Strategy

Kumho Tire is advancing strategies to mitigate environmental impacts across the entire product lifecycle. From product development to raw material procurement, transportation, distribution, use, and disposal, we aim to reduce greenhouse gases, conserve resources, and minimize harmful environmental impacts at every stage. To this end, Kumho Tire has established a long-term strategy for Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) and is specifying and applying actionable plans to reduce environmental impacts at each stage, increasing the sales proportion of environmentally friendly products.


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LCA-Based Environmental Impact Reduction Measures

Based on the results of the LCA, we will explore process-specific environmental improvement measures, leading the development of carbon-reducing products and strengthening product competitiveness. To reduce the environmental impact of products, we consider environmental factors from the development stage, designing products accordingly, and expanding the use of low-carbon transportation (e.g., EVs, LNG ships) for raw material and product transportation.


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Target

Kumho Tire has set a long-term goal to increase the sales proportion of products with reduced environmental impacts. Kumho Tire aims to increase the sales proportion of environmental impact reduction products from 37.4% in 2023 to 50% by 2026 and 70% by 2030. In the short term, Kumho Tire will increase EV products and the proportion of materials and structures with less environmental impact. In the long term, Kumho Tire will continue research and development to replace petrochemical-based materials, developing new products with environmental impact reduced features. Additionally, we aim to convert 40% of raw materials to sustainable materials by 2030, and 100% by 2045.


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Products with Reduced Environmental Impacts Standards

Environmental impact reduction products meet at least one of the following criteria and compliance with relevant laws and regulations is continuously monitored.

Products with Reduced Environmental Impacts (meeting at least one criteria)

• Products for Electric Vehicles
• Application of New Environmental Impact Reduction Technologies
• Improved Energy Consumption Efficiency
• Products with Enhanced Wear Performance
• Noise Reduction Products 
• TBR Eco-Friendly Certified Products


Assessment

Establishment of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Process

Kumho Tire has been analyzing the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its products since 2021 as part of its efforts to reduce environmental impact. LCA is an evaluation method from the perspective of the entire product life cycle, from raw material to production, use, and disposal.

To provide timely LCA results, Kumho Tire completed the development of an LCA Tool in 2023. Based on this tool, we are expanding the range of products subject to LCA, and we plan to continuously expand the categories of environmental impact analysis beyond the climate change items, currently assessed.


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LCA Results

The results of calculating carbon emissions at each stage based on LCA for one tire specification are as follows.

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LCA Process Advancement Plan

To improve the accuracy of LCA data, we plan to collect and manage real data from suppliers’ cradle-to-gate stages to derive more accurate LCA results. Kumho Tire also plans to manage transportation means, weight, and distance information within SAP to more efficiently handle data in the raw material transport and distribution stages. For the usage stage, we plan to add an automatic calculation function to the K-LCA Tool to reduce the time required for LCA analysis. To enhance the environmental impact analysis of the disposal stage, we aim to establish an ELT (End-of-Life Tire) management and circular economy system through the traceability of our waste tires. Through this, we plan to build a database of the environmental impacts of waste tire recycling, incineration, and landfill methods, establishing a basis for accurately assessing environmental impacts across the entire product lifecycle.

LCA Verification

Kumho Tire received third-party verification for the Life Cycle Assessments conducted in 2022 and 2023. The environmental impact was assessed from the raw material stage to the disposal stage according to international standards for LCA (ISO 14040, 14044, 14067). We plan to continue verification of future LCA products to ensure reliability and enhance the accuracy of product unit carbon emission information.


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Performance

Development of Tire Raw Materials

In 2023, Kumho Tire successfully developed tires using 80% sustainable materials. Kumho Tire successfully expanded the use of renewable materials such as rice husk-based eco-friendly silica, bio-based eco-friendly chemicals and oils using sunflower oil, and recycled materials such as recycled PET from plastic bottles, recycled steel cordrom scrap metal, and etc.

To continuously develop eco-friendly tire raw materials, Kumho Tire signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the European petrochemical group Synthos. We are jointly conducting a research and development project on NdBR (ultrahigh cis-polybutadiene rubber, material suitable for tires and golf balls with excellent rebound elasticity and wear resistance, and dust reduction) using Bio-BD, eco-friendly gas produced from alcohol, instead of petroleum-based butadiene gas. We plan to expand the use of eco-friendly synthetic rubber in tire manufacturing processes. Additionally, we signed an MOU with Orion Korea, the Korean subsidiary of Orion S.A., a U.S. specialty chemical products manufacturer, to conduct a tire research and development project using carbon black derived from renewable raw materials such as vegetable oil or other bio-oils and pyrolysis oil from waste tires.

Status of Waste Tire Utilization

Evaluations for four raw materials derived from waste tires, including devulcanized rubber, fine powdered rubber, recycled carbon, and tire pyrolysis oil carbon, have been completed, and some materials are being used in tire production. In the future, Kumho Tire plans to review and evaluate the refining of tire pyrolysis oil and its application in products.


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Participation in WBCSD-TIP Research Projects

Since 2005, Kumho Tire has been participating in the Tire Industry Project(TIP) under the World Business Council for Sustainable Development(WBCSD), collaborating with global tire manufacturers to address and manage ESG issues across the tire industry and value chain, contributing to a sustainable future. TIP commissions independent research to world-class specialized research institutions, collaborates with external stakeholders to solve issues, and transparently discloses the results. Additionally, to achieve a 40% usage rate of sustainable materials by 2030, Kumho Tire is participating in the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber(GPSNR) and establishing waste tire management systems, contributing to Net-Zero through annual environmental indicator management.

2023-2024 Research Topics
- Research on Quantification and Toxicity of Tire Wear Particles in the Environment
- Development of a Global Waste Tire Management System
- Management and Transparent Disclosure of Environmental and Sustainable Development Goals Indicators