Premium tyre manufacturer Hankook has a clear goal regarding sustainability with a long-term vision and proactive approach to addressing the environmental challenges in tyre manufacturing
Hankook has taken sustainability as a core element in its business plan
Hankook is committed to investing in sustainability across every aspect of a tyre’s life from sourcing sustainable raw materials to R&D focus on materials, product performance and new product developments as well as the production of retreaded tyres under the brand name Alphatread.
Hankook has received further recognition of their dedication in the past 4 months with the ISCC PLUS Certification for its state-of-the-art production plant in Racálmás, Hungary and the “Sustainable Future 2023” award by Car and Driver, in recognition of its outstanding environmental efforts in fostering eco-friendly practices.
Hankook is taking the lead in fostering sustainability in procurement of raw materials by participating in a blockchain-based project on the traceability and sustainability of natural rubber. PROJECT TREE by ITOCHU Corporation, an international trading company, is the first step to establish traceability in the natural rubber industry by using blockchain technology. The company is working with its supply chain partners to improve the quality of life for natural rubber producers increase the quality of natural rubber and minimise environmental impact. Hankook tyres manufactured through the project are being sold in the UK market in partnership with Kwik-Fit.
Exemplary of Hankook’s commitment to sustainable natural rubber production is their pledge to provide a total of 6,000 litres of formic acid to more than 100 producers in Indonesia. Formic acid serves as an environmentally friendly and responsible coagulant for rubber production that contributes to greater occupational safety and health protection. Other coagulants harm vegetation, contribute to water pollution and can thus threaten biodiversity in wetlands. The tyre industry accounts for around 70 per cent of the natural rubber produced and consumed worldwide, and around 85 per cent of global rubber production relies on smallholders in Southeast Asia
The tyre industry is under unprecedented pressure to produce better tyres – tyres with more mileage, better fuel/lower CO2, higher load ratings, better safety/wet grip and using more sustainable production processes and materials. Hankook is investing heavily in research and development and innovations in tyres. The global R&D centre “Hankook Technodome” functions as a central hub for Hankook’s global R&D infrastructure and connects 4 regional technical centres as well as the “Hankook Technotrac” in Ivalo, Finland, for winter testing, Idiada, Spain, for summer tyre testing and Nürburgring, Germany, for high performance testing. This demonstrates Hankook’s integrated approach to tyre sustainability, development and production in Europe.
As a member of the Tire Industry Project (TIP) under the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Hankook is teaming up with other global tyre makers to engage in a wide spectrum of activities to ensure that end-of-life tyres are appropriately disposed of.
Hankook has also announced its participation in the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Campaign – an urgent call to action for companies to set targets to limit global warming to 1.5°C and to avoid the worst impacts of climate change by striving for a net-zero future. Led by SBTi in cooperation with international partners, over 1,300 global companies are participating in this campaign. Hankook’s aim is to achieve carbon neutrality by mitigating GHG emissions along each phase of the value chain (sourcing of materials, transport, manufacturing and distribution).
In the truck and bus market Hankook is forecasting strong market growth for retreaded tyres in the commercial vehicle sector – especially for particularly high-quality retreads. This growth is being driven by increasing cost sensitivity and an increasing emphasis on sustainability in the transport industry. Hankook’s SmartLife Solutions concept demonstrates the advantages of hot retread for fleet companies and Hankook has a five-year agreement with Vaculug, one of the UK’s largest independent retread producers, to offer its fleet and dealer partners a cost effective and ecological solution with the Hankook Alphatread brand.
Hankook Alphatread hot retreads can deliver up to 100 per cent of the mileage achieved with a new tyre and equivalent performance for around 60 per cent of the cost. If the regrooving and retreading process is continued in line with the Hankook SmartLife Solutions concept, the service life of a new tyre can be increased to 250%. This not only relieves the strain on natural resources but also benefits the fleet operators reducing the CO2 per vehicle per year.
