2015 corporate social responsibility and sustainability report

RESPONSIBILIT Y
THE COOPER WAY
2015 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY MISSION
THE POWER OF “AND”
The people of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company believe in the power of “AND.” We are committed to
delivering shareholder value AND operating our company in a way that reduces our impact on the
environment. We believe in innovation, leveraging it to be successful in the marketplace AND to help
us be responsible about the life cycle impacts of our products. We are relentless about improving the
efficiency of our operations, AND we care deeply about our people, especially when it comes to their
health and safety. We strive to continually improve our economic performance, AND we connect with our
communities through philanthropy AND employee activation. Our future is one where Cooper continues
to do the right thing AND succeeds because of it.
RESPONSIBILITY THE COOPER WAY
2
2
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER
It’s my pleasure to introduce our fourth annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability
Report: Responsibility the Cooper Way. This report summarizes our performance and activities at
Cooper primarily during 2015, a year in which we continued to make positive strides toward our CSR
and sustainability goals.
For 2015, we are providing a condensed CSR and
Sustainability Report, as we have moved this year to a webbased platform (OneReport) that enables us to centralize all
of our CSR and sustainability information and data in one
place online. OneReport complies with Global Reporting
Initiative (known as GRI) reporting guidelines and is a userfriendly platform for those interested in a deep dive into
Cooper’s CSR and sustainability progress and goals.
This information will be available on Cooper’s corporate website
in the fourth quarter at www.coopertire.com.
Some highlights of our 2015 performance include:
ÎÎ Improved environmental performance:
ÎÎ All manufacturing plants reduced energy consumption.
Energy usage intensity in 2015 was 17 percent lower
than 2009.
ÎÎ The positive trend in reducing greenhouse gas emission
intensity also continued, with an overall reduction of 16
percent at our facilities since 2009.
ÎÎ Cooper retained the services of an expert third-party
consulting firm to assist us with a comprehensive audit of
our U.S. plants located in Clarksdale, Miss., Findlay, Ohio,
Texarkana, Ark., and Tupelo, Miss. This audit led to the
development of short and long-term plans that will guide
our sustainability efforts and continue to help Cooper align
our performance with industry benchmarks and evolving
customer requirements.
majority of employees worldwide. The cause—driver and
tire safety among teens and young adults—is the subject
of a new program, dubbed “Tread Wisely,™” which seeks
to drive awareness and appropriate actions among young
people ages 15 to 25 when it comes to tire and auto safety.
As car crashes continue to be the number one cause
of death in teens worldwide and a major cause of
death for young adults around the globe, we believe
our involvement in addressing this persistent social issue
is extremely important.
As previously announced, I plan to retire as Chairman, Chief
Executive Officer and President of Cooper effective August 31
of this year. Therefore, this is the final time I will author the
letter introducing Cooper’s CSR and Sustainability Report.
It has been my honor and privilege to lead Cooper for nearly
10 years and to see the achievements we’ve made on sustainability, particularly since 2009, our baseline year. I am also
extremely proud of the time and resources Cooper people
have contributed to bettering their communities around the
world and thank them for making a difference.
Effective upon my retirement, Cooper Chief Operating Officer,
Brad Hughes, will be appointed as President and Chief
Executive Officer. I am excited about the leadership that
Brad brings to the business, and I am confident that he will
continue to build on our CSR and sustainability successes
in the years ahead.
ÎÎ We continued our partnership with the World Business
Council on Sustainable Development, participating on
the Tire Industry Project, as the initiative celebrated its
10th anniversary.
ÎÎ Cooper has reinvented our approach to corporate giving by
selecting a “signature cause” for our philanthropy, meaning
we will direct the majority of our corporate giving dollars
and employee volunteerism to this single cause, which was
overwhelmingly cited in 2015 as most important by the
Roy V. Armes
Chairman, Chief Executive
Officer and President
CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015
3
ABOUT COOPER
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, is the parent company of a global
family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car
and light truck tires. Cooper and its subsidiaries also sell medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires.
