Source: Carlo Furgeri Gilbert, 2008, Pirelli Foundation’s Historical Archive
Two groups of boys and girls from eleven to fourteen years old have participated to the “Girls’ and Boys’ Day” to discover the world of Pirelli’s manufacturing in Germany.
For the 15th time, Breuberg plant opened its doors to young students so that they could discover the manufacturing process and the different careers in the tyre industry.
It was a way to discover aptitudes and carriers which in the past were considered as a specific gender exclusive but that today have certainly overcome all gender barriers.
Divided into two groups, the students participated to a special “behind the scenes” tour into the Breuberg plant and in the nearby Pirelli Museum.
A great opportunity for education and to discover the different professions and careers paths.
SINCE 2009 WATER DRAWING REDUCED BY 42%, WASTE RECOVERY INCREASED BY18% to 91% OF TOTAL
AVERAGE TRAINING 8.3 DAYS PER EMPLOYEE, BEYOND PLANNED GOALS
FONDAZIONE PIRELLI PRESENTS A JOURNEY THROUGH THE EVOLUTION OF SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
Growth of revenues from Green Performance products, reduction of specific water drawing, increased rate of waste recovery, training days per employee beyond the targets of the industrial plan, new partnership with strategic suppliers for natural rubber, in support of producers of natural rubber and safeguarding bio-diversity. These are the main results of Pirelli’s Sustainability Strategy, broken down through the company’s various profiles: economic, environmental and social. Since 2009, the base year for the mid-to-long term sustainability goals that Pirelli set for itself, significant progress has been achieved in the development and realization of Green Performance products as part of the ever greater attention to the containment of environmental impacts deriving for the entire life cycle of the tyre, is the dissemination of a culture of safety and the support of employees and the outside communities in which the company operates.
In 2015, in particular, almost half (48% compared with 46% registered in 2014) of Pirelli’s tyre revenues came from Green Performance products, almost double the 2009 level when it was equal to 25% and above the target in the 2013-2017 sustainability plan which aimed at reaching the value only at the end of 2017. These results are the fruit of intense Research & Development Activities at Pirelli’s laboratories, aimed at the development of ever more advanced tyres at both the technological and performance levels, but at the same time able to ensure better environmental performances such as reduction of rolling resistance and noise, lower weight and greater endurance. The investments in Research & Development amount annually to over 3% of total revenues, one of the highest levels in the sector, and in 2015 they totaled about 215 million euro (3.4% of total revenues) an increase from 205.5 million euro in 2014 and 133 million euro in 2009.
Among the most significant results of the company’s commitment to the safeguarding and protection of the environment is the reduction of water drawing: in 2015, in particular, Pirelli registered absolute water drawing slightly above 11 million cubic metres, with a reduction of specific drawing of 3% compared with 2014 and 42% compared with 2009. Thanks to the effort of all production sites worldwide, from 2009 to today the water savings have totaled 30 million cubic metres: a quantity only slightly lower that the Pirelli’s group’s absolute drawing over three years. Over the course of the year, further, the rate of waste recovery rose to 91%, with an increase of 1% compared with the prior year and of 18% compared with 2009.
With 20 factories worldwide, employing around 37,000 people, Pirelli has a long tradition of initiatives in favour of internal communities and the local communities where it operates. Among the former, personnel training occupies an important place, and 2015 saw an increase in the average number of training days per person to 8.3, compared with 8.2 days in 2014 and 7.2 days in 2013. A figure, which for the third consecutive year, exceeds the 7 day per person target indicated in the 2015 industrial plan.
Commitment to training has contributed to a 6% improvement in the index measuring the frequency of accidents in 2015, which brings the improvement since 2009 to 73%. Overall, in the three year period 2013-2015 the company’s investment in health and safety has exceeded 40 million euro, of which over 25% was invested in 2015.
Interventions in favour of the communities where Pirelli operates, in conclusion, increased further, last year reaching 7.6 million euro compared with 6.1 million euro in 2014.
To disseminate the culture of sustainability, the Fondazione Pirelli – born in 2009 to promote awareness of the group’s cultural, historic and document heritage – is presenting an exhibit-journey through the evolution of sustainable management. As well, documents from the historic archives, recount the company’s history of sustainability: from the display of elements that constitute a tyre’s “rubber’s soul”, to historic photos underlining activities in favour of the environment and local farmer communities.
