Sustainability is a vague idea. How do you define sustainability in the natural rubber sector?

I think sustainability is vague if you have not looked at it with a good set of eyes. If you see it as a concept, then it certainly is not vague. Many standards have been introduced in the last 30 years and organisations and stakeholders have worked around this concept. The sustainability concept is evolving and is very well defined in the areas we operate in nowadays.

GPSNR defines sustainability through a multi-stakeholder process where we bring in members of GPSNR together. Our organisation represents all parts of the supply chain, from smallholders to processors and traders to manufacturers and civil society. Today, we represent about 60 percent of the global natural rubber volume.

Our supply chain sustainability commitments include the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. The definition of sustainability for our members is now very well defined through a document, which is approved and called the policy framework document. This is a set of eight overarching themes that include commitments to legal compliance, community livelihoods, healthy and functioning ecosystems (including no deforestation) and respecting all human rights. Our GPSNR members need to have policies aligned for the production and procurement of sustainable natural rubber.

The great news is that after the document was approved last year, the GPSNR members are now aligning and publishing policies to be in line with this framework. Of course, these are commitments that do not explicitly mean implementation. Now the next step for us would be reporting requirements for our members. The members will have to publish reports every year, and we are defining the requirements for these reports now. For them,           it will be to demonstrate how they are reaching this commitment. We are also working on implementation guidance that will help companies implement an assurance model. It aims to understand the different risks and identify the modes of assurance based on the level of risk. It ensures that the commitments are met and that any claim the company makes on sustainability is verified.

Would there be any mechanism to know how companies are implementing the policies?

For GPSNR, it is not about reinventing the wheel. We don't want to create another certification standard. We have certification systems out there. I think, especially in the rubber sector, we need something that goes a bit broader than the current specification for certification because we have 85 percent production coming from independent smallholders, owning 1-2 hectares of land each, which makes it quite challenging to scale up certification promptly. So we are building up an assurance model, which is going to be a risk basis. The basic idea behind this is that instead of having a standard where you have to tick all the boxes of the standard, we will look at your situation. We are going to have a map of risk globally. So, based on the level of risk, we ask our members to have different levels of assurance.

For example, if we are sourcing from a place where everything was developed years ago, your risk of deforestation might be low. We might not require you to do a full deforestation assessment. Or maybe your risk in the supply chain is very high in terms of labour with migrants; we will ask you to have a more in-depth and third party assessment for that.

And this way, we hope to be able to bring down the cost of assurance and make the process a bit linear so that we can focus on what matters.

GPSNR was established in 2019. Could you highlight the achievements of GPSNR so far?

We are quite a young organisation considering it is a multi-stakeholder organisation. We started with just 11 members.  , we soon had 16-17 members, including some processors and traders in automotive, but now we are reaching 130 members.

As mentioned earlier, today, our members represent well above 50 percent of the global rubber market volume. Even if you compare it to other similar organisations with long-standing in other commodities, we are far above what others have seen in terms of representation. One of the most significant achievements that I would mention is the policy framework and its commitments and the ability to align the members with it to make a difference in the natural rubber supply chain.

I feel very confident that through this change, we will be able to reach the smallholders and improve their situation, which is really at the heart of GPSNR.

How do you make sure that there will be traceability and transparency in case of violation of rights?

That's a fair point. One of the key things that we managed to ensure is that smallholders are included in decision making in GPSNR processes. So now we have 28 smallholders that represent 8  different countries at the moment. They're a part of GPSNR as members, but they don't pay any fees.

They have been selected the representatives  through workshops conducted by us. Several smallholders participated in the workshops, and I do think that we're trying our utmost to ensure that their participation is meaningful. They understand how to engage in the platform and how to make their voice heard within the platform.

We ensure that everything GPSNR is doing is co-designed with smallholders. I don't mean to say that we represent all the seven million smallholders out there, but we're making strides as much as possible.

In terms of the grievances, we have set up a grievance mechanism that is open and transparent. Any stakeholder now can file complaints through GPSNR, and an independent panel of experts would review this. We hope to ensure that there is at least a communication channel and ways to address discrepancies through that system.

