Circular Economy
A world without waste may sound too good to be true, but at Continental we are working every day to make this goal a reality within our sphere of influence. By 2050 at the latest, we are striving to achieve a circular economy with all partners along the value chain. This means that all materials for products are part of a cycle. They do not, therefore, become waste, but valuable raw materials once again.
Why this is so important to us? A circular economy is not a trend, but a necessity. As a global technology company, we are becoming less dependent on raw materials, which will become scarce and increasingly expensive before eventually running out. With a circular economy, we secure our access to essential resources – and thus our independence and the future of the planet. This is because limited resources can be made infinitely usable. The European Union in particular is putting its weight behind the creation of a sustainable circular economy with its EU Circular Economy Action Plan.
A profound and complex transformation
“The transition to a circular economy is an ambitious vision involving numerous challenges and is undoubtedly a far-reaching and complex transformation process for Continental. As a responsible company, it was therefore important for us to invest in this change process at an early stage,” says Dr. Ariane Reinhart, Executive Board member for Human Relations and Sustainability.
A fully circular economy goes far beyond current recycling methods: it is all about cycles – about recurring processes and a significant increase in the use of renewable and recycled materials. All of the cycles are closed. This applies to biological cycles as well as to technical and product cycles:
On the way to a future without waste
“Circularity starts with product design. If you want to operate in a circular economy, you have to completely redesign some products to recover resources,” says Dr. Steffen Schwartz-Höfler, head of Sustainability at Continental. “This change will also give rise to new business models. Developing and shaping this transformation at an early stage gives companies a head start.”
This includes increasing waste recovery. Recovery refers to the proportion of waste that is reused, recycled or recovered in some other way. A look at our current sustainability report shows that we are on the right track in this respect: in 2023, we were able to increase our waste for recovery quota to 87 percent. This is a further important step on the path to a future without waste.
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