Continental said it is extending its commitment to sustainability in the natural rubber supply chain. The premium tire manufacturer and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have agreed on a significant expansion of their successful project to ensure full traceability of the natural rubber supply chain in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan in Borneo. Here, 4,000 small farmers, rather than the previous 450, are now to be involved in the project by 2024.
The company said the project objective remains the same: Small farmers in the natural rubber sector are trained to grow high-quality raw materials in compliance with clearly defined sustainability criteria. By improving the quality of the raw material, the income of smallholders is to be increased.
“Continental’s goal is to achieve 100 percent sustainable supply chains by 2050. The valuable
experience we are gaining in this project allows us to progressively increase the transparency of
our natural rubber supply chains,” said Claus Petschick, Head of Sustainability of the Tires
business area. He added, “Education and digitalization are important contributors to making our
supply chains more sustainable. Together with our partners, we are demonstrating in Borneo that this can succeed in the natural rubber sector. I am pleased that we are now significantly expanding this successful project.”
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of natural rubber. TheKapuas Hulu district, where Continental is collaborating with the BMZ, has two national parks that have been designated as biosphere reserves by UNESCO.
Continental and the BMZ already implemented a digital traceability system for natural rubber in the project region back in 2018. With its help, all steps of the natural rubber supply chain can be
evaluated in detail – from cultivation to further processing to Continental’s tire plants. The
cultivation areas mapped by GPS, raw rubber delivery quantities and sales prices achieved are
documented in the system for each transaction. For the further processing of the raw rubber
produced in the project and in the implementation of the traceability, the project partners work in
particular with the natural rubber suppliers Southland Global and Halcyon Agri Corporation.