Sustainability Channel

Summer tyre tests, P Zero wins

A sweeping victory for P Zero in the summer tyre tests organised by the German motoring magazine Auto Zeitung, which this year put the products of 14 different manufacturers to the test in size 225/45 R 17.

In the six tests carried out in the wet, P Zero turned out to be unbeatable in braking from 100 kph, driving safety and handling and very good under aquaplaning. Commented the experts of Auto Zeitung, “The P ZERO shines in the wet with an incredibly high grip. It is the fastest and grippiest tyre and was also the best in the braking test”.

P Zero also convinced Auto Zeitung in the seven tests in the dry: “The Pirelli is among the absolute top and impresses with very high cornering speeds and directional stability”.

So the ultra-high performance Pirelli merited the accolade “highly recommended”, confirming its already acclaimed leadership on the world’s roads and Formula 1 circuits.

Pirelli a sustainable excellence testimonial

Ten among the major cement manufacturers belonging to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) – the World Council for Sustainable Development – met in Warsaw from 13-15 September to identify together positive actions to be taken to ensure a sustainable development in their sector of business. Among the objectives was to facilitate a meeting between cement producers in order that they may share ideas and practices and identify projects, in part due to the success of companies in other industrial sectors.

Pirelli was invited to attend theCement Sustainability Initiative as a company carrying out the best practices in the field. Can Alatas, Pirelli Turkey’s head of health, safety and the environment, first presented the Pirelli approach to sustainable management of the business and the recognition it had achieved, then he switched to the specific objective of his presentation: the practices adopted by Pirelli to constantly improve health and safety in the place of work. On the basis of research carried out by the Cement Sustainability Initiative, the Group’s practices were recognised as the best of those conducted by all companies in the Autoparts and Tyres sector.

At the end of the meeting, the cement producing companies approved a programme of objectives and actions that the sector intends to achieve over the next five years. They concern six areas: protection of the climate, fuel and raw materials, the health and safety of employees, emission reduction, local impact and internal business procedures.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development is an association with its headquarters in Geneva to which about 200 international companies in more than 30 countries belong – Pirelli among them – that proposes voluntary commitment to unite economic growth with sustainable development. In particular, Pirelli Tyre is part of the Tyre Industry Project Group, which was launched in 2006 to identify, with a view to sustainable development, the potential impact on health and the environment of materials associated with the production and use of tyres.

Maintenance at the heart of safety

Pirelli has joined the Safe and Healthy Working Environment campaign of the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work (EU-OSHA). The new 2010-2011 campaign, launched on 28 April by the European Commissioner for Work, Social Policies and Integration László Andor, centres on the theme of Safe Maintenance. The objective is to reduce the number of accidents at the place of work linked to maintenance practices.

The campaign envisages conferences, seminars, workshops and training sessions for the workers and all stakeholders involved in the work of maintenance, especially in the sectors in which the health and safety of the workers is most at risk, such as building, agriculture and chemistry. As well as the events that will take place throughout Europe over the next 18 months, in particular in October during the European Week for Safety and Health at Work, free informative printed and digital information will be distributed on the subjects of maintenance and safety.

Among the activities that Pirelli will promote is the organisation of an HSE Pirelli International meeting at one of the premises at which an EU-OSHA delegation will participate, and the external diffusion of good maintenance practices.

“We estimate that 20% of all accidents at work in Europe are connected with the practice of maintenance, and in some sectors half of them take place due to inadequate maintenance”, said Jukka Takala, director of the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work. “That is why it is fundamental that maintenance is carried out correctly, especially if workers’ health and security are at stake”.

This is the second partnership for Pirelli after that of last year centred on the Evaluation of Risk, which was proposed to promote a participatory approach to the evaluation of risks based on consultation and the participation of all people present at the place of work.

With over 30 countries involved and a volume of about four million items of informative material distributed in all the official languages of the European Union, over time the European campaign has become one of the most extensive annual awareness campaigns.

More details concerning the campaign and the commitments made by Pirelli can be found on the European Agency’s site in the appropriate section:
http://osha.europa.eu/en/campaigns/hw2010