Sustainability has been an industry buzzword, it seems, ever since Charles Goodyear used sulfur on natural rubber to create the vulcanization process.
For the last several decades, tire makers have tried to one-up each other, creating a more sustainable tire that performs as good as, or better than, a conventional tire. Their progress has been phenomenal; however, the industry at large has been slow to embrace it, at least from our perspective.
While manufacturers have worked hard to create sustainable tires for consumers, it's extremely interesting that executives from the top two tire makers in the world in terms of global sales — Michelin Group and Bridgestone Corp. — talk sustainability within the commercial tire sector.
For a great many consumers, price, treadwear and availability — along with a tire dealer's recommendation — speak louder than sustainability. It just doesn't seem to be a high priority with consumers.
But when a tire maker can produce a sustainable commercial product, and, just as crucially, convince fleet operators that using those tires makes a significant impact economically and environmentally, it can be a game changer, as Michelin's Luigi Cumo, vice president of B2B marketing at Michelin North America Inc., told us.
Michelin, which is aiming to make tires with 40% recycled and renewable materials by 2030, is partnering with Daimler Truck North America, whose goal is to produce carbon-neutral vehicles by 2039.
By 2050, Michelin intends to produce tires with 100% recycled and renewable materials while achieving net zero carbon emissions across its value chain.
Michelin equipped Daimler's Freightliner SuperTruck II, an all-electric concept truck released in 2023, with tire "optimized for the positions they have, and they bring significant impact in rolling resistance," according to Cumo, who said there is a 16% improvement over the baseline in rolling resistance for the steer tires, an 8% improvement for the drive tire and a 26% improvement in the tag axle.
As new fleet technology solutions add to better efficiencies, commercial tires can be some of the most environmentally friendly products on the road.
"So we're trying to kind of bring together technology along with great new and retreaded products, along with solutions and then sustainability to kind of bring that whole package of value together," Steve Hoeft, president of Bridgestone Americas Inc.'s Commercial Truck Group, said.
Hoeft told us that fleets, especially larger ones, are showing increased interest in sustainability.
"... Even in the last 12 to 18 months, (interest) has picked up dramatically on the fleet side," Hoeft said.
Early last year, Goodyear introduced a demonstration tire composed of 90% sustainable materials. At the time, the company said its goal was to produce the industry's first 100% sustainable tire by 2030.
Perhaps the commercial truck industry will lead the way in the industry's overall acceptance of sustainable products. Commercial fleets moved 72.5% of the nation's freight in 2022, according to the American Trucking Associations.
That accounts for a lot of tires on the nation's roads. And the more sustainable those tires become, the better it is for all of us.
