Continental Tire North America is expanding on its commitment to local and national environmental responsibility to help improve fuel efficiency, protect the environment, and build community with a new program called “Continental Tire Responsibility.”
“Continental Tire has been cognizant of the need to protect the environment for many years. Some of our first efforts at that were our tire lines that include silica in their compounds, which reduces rolling resistance and CO2 emissions,” said Andreas Gerstenberger, executive VP Sales & Marketing, Continental Tire North America. “Now, we’re prepared to take this a step further, and are developing tires with increased fuel economy and reduced CO2 emissions, using sustainable materials and processes.”
This movement toward producing a more environmentally-responsible tire also dovetails with the fact that major automobile manufacturers around the world are currently pushing ‘green’ vehicle alternatives, with hybrid, diesel, and electric engines.
The campaign is not limited solely to the company’s tires. The responsibility theme will trickle down into Continental’s corporate practices. By 2012, the company is committed to reducing energy consumption by 18% over 2007 levels, water usage by 17%, waste by 16.3%, and CO2 emissions by 15.5%.
