GENEVA — The Tire Industry Project (TIP) has added three industry trade groups — the Australian Tyre Industry Council (ATIC), the British Tyre Manufacturers' Association (BTMA) and the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) of India — as affiliate members.
TIP affiliate members engage with the organization to strengthen the global tire industry's issue sensing and engagement on topics within the scope of the TIP's mission, but do not contribute to the governance of the project.
"Tire trade associations are instrumental to the realization of a sustainable tire value-chain," TIP Executive Director Larisa Kryachkova said, "and their regional expertise and insights are invaluable in understanding regulatory developments and offering global approaches to tire lifecycle sustainability. TIP builds strength with an increasingly diverse membership that is united by a vision of a world in which the tire value chain has a positive impact on people and the planet."
The TIP is expanding its membership as part of its mission of anticipating understanding, and addressing global environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues relevant to the tire industry and its value chain.
The TIP recently published a report, "Sustainability Driven: Key Performance Indicators for the Tire Sector, 2019-22," that outlines the sustainability performance of its tire manufacturer members using key performance indicators (KPI) and qualitative information relevant to the sustainability performance of tire industry operations beyond manufacturing.
The ATIC, ATMA and BTMA are the sixth, seventh and eighth trade groups to join the TIP, joining the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers' Association (ETRMA), the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association (JATMA), the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association (KOTMA), the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC) and the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), which were named affiliate members in January 2023.
The TIP was formed in 2005 with the commitment to a science-driven and collaborative approach to tire-sector sustainability. The group updated its mission statement in February 2023 to include a commitment to sustainability, an updated governance structure and the recruitment of new members.
Silvio de Denaro, chairman of the ATIC, noted: "The challenges faced by the tire industry are becoming increasingly complex and global in their nature and their potential solutions. We have always held TIP in the highest esteem as one of the most active organizations in this domain."
ATA Chairman Anshuman Singhania added: "TIP's workplan, with an enhanced focus on sustainability-driven topics of interest and relevance to the global tire industry, such as end-of-life tires and tire abrasion, will provide an excellent platform for discussion and research on areas of common interest as well as for best-practice sharing among stakeholders."
BTMA Chief Executive Graham Wilson said his organization looks forward to the "mutual benefits" this relationship will bring, noting that the two groups had been developing informal ties over recent years.
The TIP's tire company roster comprises 10 firms that represent over 60% of the world's tire manufacturing capacity: Bridgestone Corp., Continental A.G., Goodyear, Hankook Tire & Technology, Kumho Tire Co. Inc., Michelin Group, Pirelli & C. S.p.A., Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., Toyo Tire Corp. and Yokohama Rubber Corp.