Yokohama Rubber promotes procurement of sustainable natural rubber

Tokyo, Japan — The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., and its Singapore subsidiary Yokohama Rubber Singapore Pte. Ltd., held a “Suppliers’ Day” for suppliers of natural rubber in this past May. The event was part of Yokohama Rubber’s efforts to promote procurement of sustainable natural rubber, facilitating the exchange of information and establishing a common awareness of supply chain issues. The May 2022 event is the third “Suppliers’ Day” held by the company, following events in 2016 and 2018.

Owing to the continued risk of COVID-19 infections, this year’s event was held online and attended by 180 participants, including natural rubber producers and trading companies from seven countries including the two major natural rubber producing countries of Thailand and Indonesia. The participants came from 35 companies and representing 76 rubber processing factories. During the event, Yokohama Rubber explained the environmental aspects of its ESG medium-to long-term goals as well as its new human rights policy implemented since this April. The company also asked participants for their cooperation in realizing specific initiatives based on Yokohama Rubber’s “Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber.” This event also featured a presentation by Yokohama Rubber President and Chairman Masataka Yamaishi in which he expressed his deep appreciation of the participants’ attendance and awards presentation to suppliers that have made strong contributions supporting the procurement of natural rubber. In addition to deepening common understanding with suppliers, this event strengthened Yokohama Rubber’s partnerships with them. A video message was received from Stefano Savi (Director) of Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) to congratulate Yokohama Rubber and its subsidiary for holding the event.

As a founding member of GPSNR, Yokohama Rubber revised its “Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber” in September 2021 and strengthened its collaboration with GPSNR activities. The event is a concrete action that reflected Yokohama Rubber’s principle of “Communication with Suppliers,” as set forth in the updated Procurement Policy. Yokohama Rubber will continue implementing its initiatives in line with the action guidelines stipulated in this policy. Yokohama Rubber also endeavors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. As part of these efforts, the Yokohama Rubber Group is also promoting the procurement of sustainable raw materials.

The ESG initiatives included in Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), Yokohama Rubber’s medium-term management plan for fiscal years 2021–2023, are based on the concept of “Caring for the Future.” By implementing ESG initiatives under this concept, Yokohama Rubber strives to resolve social issues through its business activities.