Targets of the sustainability plan and vision to 2020
Pirelli’s Sustainability Plan completes and supports the group’s industrial plan for 2013-2017 and provides a vision to 2020. Among the objectives already exceeded are the percentage of revenues from Green Performance products and training per employee. From now through 2020 it is estimated that the index of accident frequency, already reduced by 73% compared with 2009, results reduced by 90% thanks to ongoing investments in always safer machinery and courses in safety awareness for employees. At the environmental level, the following are expected – always comparing 2020 to 2009 levels – a reduction of 15% in CO2 emissions, a fall in specific energy consumption of 18%, a decline of 58% in specific water drawing and a rate of waste recovery above 95%. Further strengthening of the sustainable management system for the supply chain, which looks at economic, social and environmental sustainability criteria fully integrated into the processes of selection, collaboration and evaluation of Pirelli’s partners around the world, with great attention to the sustainability of the natural rubber chain.
Key awards
Pirelli has always been at the top of the main sustainability indices and has received numerous awards. In April 2015 and for the second consecutive year, the company won the “J.D. Power Original Equipment Award” in the Performance Sport category, while in June it received Ford’s “Green Pillar Award”. In July CNH Industrial gave Pirelli its “2015 Supplier of the Year Award” for its biomass power plant in Brazil and collaboration with the natural rubber producer Kirana Megatara. In November, Pirelli received Volvo’s “Quality Through Excellence Award” for its plant in Yangzhou, China, while in December Pirelli’s plant in Voronezh, Russia, received the “Ford Q1 award”. In April 2016, Pirelli received the “Reputation Award 2016”, attaining third place in the annual classification calculated by the Reputation Institute which measures consumer confidence in the company. Pirelli obtained 81.5 points, calculated according to seven different parameters, almost half of which (42.5%) regard sustainability factors.
The Lombardy Regional Government and Pirelli today signed a competitiveness agreement which calls for a free grant regional contribution of 1.9 million euro for the “Total Safety System” R & D project conducted by Pirelli at its research centre in Milan.
The project, which is being developed by Pirelli Tyre and will last 24 months, has a total cost of 5.35 million euro and is part of the activities linked to the development of a new generation of tyres based on the concept of “total safety”. The research activity, therefore, will extend to all phases of product conception and planning: from the use of new materials, to the development of new fully automated finished product checking, to the implementation of new application safety systems based on tyre sensors.
The high level of innovative content in the “Total Safety System” project will allow, in addition, a further improvement in the level of productivity, quality and efficiency, as well as the know-how for the various technologies. The project will allow Pirelli to study new product mixes oriented towards segments with higher value added, anticipating market demand and this maintaining the level of competitiveness. From this project, Pirelli expects, also, positive results in the environmental and social arena with regard to road safety, through the continual reduction of vehicular fuel consumption and raising the number of kilometres in a tyre’s life.
The agreement – which is part of the programme of the Lombardy Regional Government aimed at developing and enhancing the value of human capital also through training courses, as well as production, environmental and infrastructure resources and with the goal of strengthening local employment generating ancillary employment along related supply chains – favours further growth in the group’s R & D at Pirelli’s Milan headquarters, where the group’s main R & D centre is located employing 400 people. The contribution from the Regional Government will facilitate the employment of 12 new R & D staff members between 2015 and 2017, who will be in addition to the 130 already involved in the activities linked to the project’s implementation.
“The competitiveness agreement with Pirelli demonstrates how the synergies between the public and private sectors bring concrete results here in Lombardy,” said the President of the Regional Government Roberto Maroni. “Our goal is to raise investment in research and innovation up to 3% of the region’s GDP, a figure which is now close to 2%. These are two strategic which represent a natural vocation for our territory as well as a great opportunity for growth”, he explained. “The Lombardy Region invests resources in technological development also as a way of creating employment”, Maroni continued. “We want to move forward on this road”.
“The centre in Milan – said Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Pirelli – represents the main driver of our Research and Development and enables Pirelli to compete and continue to grow on international markets. The contribution of the Regional Government is an important recognition on the part of the institution of the work conducted until now and will enable the launch of a project aimed at the creation of tyres that are always safe and environmentally sustainable, able to offer clients not only safety and high performance, but also solutions that respect the environment”.
Source: Carlo Furgeri Gilbert, 2008, Pirelli Foundation’s Historical Archive