US tire manufacturer Goodyear has announced that it will adopt 100% renewable energy at its plants in Europe and Turkey as the first step in a multi-phase plan to procure 100% renewable energy.
Goodyear aims to achieve this at most of its facilities within Europe, the Middle East and Africa by 2022, with company locations in South Africa, and Cooper Tire plants in Serbia and the UK to be evaluated during a second phase.
Following the development of its long-term climate strategy, the change will reduce the operational impact caused by Goodyear’s manufacturing sites, in line with the tire maker’s goal of reducing carbon emissions intensity by 25% by 2023 compared with a 2010 baseline. In 2020, Goodyear announced it had achieved a 19% intensity reduction when compared with the same baseline.
The tire manufacturer will purchase approximately 700,000MWh of renewable electricity and, as a result, Goodyear’s carbon footprint will be reduced by around 260,000 tons. This will enable production facilities in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey and the Netherlands to operate solely on sustainably sourced energy.
To aid in achieving the shift Goodyear will increase company use of hydro, wind, solar and geothermic biomass power. To ensure electricity has been sourced sustainably, the manufacturer procures a Guarantees of Origin (GoOs), providing its customers with information on the source of energy.
“Switching to 100% renewable electricity at these production facilities fits perfectly with our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint,” commented Chris Delaney, president, Goodyear EMEA. “Furthermore, this decision shows that we are taking serious steps to continuously reduce Goodyear’s environmental impacts, which is vitally important to ensure a better future for us all.”