2015 FACTS AND FIGURES
ÎÎ
Seven tire manufacturing plants (see below) and a
bladder production facility
ÎÎ
Corporate headquarters in Findlay, Ohio. Cooper
is one of only two major tire manufacturers
headquartered in the United States
Four Technical Centers, including a Global Technical
Center, North America Technical Center, Asia Technical
Center and Europe Technical Center, as well as a test
track facility and a tire mold production facility
ÎÎ
$2.97 billion annual revenue
Distribution and sales offices worldwide
ÎÎ
Record operating profit of $354 million in 2015
ÎÎ
The 12th largest global tire manufacturer
ÎÎ
The 5th largest tire company in North America
ÎÎ
More than 9,000 employees
ÎÎ
ÎÎ
TIRE MANUFACTURING PLANTS





LOCATION
SINCE
OWNERSHIP
UNITED STATES: Findlay, Ohio
1917
Wholly Owned
UNITED STATES: Texarkana, Arkansas
1964
Wholly Owned
UNITED STATES: Tupelo, Mississippi
1984
Wholly Owned
MEXICO: El Salto, Jalisco
2008
Joint Venture/Majority Shareholder
CHINA: Kunshan, Jiangsu Province
2005
Wholly Owned
SERBIA: Kruševac
2012
Wholly Owned
ENGLAND: Melksham
1997
Wholly Owned
RESPONSIBILITY THE COOPER WAY
4
4
SUSTAINABILITY OVERVIEW
SUSTAINABILITY SELF-ASSESSMENT
Cooper retained an expert third-party consulting firm to conduct an assessment of its U.S. facilities, including the Clarksdale, Findlay,
Texarkana and Tupelo plants, to compare Cooper’s sustainability status to the Automotive Industry Action Group guidelines and
anticipated customer requirements.
Topics addressed included environment, health and safety, human rights, compliance and ethics, diversity, and general management
systems. As a result, specific areas of strength were identified, such as environmental compliance.
In addition, areas for improvement were noted that would make our CSR and sustainability program even more robust. For example,
Cooper revised its Supplier Guidebook to include supplier human rights and corporate responsibility training expectations. We
also advised the plants of progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, Cooper has addressed a number of the
recommended short-term recommendations and will continue to work on longer-term items.
In the future, we will conduct similar assessments in other geographies and repeat the process periodically to ensure that
improvements are maintained.
COLLABORATION
Cooper collaborates with a number of entities and partners on sustainability topics. One of the key entities is the World Business
Council on Sustainable Development, of which Cooper is a member and participates in the Tire Industry Project to identify and address
the potential health, environmental and social impacts associated with tire making and use. The Tire Industry Project marked its
10th anniversary in 2015.
The Tire Industry Project’s focus areas include:
ÎÎ
Understanding the properties, fate and impacts of particles generated by the interaction between tires and pavements
during tire use
ÎÎ
Safely developing and using nanomaterials in tires
ÎÎ
Identifying key indicators of tire manufacturing sustainability performance
ÎÎ
Developing a standard protocol for conducting tire life cycle assessments
ÎÎ
Working to encourage effective scrap tire management
A summary of the project work can be found at http://www.wbcsd.org/tires.aspx.
CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015
5
80%
80%
14,000
12,000
60%
6,000
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
0
Energy
is used in tire production to power equipment,
40%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
generate2009
steam, 2010
heat, cool
and transport
materials,
control2015
the
environment in occupied spaces, and provide lighting. Energy
COOPERTIRE
TIREMANUFACTURING
MANUFACTURINGWATER
LANDFILL
USAGE
INTENSITY
COOPER
USAGE
INTENSITY
usage results
in air emissions,
including greenhouse
gas
120%
120%
emissions at Cooper plants (direct energy usage) or at upstream
electricity
and steam generating locations (indirect energy usage).
110%
100%
100%
As
indicated
in the graphic below, Cooper has been working for
80%
many years to reduce energy usage. The increase in intensity in
90%
201360%
is attributed to reduced production levels during the year.
The
trend
was reversed in 2014 and continues to be favorable.
80%
Energy
40%usage intensity in 2015 was 17 percent lower than 2009,
2009 returned
2010 to the
201120122012
2014
2015
and
level. 2013
70% has nearly
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
70%
3,000
2,500
120%
2,000
2011
2012
2013
2014
2011
2012 DIRECT
2013 ENERGY
2014USAGE
2015
COOPER2010
TIRE MANUFACTURING
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING ENERGY USAGE INTENSITY
2000
1500
1000
1,000
80%
500
0
60%
500
0
2009
2010
2009
2010
40%
2011
Natural Gas
2011
2012
2012
2013
Oil Derived
2013
2014
2500
2000
Total Direct
2014
2015
1500
1000
500
0
0
40%
2009
2009
2010
2010
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2014
2014
Natural Gas
Oil Derived
Units: megajoules / kg product (millions of joules or 106 joules / kg)
2015
2015
Total Direct
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING INDIRECT ENERGY USAGE
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING
RECORDABLE
INCIDENT RATE
GREENHOUSETOTAL
GAS
EMISSIONS
(GHG)
2000
2009
2010
Units: terajoules
2011
Electricity
2012
2013
Steam
2014
Total Indirect
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING GHG EMISSIONS
400,000
14
200,000
Greenhouse
gases are directly emitted from fossil fuel energy sources consumed at Cooper manufacturing plants and
12
1000
indirectly
from purchased electricity and steam. As Cooper continues to0 focus on energy conservation, GHG emissions are
10
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
reduced.
