Sustainable Natural Rubber Procurement Policy – TOYO Tires

TOYO TIRES Revises and Establishes Sustainable Natural Rubber Procurement Policy

Hyogo, Japan–July 29, 2021–Toyo Tire Corporation (Headquarters: Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture; President & CEO: Takashi Shimizu) announces that it has taken up a perspective of sustainability to re-examine its natural rubber procurement policy, which was included in the CSR Procurement Guidelines that prescribe the proper procurement process for the Toyo Tire Group (hereinafter, the Group), and has revised and established it as an independent policy.

Natural rubber is the Group’s primary raw materials, and the Group considers it an important management issue to ensure sustainability in the procurement process. Therefore, it has been a part of the SNR-I*1 since 2016 and GPSNR*2 since 2018 so that it may work with its global stakeholders towards achieving sustainable natural rubber procurement.

The Group began implementation of the CSR Procurement Guidelines in 2010, and it has worked with suppliers to promote procurement that addresses the resolution of issues. Moreover, in 2019, the Group also added a policy to these Guidelines for the sustainable procurement of raw materials, primarily natural rubber.

In order to solidify and express its intention to deal more appropriately with social issues such as environmental conservation, human rights and labor issues throughout the natural rubber supply chain, the Group has incorporated GPSNR’s Principles of Sustainable Natural Rubber into its procurement activities in a more concrete manner and established an independent "Sustainable Natural Rubber Procurement Policy" from its existing CSR Procurement Guidelines.

(For more information, click here: https://www.toyotires-global.com/csr/pdf/sustainable_en.pdf)

Reacting to the Group’s establishment of this Sustainable Natural Rubber Procurement Policy, Stefano Savi, GPSNR Platform Director, offered the following comment: "We’re happy to see the Toyo Tire Group align with GPSNR’s policy framework and further institutionalise their commitment to a fair, equitable and sustainable natural rubber value chain. Since GPSNR finds 50% of the natural rubber demand represented in its membership, the adoption of the policy framework by the Toyo Tire Group and other member companies is a step ahead for the industry at large. We hope it encourages others to follow suit."

The Group will continue to promote responsible procurement in accordance with this policy and will aim to build a sustainable natural rubber supply chain in partnership with all of its stakeholders.

*1　Sustainable Natural Rubber Initiatives
Established by the International Rubber Study Group (an intergovernmental organization composed of rubber producers and rubber consumer stakeholders). This organization aims to make natural rubber into a sustainable resource by supporting the improvement of productivity, improving the quality of natural rubber, supporting the sustainability of forests, managing water, and placing importance on human rights and labor rights.
http://www.snr-i.org/

*2　Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber
Established by the Tire Industry Project’s Sustainable Natural Rubber Working Group in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The council works with a wide range of stakeholders in the natural rubber supply chain to create and promote the Sustainable Natural Rubber Principles.
https://sustainablenaturalrubber.org/