.S. EPA and the industry, to incentivize market development and advance federal and state regulations that foster sustainable tire recycling markets. According to our 2021 Scrap Tire Management Report, approximately 71% of end-of-life tires currently go to end-use tire recycling markets.
Our Pillars
USTMA recognizes three essential pillars of sustainability: safety, environment, and economic impact. In addition to creating safe products and workplaces, explore how USTMA members embrace sustainable mobility of the future, employ innovation and drive the U.S. economic engine.
Economic Impact
The tire manufacturing industry brings jobs and investment to the U.S. economy and supports more than 250,000 U.S. jobs totaling almost $20 billion in wages across our supply chain.
Tire Care & Safety
Tire manufacturers are always in pursuit of excellence by inventing new ways to design and engineer tires. That's why tires today are much safer and better performing than the tires of just a couple decades ago.