GHG emission intensity closely follows energy usage intensity. The accompanying graphic indicates that a recent
500
8
downward
trend from 2014 continues, resulting in an overall reduction in emission intensity
of 16 percent
since 2009.
Direct
Indirect
Total
6
0
4
2015
600,000
2500
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING GHG EMISSION INTENSITY
100%
2015
400,000
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING TOTAL WATER USAGE
200,000
90%
80%
1.5
0
70%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
1.0
60%
Direct
Indirect
Total
Units:0.5
tonnes CO2e (CO2 equivalent)
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING GHG EMISSION INTENSITY
100%
50%
40%
2009
0.0
90%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
COOPER
TIRE MANUFACTURING
LANDFILL USAGE
6
THE COOPER
WAY
80%
RESPONSIBILITY
16,000
70%
2015
2015
COOPER
TIRE MANUFACTURING
GHG
EMISSIONS
Electricity
Steam
Total Indirect
2
600,0000
2015
2015
Units: terajoules (trillions of joules or 1012 joules)
2,500
100%
2,000
60%
500
t
2500
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING INDIRECT ENERGY USAGE
1,000
15
2015
1,500
100%
120%
3,000
1500
2010
2015
1,500
80%
15
2009
2009
COOPERTIRETIREMANUFACTURING
MANUFACTURING
DIRECTUSAGE
ENERGY
USAGE
COOPER
ENERGY
INTENSITY
TY
GE
40%
80%
4,000
50%
2,000
2009
40%
90%
8,000
15
4
60%
TIRE MANUFACTURING PLANTS ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
15
60%
100%
70%
10,000
2015
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Units: tonnes CO2e / metric ton (tonne) product
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING WATER USAGE INTENSITY
120%
110%
6
015
15
15
TY
15
12
14
200,000
10
12
TIRE MANUFACTURING PLANTS ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
600,000 8
COOPERMANUFACTURING
TIRE MANUFACTURING
WATER COOPER
GHGRATE
EMISSIONS
TOTALTIRE
RECORDABLE INCIDENT
600,000
4
6
LANDFILL
2
4
uses water in tire manufacturing for heating, cooling and
Since the water does not become part of the product,
most
10 of it is returned to the environment through evaporation,
200,000
direct
discharge to surface water, or discharge to water treatment
8
facilities.
6
0
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
As4indicated in the related graphic, a downward trend in water
2
usage
intensity from 2009 through 2011 was reversed in 2012,
Direct
Indirect
Total
but0 appears to have leveled off in 2014 and 2015. Nonetheless,
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
usage intensity
has declined
6 percent
since 2009.
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING GHG EMISSION INTENSITY
100%
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING TOTAL WATER USAGE
90%
1.5
80%
1.0
0.5
60%
0.0
50%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2013
2014
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING LANDFILL
USAGE
16,000
2015
2015
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING WATER USAGE INTENSITY
14,000
120%
12,000
10,000
110%
8,000
90%
2,000
14,000
16,000
50%
12,000
14,000
10,000
40%
12,000
8,000 2009
10,000
6,000
8,000
4,000
6,000
120%
2,000
4,000
0
2,000
110%
2009
0
Units: tonnes
2009
100%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING LANDFILL USAGE
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING LANDFILL USAGE
2015
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
COOPER 2010
TIRE MANUFACTURING
LANDFILL
USAGE2014INTENSITY
2009
2011
2012
2013
2015
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING ENERGY USAGE INTENSITY
80%
70%
60%
50%
50%
40%
40%
120%
110%
100%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
100%
90%
2015
90%
80%
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING WATER USAGE INTENSITY
80%
70%
2010
2010
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2014
2015
2014
70%
2015
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING LANDFILL USAGE INTENSITY
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING LANDFILL USAGE INTENSITY
120%
120%
100%
100%
80%
2015
80%
60%
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING ENERGY USAGE INTENSITY
60%
40%
2009
80%
60%
90%
80%
120%
110%
100%
70%80%
Units: cubic meters / tonne product; excludes Kruševac
100%
120%
shown in the accompanying graphic, Cooper has
reduced
landfill usage intensity by more than 30 percent
0.5
90%
since 2009. A slight up-tick in 2015 resulted, in part, from
0.5
rubber scrap market conditions that rendered some
80%0.0
recycling
outlets2010
unavailable.
