Reflections on COP28: How innovation drives us to a sustainable future

World business and political leaders have descended in Dubai for the annual UN climate summit, COP28. The sense of urgency is real, with scientists warning that 2023 has been the hottest year on record amid an unprecedented number of extreme weather events. All this comes with a devastating cost to the health and livelihoods of millions of people across the globe.?

The Paris Summit, eight years ago, was a landmark moment where world leaders promised to try to stop the planet’s heating by 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. At Apollo Tyres, we take this commitment seriously and are constantly working towards combating the perils of this global phenomenon. In our decarbonisation roadmap, we have set a target of being carbon neutral by 2050.?

Global and regional strategies have been developed, from where we have derived commitments to reduce the emission and water withdrawal intensities, diligently transitioning to renewable energy sources across our operations.???

A key theme for COP28 is using technology and innovation as a catalyst for greener business. Apollo Tyres continues to invest heavily in research and development, partnering with innovators in our R&D centres in Enschede, the Netherlands and Chennai, India, and Digital Innovation Hubs in London & Hyderabad to achieve our climate-conscious vision.

Material research and development

A cornerstone of Apollo Tyres' sustainability initiatives lies in our Material research and development endeavours. Recognising the pivotal role of material sustainability, the company is actively engaged in responsible sourcing, utilisation, and disposal of materials throughout their life cycle. A prime focus is developing cutting-edge reinforcing materials that enhance tyre performance and contribute to weight reduction.

Our raw materials and purchase departments drive sustainability while proactively collaborating with suppliers and our sustainability team to identify alternatives that have a low or negligible adverse environmental impact. This includes the integration of recycled rubber, recovered carbonaceous filler, rice husk silica, bio-oil, bio-monomer-based synthetic rubber, and reinforcements that have improved product sustainability across all categories.

To bolster our commitment, Apollo Tyres' R&D has established an in-house research facility equipped with advanced instruments to enhance the quality of recycled materials. This initiative ensures that the development of rubber compounds fulfils the requirement of product sustainability, which is seamlessly incorporated across the entire spectrum of products.

Process-level innovations

Beyond making our products greener, Apollo Tyres is also constantly working on making our manufacturing processes more efficient and sustainable. Our Digital Innovation hubs are helping us harness the power of AI to reduce scrap material produced during manufacturing.

AI and machine learning solutions are also helping us reduce bottlenecks and facilitate preventative maintenance. Strengthening our efforts towards carbon neutrality, we are also looking at ways to use AI analytics to identify improvement areas for carbon emission throughout our manufacturing process. Further data sharing can enable us to promptly address such issues in advance and improve decision-making.

We recognise that there is so much more work to be done in our journey to a greener, cleaner, more sustainable business that serves our customers, stakeholders across our value chain, and our planet. Taking Responsibility is one of our core values at Apollo Tyres. As a global player in the automotive and manufacturing industry, we recognise our role in protecting and preserving our planet for future generations.?