In this age, climate and environmental consciousness are instrumental for the success of any business. The global OTR and heavy commercial tyre industry is not an exception.
From sourcing of raw materials to end-of-life product recycling, most manufacturers have to bear the accountability for the environmental footprints they leave. One of the companies rising to the epitome of ecological consciousness in the Indian OTR, agricultural, and heavy commercial tyre sector is Birla Tyres.
The sustainability and ESG initiatives of Birla Tyres reflect the commitment of the manufacturers to exhibit ethical innovations, carbon neutrality, and circularity in every project they undertake.
Owned by a consortium of Himadri Specialty Chemicals Ltd and Dalmia Refractories, Birla Tyres has clinically shaped all of its sustainability initiatives.
The green vision of Birla Tyres is based around ESG. The manufacturers address significant challenges like environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Birla emphasizes the use of renewable resources, which contributes towards reducing environmental footprint.
Birla Tyres has taken some stand-out ethical and environmental initiatives as one of the frontline tyre manufacturers of the country. Here is a detailed evaluation of their main initiatives:
One of the pivotal objectives of Birla Tyres is to minimize environmental footprint. However, the tyre brand also conserves natural resources. Going forward Birla will invest more into advancing circular economy initiatives. Birla Tyres is also into supporting local communities.
Birla Tyres continuously strives to ensure that every step reflects sustainability and comply with UNSDGs. In compliance with SDGs, Birla Tyres is also optimizing resource consumption, ensuring that their environmental footprint makes them one of the leading most eco-friendly tyre manufacturers from India and further.
The initiatives taken by Birla Tyres suggest a gradual shift to sustainable operations with excellence and authority.
To understand why Birla Tyres is at the helm of global sustainability, you need to understand the global sustainability benchmarks that Birla Tyres is famous for.
Let’s start with examining the Tyre Industry Project (TIP), a global-level initiative and an allied framework created by WBCSD. TIP has outlined important roadmaps for the tyre manufacturers to make significant contributions towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Birla Tyres, with their sustainability drives, fit in appropriately into this sustainability arc.
There are five critical focus areas of TIP. Firstly, they emphasize responsible sourcing and stress tracing natural rubber. However, TIP also advocates circular economy models for all tyres in the market.
To reduce emissions, TIP’s suggestion is to reduce emissions across the entire supply chain of tyre manufacturers. Not only that. TIP notes that true sustainability is achieved through energy efficiency in manufacturers. With that in sight, all global tyre manufacturers need to achieve optimal water and energy use.
In the eyes of TIP, equality and neutrality are also equally important. Therefore, TIP advocates that all tyre manufacturers have gender equality and a decent work environment across their in-house facilities and supplier networks.
Birla Tyres follows a 4-faced approach to ensure compliance. First of all, Birla Tyres’ circularity targets. In pursuit of this goal, Birla Tyres has set an objective to repurpose 300,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres by the commencement of 2030.
Birla Tyres’ next targets are energy efficiency and water stewardship. The company is committed to achieving its goal of saving 80% of the energy consumed daily by 2030. For the latter, Birla Tyres plans to reduce water withdrawal intensity by at least 50% at some of the high-risk sites where they are currently operating.
The fourth area is gender inclusion. The women-only employee resource groups operating worldwide, such as WIN or WISE, have been fostering leadership and the safe positioning of women in corporate roles. Industries like manufacturing should be more concerned about the inclusion and safety of women in their work landscape. Birla Tyres is leaving behind a generous example on that note.
Birla Tyres is making steady progress towards a path of material innovation and reduced emissions. In the subcontinental market, Birla Tyres is already positioned as one of the most ethical producers and marketers of off road tyres, bus-truck bias, and agriculture tyres.
Despite their vital progress, Birla Tyres is also facing evolving challenges daily. The biggest issue remains the scaling of sustainable materials amidst constraints in the global supply chain. Moreover, Birla Tyres must meet its aggressive sustainability target to achieve global relevance as a top-tier ethical tyre manufacturer.
The third challenge is educating consumers about the importance of durable, sustainable, and responsible use. Customers in the Indian market are usually reluctant to pay higher upfront charges to buy sustainable tyres.
Furthermore, Birla Tyres must aggressively pursue EV partnerships to develop low-emission tyre solutions for both the Indian and international markets. Likely, the heavy vehicle tyre manufacturer is also looped into achieving blockchain traceability for rubber sourcing.
Currently, the primary focus areas for Birla Tyres are circularity, ethical sourcing, and innovation. The net-zero goals are a key to the global market, as the expanding global tire market prioritizes sustainability extensively. If you wish to know more about Birla Tyres, the products, and the brand journey, visit Birlatyre.com.