2009
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2009
100%
90%
70%
60%
120%
100%
80%
4,000
120%
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING GHG EMISSION INTENSITY
100%
As
1.0
120%
90%
6,000
100%
70%
1.0
60%
16,000
70%
0
80%
portion
the raw
and related
packaging,
2007 of
2008
2009materials
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
0
maintenance
and construction materials used at a tire
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
0
manufacturing
plant become
waste
must be2014
managed
2009
2010
2011
2012 that2013
2015
COOPERis working
TIRE MANUFACTURING
USAGEand
properly. Cooper
to minimize TOTAL
wasteWATER
generation
1.5
Direct
IndirectTOTAL
Total
to divert solid
waste
from
its traditional
disposal
outlet–landfills–
COOPER
TIRE
MANUFACTURING
WATER
USAGE
where
feasible. The company has made good progress to date.
1.5
0.0
70%
40% millions of cubic meters; excludes Kruševac
Units:
2009
2010
2011
2012
100%
0
2
200,000
Some
12
400,000
cleaning.
2010
0
6
400,000
14
Cooper
2009
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING GHG EMISSIONS
8
10
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
60%
120%
40%
40%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
100%
40%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING DIRECT ENERGY USAGE
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING DIRECT ENERGY USAGE
80%
Units: tonnes landfill usage / tonne product
80%
100%
3,000
60%
80%
60%
2,500
3,000
60%
40%
1,500
2,000
40%
2,000
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD-WINNING TIRE PLANTS
2,500
2009
2500
2000
2500
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2010
2011
2012
2013 TEXARKANA
2014
2015
FINDLAY2009
TUPELO
1,000
1,500
40%
American Electric Power Continuous
Certified as a Superior 500
Energy
Earned the Mississippi Department
1,000
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Energy Improvement (CEI) Program
Performance® facility at the
Gold
level
of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ)
0
500
COOPER
TIRE MANUFACTURING
DIRECT ENERGY
COOPER
TIRE
MANUFACTURING
INDIRECT
ENERGY
USAGE 2015
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
recognized
the Findlay
plant for
by theUSAGE
U.S. Department of Energy
enHance
Partnership
Award
0
2500
3,000
reductions in energy
2009
2010 Natural
2011Gas 2012 Oil Derived
2013
2014Total Direct
2015
2,500
2000
Recognized by the Tennessee Valley
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING INDIRECT ENERGY USAGE
2,000
Natural
Gas
Oil Derived
Total savings
Direct
Authority
(TVA)
for its energy
1500
2500
1,500
from new lighting installed in 2014-2015
1000
2000
1,000
500
500
1500
0
1000
500
CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
7
2015
1500
2000
1000
1500
500
1000
500 0
0
EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY
HEALTHY EMPLOYEES AND
SAFE WORKPLACE
against others in our industry. The company’s safety programs
and values extend to many other employees who work in other
parts of our business throughout the world.
At Cooper, workforce safety includes:
Cooper continues to promote a zeroinjury culture through our Safety
Excellence System (SES) and our
“Drive to Zero” campaign. Drive to
Zero demonstrates our commitment
to continuous improvement toward
becoming an injury-free workplace. The SES is an enterprisewide, comprehensive, measurable and goal-oriented system that
engages employees to eliminate hazards and avoid safety risks.
ÎÎ
Safety management systems
ÎÎ
Global risk assessments and hazard control procedures
ÎÎ
Use of technology to reduce or eliminate hazards
ÎÎ
Sharing of best practices for hazard elimination
ÎÎ
Enforcement of safety absolutes
ÎÎ
Employee engagement
CLARKSDALE AND TUPELO PLANTS’
SAFETY RECORD RECOGNIZED
The Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) is one measure of
safety performance. The TRIR is determined by multiplying
the number of incidents by 200,000 and dividing by the total
number of hours worked. The TRIR is shown for all Cooper
manufacturing plants in the chart below.
