PRESS RELEASE: Natural Rubber players adopt policies committed to healthy ecosystems and human rights

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Singapore, 24 September 2021: Apollo Tyres, Bridgestone, Continental Tires, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Hankook Tire & Technology, Kumho Tires, Michelin, Nokian Tyres, Pirelli, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, the Toyo Tire Group and the Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. are the first companies to have adopted natural rubber policies that are fully aligned with the policy framework of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR).

As members of GPSNR, their policies include eight major components: commitment to legal compliance, healthy functioning ecosystems, respecting human rights, community livelihoods, increased production efficiency, supply chain assessment and traceability, monitoring & reporting and driving effective implementation of all these components. According to Sooil Lee, President and CEO of Hankook Tire & Technology, ‘’Together with our supply chain partners, these commitments will help improve the quality of life of the natural rubber cultivators, upgrade quality of natural rubber and minimize environmental impact.’’

For Michelin’s Natural Rubber Sustainability Manager Edouard De-Rostolan, ‘’the alignment of commitments among GPSNR members, particularly with regard to the risk-based approach and the continuous improvement model, is a key driver for the platform to fulfill its primary mission, which is to create impacts on the ground in order to enhance the sustainability of the industry as a whole.’’ Pirelli’s Natural Rubber Procurement and Sustainability Manager Ulrich Antoni shared the sentiment, ‘’It’s great to see that more and more GPSNR members have aligned their policies to the GPSNR Policy framework. With the coordinated and concerted effort of GPSNR and all members, the natural rubber industry is directing individual and joint actions towards our shared goals for a sustainable natural rubber future. Pirelli will continue to take a proactive role in the platform and cascade good practices throughout the supply chain, with the ultimate goal of having an impact at the farming level too.’’

The commitment from these tire makers and their active participation within GPSNR reflects on their intent towards implementation. ‘’In cooperation with the GPSNR Secretariat and stakeholders, we will sincerely implement these policies through our business activities,’’ says Toyo Tires’ Mitch Tamaki.

To make sure that companies have adequate support to implement these commitments, GPSNR is working on an implementation guidance document and baseline reporting requirements. These will help translate this commitment into implementation.

‘’All GPSNR members are required to align with the policy framework, and it is heartening to see companies follow through with the process. We are expecting many others to follow suit in the next few weeks.’’ says GPSNR Platform Director Stefano Savi. ‘’The policies serve as a foundation for a structural transformation not just for one company or rubber plantation, but the industry as a whole.’’

The GPSNR policy framework and published policies of Continental Tires, Hankook Tire & Technology, Michelin, Nokian Tyres, Pirelli, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, the Toyo Tire Group and Yokohama Rubber can be found here. The rest of the policies will be published shortly.

-Ends-

About GPSNR:

GPSNR is an international membership driven platform set up to define sustainability for the natural rubber value chain. It brings together various stakeholders to a common ground based on fairness, equity and environmental sustainability. GPSNR member companies account for almost 50 per cent of the global natural rubber volume.

More on sustainablenaturalrubber.org

For more information, please contact:

Bani Bains

Communications Manager

Email: bani.bains@gpsnr.org

Ph: +65 97268165

September 24, 2021

More To Explore

Shared Responsibility in Action: Goodyear and GM Support Smallholder Rubber in Indonesia

Indonesia is the world’s second-largest producer of natural rubber, a material vital to the global tire and automotive supply chain, which consumes more than 70% of global production. However, the country’s smallholder farmers, who produce the majority of this rubber, face mounting challenges, including aging tree stock, limited technical support, and decreasing participation from younger generations.

Figure. 1

To help address these structural issues, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has supported the Smallholder GAP Coaching Project since its launch in 2022 under the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). In its third phase (September 2024 to September 2025), Goodyear is joined by General Motors (GM) as a co-funder. As shown in Fig. 1, this phase has exceeded its target, reaching 2,767 smallholders in South Sumatra (target: 2,700).

Coaching the Next Generation

This project established participation targets of at least 40% women and 20% youth. By July 2025, these benchmarks were not only met but exceeded — 1,182 women (109%) and 791 youth (146%) have received coaching.

One of these youth participants is a 24-year-old farmer from South Sumatra who manages a 1.5-hectare rubber plot inherited from her family. Despite challenges, she continues to tap daily and maintain the farm herself. Through the project, a farm assessment revealed previously undiagnosed leaf disease. With targeted support, she learned to identify early symptoms, adopt better tapping practices, and implement yield-improving interventions.