I think traceability can be defined in very different ways. So, traceability, in my mind, is knowing from where a specific batch of rubber is coming and keeping it separate from others in the supply chain.There is some merit to that and some approaches to do a certification. We need to look at transparency to ensure that companies know where we are sourcing from. They have to take responsibility for their suppliers' operations as if it was their operations.

What are the steps undertaken by GPSNR to curb illegal activities of companies like land grabbing etc.?

I think the first and most crucial step is to identify what can and cannot be done, because, unfortunately, in developing countries, maybe at times, the legal requirements do not match with the social licence to operate requirements expected in the sustainable world. That's one aspect, and there's also the enforcement, and due diligence might not be as good as expected. So, I don't think that the policy framework of GPSNR does a very good job in identifying what those do's and don'ts are. As for GPSNR members, I do believe strongly that the policies that are now in place will set a good foundation to ensure that the buyers will trigger these requirements down the supply chain.

We have seen that due diligence can only stop deforestation and land grabbing and other such activities in the entire supply chain to some extent. What we need is incentives, and that's why one of the critical challenges that we're finding in GPSNR is to identify how we can bring up financial and non-financial  incentives to companies and smallholders to operate sustainably.

For example, we have a working group on shared responsibility looking at how the companies can act together to solve issues that cannot be solved by a single company on its own. I deeply believe that most of these issues are linked to livelihood. May be we need to ensure that they get the right amount of compensation for their rubber production so that they don't have to open up another hectare to meet their livelihoods requirements.

Would you be working with the government in different countries? How difficult is it to work with the government?

GPSNR does not have direct government involvement, but we do collaborate with them. We have an MoU with IRSG, the international rubber research organisation. So by working with them, we have set up a series of dialogues with governments where we brought up, in the past year, the work of GPSNR, seeking opportunities to collaborate.

We are in touch with the local government agencies to ensure that we have public and private partnerships. Governments are key stakeholders, and especially when we want to reach smallholders at a large scale, we cannot forget to ensure that the governments are involved in the work we do.

Nineteen leading companies have joined your organisation. How difficult do you find it to make standard solutions?

Well, that's the beauty of the multi-state process and co-design process. So, it took a while, but the policy framework was designed with the input of all members. Everyone had the chance to chip in and find a synergistic approach together with the civil society organisations.

I think it's also doable as the world is becoming more global. There are differences in how the companies operate, but the global expectations are quite clear to everyone and every company as all aim to become global leaders. And that has helped in aligning the expectations.

You have around 130 members at present. How do you want to expand?

Until now, the membership that we've seen coming in is mostly from within the tyre sector. We are having discussions and interest from potential members outside the tyre sector but still in the rubber sector. Our setup already allows for the inclusion of known tyre members, but we're not just a tyre-focused association; we are a natural rubber-focused association. So the door is open for these entities, which is the focus of our expansion.

What are the challenges?

Covid has not been easy, but in a multi-stakeholder organisation, we're trying to build trust among our members for them to work together. We are human, so we're social animals, and trust is created by having interactions. So building trust has been really challenging.

But I do hope that as we come out of this crisis, this becomes easier for us as we want to reinstate physical gatherings and get our members together, which will help us move faster than we are today.

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JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. has formally completed the merger of its subsidiary, Cavendish Industries Ltd., into its operations, a strategic move that follows Cavendish's acquisition in 2016. At that time, Cavendish was operating at only 30 percent of its manufacturing capacity for various vehicle tyres. Under JK Tyre's stewardship, the subsidiary received extensive managerial, financial and technical support, which facilitated a complete operational turnaround. Through optimised manufacturing processes, capacity utilisation dramatically increased to 95 percent. Additional expansion at the Laksar facility further bolstered its substantial contribution to the company's overall tyre production.

This consolidation is projected to generate significant value by combining operational strengths, achieving greater economies of scale, and creating a more robust and diversified product portfolio. The unified entity will also benefit from an extensive, integrated distribution network. The merger aligns with JK Tyre's enduring strategy of pursuing sustainable growth through both organic projects and strategic acquisitions. Cavendish’s successful integration represents the company’s third major operational turnaround, following previous revitalisations of Vikrant Tyres and JK Tornel Mexico, alongside the establishment of two Greenfield plants.

