04 Sustainability Statement Resource use and circular economy (E5) 4.6 RESOURCE USE AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY (E5) Three questions for Fabien Gaboriaud, Senior Vice President, Solutions for Materials Circularity “Circular materials are a powerful lever for reducing our environmental footprint and supporting a sustainable economy.” ” How is the development of new renewable or recycled materials a challenge for the Group? It’s a huge challenge, but it’s also our responsibility to reduce our environmental footprint while limiting the use of natural resources. In our industry, this means replacing two-thirds of the materials used today, which are derived from fossil or nonrenewable sources. However, most of these new materials are not yet available in industrial quantities. That’s why we need to structure and support their emergence in existing value chains, as well as in new value chains involving other industries. This is also a collective challenge, because cross-industry synergies and coalitions have to be identified, and that’s the role Michelin wants to play. In practice, how is the Group integrating the circular economy into its business model? We’re activating four action levers at different stages in the tire life cycle as part of the Michelin Avoid+4R process: Avoid, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Renew. Their outcomes are measured through our eco-design processes and systematic life-cycle assessments. To successfully meet our collective challenge, the Group has created a new operating unit tasked with orchestrating the transition to circularity with other Group units and outside ecosystems. Specifically, it is supporting the emergence of value chains based on end-of-life tire recycling, such as the Enviro/Antin joint venture, or on renewable resources like ethanol, with the BioButterfly project. What is Michelin doing for the treatment of end-of-life tires? The Group has been addressing this issue for many years through the Tire Industry Project (TIP), other trade associations and the various eco-organizations set up in certain countries to ensure the collection and treatment of end-of-life tires. Thanks to this collective commitment, the TIP estimates that 88% of end-of-life tires are collected(1). Of course, we have to further increase this percentage, but tomorrow’s challenge will be to prioritize the recovery of end-of-life tires for use as secondary raw materials, particularly in closed loop recycling systems, which generally offer a smaller carbon footprint than burning them as fuel to recover heat and power. (1) Source TIP 2019, covering 53 representative countries. 249 2024 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT_MICHELIN
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