Planting for the Future, Earning in the Present

In Musi Rawas, the project’s sole demonstration plot highlights how regenerative practices can offer both environmental and economic benefits. The 0.25-hectare agroforestry site, managed by 54-year-old Subarni, was converted from a 33-year-old jungle rubber plot into a more productive and diversified system.

With support from the project implementation team, Subarni replanted 120 improved rubber clones and intercropped the land with bananas, peanuts, and durian. The peanuts alone are expected to yield approximately 150 kilograms every four months, beginning in July 2025 — a critical alternate source of income during the long replanting period.

“Normally, you wait years after replanting rubber before seeing any return,” he said. “Now, I see income while waiting too, and that gives me the motivation to keep going.”

Beyond immediate income, long-term investments like durian, a high-value crop locally known for its premium quality, reflect how smallholders are planning beyond subsistence. The demonstration plot now serves as a practical model for neighbouring farmers exploring integrated, sustainable rubber production.

Digital Tools for Real-World Change

Complementing in-person coaching is RubberWiki, a mobile app developed to extend learning beyond the field. As of July 2025, 549 farmers have been successfully onboarded, just over the initial target of 540.

The app offers training modules and real-time rubber price updates, which have proven especially valuable. “I check it almost every day,” said 40-year-old Partini, who uses it to monitor price fluctuations. Others, like 35-year-old Ari, revisit coaching content through the app in the evenings.

By offering flexible, on-demand learning, RubberWiki helps ensure that farmers can continue to build knowledge and confidence well after formal sessions have concluded.

A Model for Shared Industry Commitment

Goodyear has supported the GAP Coaching Project since its earliest days, recognizing that smallholders form the backbone of the global natural rubber value chain. In Phase 3, Goodyear invited General Motors to co-fund the initiative, reflecting a growing movement toward shared accountability across the supply chain.

“Smallholders are the foundation of the natural rubber industry,” said Chuan Heng, Associate Director, GOCPL Natural Rubber, Goodyear. “And, Goodyear, as part of GPSNR, engages in programs that support the natural rubber industry’s move towards a more sustainable supply chain.“

General Motors’ contribution also highlights its broader commitment to responsible sourcing. By funding smallholder-centred programs like this, GM is helping to ensure that sustainability principles are embedded at the very beginning of the rubber lifecycle, where real transformation begins.

Together, Goodyear and GM have shown that when downstream actors work together, the impact is tangible: higher participation from women and youth, expanded access to digital tools, and better agronomic outcomes for thousands of smallholders.

GPSNR Secretariat November 7, 2025

Members

Developing a GPSNR Assurance Model (Members Version)

Assurance is defined as demonstrable evidence that specified requirements relating to a product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled. In other words, thinking about Assurance is to ponder the question: how do we protect the credibility of our claim?

The Executive Committee (EC) has been working on an Assurance model concept since late 2019. Following the request for proposal put up in August 2019, an external consultant was engaged to conduct a review of the options for various Assurance Models that would support the desired outcomes of the Platform. In early 2020, the report from the consultant, which discussed existing approaches to Assurance and included recommendations for GPSNR’s approach to Assurance, was submitted to the EC.

The EC considered the input from the report and expanded upon its findings by conducting a thorough benchmarking of existing Assurance model approaches. Following this exercise, the EC identified and defined several key characteristics that merit inclusion in GPSNR’s Assurance model concept.

In the process of developing these key characteristics, the EC also took into account the purpose, value and benefits of an Assurance model.

A robust Assurance model would provide a credible and effective system to manage risks by supporting the achievement of sustainability impacts, focusing on accurate assessments of compliance, ensuring the effectiveness of its assurance strategies through good information management systems, and finding additional ways to create value for stakeholders.

A webinar will be held on Friday, 26 June 2020 to introduce GPSNR members to a proposed Assurance model concept. To register for the webinar, please click here.

A tabled summary of the process and timelines around the development of the Assurance model concept up until now is included below:

January 2020	Consultant report submitted to EC for review
January – February 2020	EC discussions
March 2020	Deep dive into Assurance model benchmark by EC sub-group
April 2020	EC agrees on basic characteristics to build Assurance model from
April – June 2020	Design, discussion and refinement within EC

Both the report by the external consultant and benchmark exercise completed by the EC are available to members upon request.

GPSNR Staff June 24, 2020