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Hankook Tire has further solidified its commitment to sustainable manufacturing with the recent International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS awarded to its Daejeon plant. This globally recognised certification validates the use of bio-based and recycled materials and ensures supply chain transparency, representing the company’s third such achievement following earlier certifications at its Geumsan and Hungary facilities. At the Daejeon site, the substitution of fossil-based synthetic rubber with bio-circular polymers has substantially lowered the environmental impact across the entire product lifecycle.

This milestone reinforces Hankook Tire’s comprehensive ESG strategy, which now encompasses original equipment, replacement and motorsport tyre production. A notable example is the supply of high-performance rally tyres, incorporating up to 31 percent sustainable materials, for the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship. The company’s sustainable innovation is also evident in products like the iON evo tyre for the Porsche Taycan, which uses 45 percent recycled and recyclable materials without compromising performance. Similarly, the iON GT replacement tyre for the European market integrates up to 77 percent certified materials and has earned top EU Tyre Label ratings.

Beyond product development, Hankook Tire is pioneering future mobility solutions, showcased by a concept tyre with 81 percent sustainable materials presented at IAA Mobility 2025. In electric motorsport, as the exclusive tyre supplier for Formula E, the company has earned the FIA’s highest environmental accreditation and is set to introduce the iON Race tyre containing 35 percent sustainable materials.

To accelerate these efforts, Hankook Tire is pursuing open innovation through collaborations with technology partners such as ROTOBOOST and Solvay, focusing on advanced materials like turquoise hydrogen-based carbon black and circular silica. The company is also engaged in national research consortia to validate carbon-reduction technologies and enhance the commercial readiness of sustainable alternatives, consistently aiming to merge high performance with ecological responsibility across its global operations.

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Bridgestone India has reconstructed and revitalised the government school in Kuti village, near the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) in Madhya Pradesh, under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The project directly serves a marginalised community of tribal groups and migrant labourers from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Previously, the school operated in a perilous and crumbling structure, lacking even basic facilities for its 175 students, despite the steadfast efforts of three teachers. The new, purpose-built campus now provides structurally safe and vibrant classrooms, dedicated child-friendly spaces and access to essential amenities.

This transformation is set to dramatically improve student enrolment and daily attendance by replacing a hazardous environment with one that is secure and conducive to learning. More than just infrastructure, the initiative instils a renewed sense of dignity and aspiration in both students and their families, who work primarily as daily-wage labourers, vegetable vendors and construction workers.

Executed in collaboration with the district administration and education department, this effort reflects Bridgestone India’s core mission of driving long-term social impact through strategic community partnerships. By focusing on critical gaps in educational infrastructure for displaced and underserved populations, the company fosters an environment where children can truly thrive and communities can build a more hopeful future.

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Marking a significant milestone, the Nokian Tyres facility in Oradea, Romania, produced its one millionth tyre of the year on 20 December 2025, thereby reaching its annual production target. This new factory, inaugurated in September 2024, began deliveries in March and is dedicated to supplying passenger car tyres for the European market.

Its inaugural year saw the production of premium models like the Nokian Tyres Snowproof 2 winter tyre, upholding the company’s 90-year legacy of safety and sustainability. The product range expanded this year with the launch of two further tyres for Europe: the Seasonproof 2 all-season and the Powerproof 2 summer tyre, with more new products planned for future manufacture at the site.

Distinguished as the world’s first full-scale zero-CO2-emissions tyre factory, the Oradea plant operates entirely without fossil fuels, employing cutting-edge production technology. Upon its anticipated completion around the end of 2027, it will become Nokian Tyres’ largest global production facility, accounting for roughly 40 percent of total capacity. It represents the company’s third major manufacturing hub alongside its existing factories in Nokia, Finland, and Dayton, US. Currently, the Romanian operation employs over 500 people, underscoring its important role in Nokian Tyres’ strategic European production network.

Paolo Pompei, President and CEO, Nokian Tyres, said, “I am very proud of our entire team for their hard work in reaching this milestone. It is a strong testament to our commitment to customers across Europe, enhancing our service level and delivering innovative products that ensure safety and comfort for drivers in all conditions.”

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