Continental tyre goes green in Portugal

CONTINENTAL TYRE has recently had its Portuguese production facility accredited with the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certification.

The internationally recognised certification confirms Continental’s compliance with special sustainability standards and, according to the manufacturer, attests to transparency regarding the traceability of the raw materials used in the production processes.

Continental says that by certifying the source of its raw materials, it can ensure complete traceability of materials from sustainable sources.

The ISCC Plus certification is another string in the bow for Continental Tyre as it continues its journey towards 100 per cent sustainable materials in its products by 2050.

Continental’s Portuguese facility – which currently produces the world’s most sustainable series production tyre – has a share of up to 65 per cent renewable, recycled and mass balance certified materials.

Up to 28 percent of these are accounted for by ISCC Plus-certified materials, such as synthetic rubber made from biobutadiene or industrial carbon black, parts of which are produced from circular oil.

“The certification underscores our strong commitment to more transparency along the entire supply chain, while enabling the introduction of new and more sustainable materials,” said Continental Tyre head of sustainability, Jorge Almeida.

“We want to extend the internationally recognised ISCC Plus certification to our other tyre plants as well.”

Mr Almeida said the subject of the certification were the processes for the mass balance of raw materials. In the mass balance approach, fossil, renewable and recycled raw materials are mixed in existing systems and processes.

He explained that the quantities of the materials are tracked throughout the value chain and allocated to one or more initial products. The so-called mass balance approach enables Continental Tyre to successively increase the proportion of sustainable materials in its products.

Further, it ensures that the proportion of certified sustainable materials can be precisely reported in the balance sheet.

By the middle of the century, Continental Tyre aims to have all its products made entirely from sustainable materials. It is also working intensively to switch as many raw materials as possible in production to sustainable materials, including agricultural waste such as the ash from rice husks, rubber from dandelions, recycled rubber, or PET bottles.

“The UltraContact NXT, our most sustainable tyre to date, is produced in Lousado (Portugal). I am very proud of the performance of our team and the great progress we are making in the area of sustainability along the entire value chain, not only in our plant,” said Continental Tyre Lousado chief executive, Pedro Carreira.

“Our successful ISCC Plus certification is another example of that.”

ISCC Plus is an internationally recognised voluntary certification system. It applies to the bioeconomy and circular economy and certifies non-conventional raw materials that can be used in, for example, food, feed, chemicals, plastics, packaging, and textiles.

The various criteria required for ISCC Plus certification include traceability of raw materials, meeting environmental standards, protecting ecosystems, ensuring compliance with labour and human rights, and promoting sustainable economic development.