Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co: Reduce Automobile Tire Microfiber Shredding

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 WHEREAS: Plastic, with a lifecycle social cost at least ten times its market price, threatens the world’s oceans, wildlife, and public health.[1] Of particular concern are microplastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters in size, which contribute to an estimated 11% of total plastic leakage. As of 2019, an estimated 171 trillion microplastic particles have been released into the world’s oceans.[2] The largest source of microplastic leakage into the ocean is tire dust, constituting 78% of leakage mass.[3] 

Studies looking into tire and road wear particles suggest that such chemicals and particles are polluting the air and leaching into bodies of water and surrounding environments. Six million tons of tire wear particles, which can contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals, are released globally each year.[4] Large particles are transported by road runoff via rainwater, resulting in the leaching of toxic chemicals and environmental damage; micro and nanoscale tire particles may be small enough to become airborne and ingested.

Goodyear’s corporate responsibility report states that studies sponsored by the Tire Industry Project, a CEO-led initiative of ten of the world’s major tire companies, have found that tire and road wear particles are “unlikely to have a significant impact on human health and the environment.”[5] However, a recent report from Imperial College London refers to “emerging evidence that tyre wear particles and other particulate matter may contribute to a range of negative health impacts including heart, lung, developmental, reproductive, and cancer outcomes.”[6] In 2020, it was discovered that a chemical used in tire production, 6PPD-quinone, was responsible for a mass die-off of coho salmon on the U.S. West Coast.[7] Another study found that such particles traveling on the wind are an even more significant source of ocean pollution than such particles travelling through rivers.[8]

To reduce growing reputational risk and mandatory regulations, tire companies should prioritize research and innovation on ways to reduce shedding. New European Commission Euro 7 emissions standards, currently under development, will be the first to regulate tire emissions. Competitor Michelin reports that its research into tire pollution helped it develop tires with 5% less wear emissions over a five-year period. Our Company should at least be able to match this.

RESOLVED: Shareholders request that the Board adopt policies that result in setting tire wear shedding reduction goals and timelines.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: The policies should consider, at Board discretion:

  • Mounting evidence of harm to animals and human health from tire particles;

  • The reputational and financial risks of not moving to expeditiously set tire wear shedding goals; 

  • Potential actions necessary to significantly reduce tire shedding.

Resolution Details

Company: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co

Lead Filers:
As You Sow

Year: 2025

Filing Date: 
November 2024

Initiative(s): Circular Economy

Status: Filed

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Circular EconomyAs You Sowplastic pollution, Microplastics, Plastic Microfibers, microplastic, Goodyear, goodyear, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., plastic, microfiber shedding, tire and road wear particles, tires