KOBE, Japan — Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI) has converted the power source for its tire plants in Changshu and Hunan, China, to electric from renewable energy sources and disclosed plans to install solar power generators there later this year.
Sumitomo said these initiatives are part of its ongoing efforts to contribute to the "realization of a carbon-free society."
In August 2021 SRI published its "Driving Our Future Challenge 2050," a long-term sustainability policy that pledged to reduce total CO2 emissions at all group factories worldwide by 50% versus 2017 emissions levels by 2030 and achieve full carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Chinese factories started purchasing 100% of their electric power from renewable energy sources in January, SRI said.
The installation of solar power generators will help the factories reduce their total annual CO2 emissions from tire manufacturing processes by an estimated 70% compared with 2021 outputs.
Operational since 2004, the Changshu factory in eastern China has a rated production monthly capacity of 7,200 metric tons of passenger car, light truck and truck/bus tires.
Based in the central province of Hunan, Sumitomo Rubber Hunan, has been operational since 2012 and has a rated monthly capacity of just under 3,000 tons of passenger car and light truck tires.