600,000
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING
TOTAL RECORDABLE INCIDENT RATE
400,000
14
The 2015
Manufacturers
COOPERRubber
TIRE MANUFACTURING
GHGAssociation
EMISSIONS (RMA)
Safety Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Award was
given to our Clarksdale and Tupelo, Miss., plants.
ÎÎ The Clarksdale facility received an Excellence award
200,000
12
0
10
2009
8
for achieving a Days Away Restricted Transfer (DART)
rate that was 75 percent better than the average
achieved
by2011
plants 2012
that provided
data
to RMA.
2010
2013
2014
2015
ÎÎ The Tupelo
plant received
an Improvement
award
Direct
Indirect
Total
6
4
2
100%
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
The combined
all Cooper tire
manufacturing
COOPERTRIR
TIRE for
MANUFACTURING
TOTAL
WATER USAGEplants
1.5has improved more than 50 percent since 2007, a tribute to
the commitment of our employees and a systematic approach
to risk mitigation. Although we did not see the year-over-year
1.0
improvement in 2015 that we strive for each year, we are pleased
to see a return to a favorable trend through June 2016. Please
0.5
note that the TRIR performance charted above is limited to the
Cooper tire manufacturing facilities that we regularly benchmark
for achieving a DART rate that was both 10 percent
better
its rate in the
and the same
COOPER
TIREthan
MANUFACTURING
GHGprevious
EMISSIONyear
INTENSITY
or better than the RMA average incidence rate.
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
Cooper Chief Operating Officer Brad Hughes accepts the SHIP
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
award from RMA President and CEO, Anne Forristall Luke.
2009
0.0
2009
2010
2011
2012
RESPONSIBILITY THE COOPER WAY
2013
8
2014
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING LANDFILL USAGE
2015
COOPER TIRE MANUFACTURING WATER USAGE INTENSITY
120%
8
TIRE SAFETY
TIRE SAFETY EDUCATION
Cooper is committed to addressing tire safety and educating consumers, especially teens and young
adults, about how to stay safe on the road. In 2015, Cooper shifted its tire safety awareness efforts
into high gear by teaming up with two notable names in auto racing—Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Tristan
Nunez. On behalf of Cooper and as part of the Know B4 U Go campaign, Luyendyk shared tire safety
information during the RMA’s National Tire Safety Week in May by hosting a special video tutorial.
He also appeared on national news media outlets to emphasize the importance of tire safety and
deployed social media platforms to reach consumers, especially young drivers. In all, the campaign
created 85 million audience impressions.
Tristan Nunez is not only an up-and-coming auto racer, he’s
an advocate for teen distracted driving prevention. In October,
Cooper joined then 19-year-old Nunez to address safety issues
during National Teen Driver Safety Week. Among other efforts,
Nunez appeared at the National Organizations for Youth Safety
(NOYS) Summit, where he demonstrated tire safety tips and
addressed dozens of high school students charged with going
back to their schools to conduct peer
education efforts. He also reached out
through social and traditional media,
generating hundreds of thousands of
audience impressions.
EN TO YOUR TIRES.
Cooper recently announced the
establishment of a global “signature cause” that will be the
primary focus for our philanthropic funding and volunteer time.
Our signature cause is driver and tire safety among teens and
young adults ages 15 to 25.
With car crashes being the number one cause of death for teens
worldwide and a leading cause of death for young adults around
the world, Cooper is committed to tackling this effort in a way that
makes a real difference. Also, while Cooper certainly isn’t the only
company or tire industry organization addressing this issue, we
are taking a unique approach to it through a program we have
dubbed “Tread Wisely.” At the center of Tread Wisely is a tire
character who delivers important safety
information with a dose of humor
and a positive, proactive approach
designed to appeal to teens and young
adults. The program will involve young
people in educating and motivating
their peers to take important safety
measures. To execute this campaign, Cooper partnered with
NOYS, a not-for-profit organization that reaches 11 million
young people annually through affiliation with more than 85
youth groups. For more information, visit TreadWisely.org.
CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015
9
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Cooper has long been dedicated to being a good corporate citizen. The company and its employees
donate countless hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to nonprofit organizations in
the regions where we are located. In 2015, we supported a wide variety of projects and organizations,
including United Way, Habitat for Humanity, Boy Scouts of America, American Heart Association, the
China Youth Development Foundation, and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
DREAM IT. DO IT.
In 2015, Cooper participated for the first time in the
Manufacturing Institute’s Dream It. Do It. program, which
is designed to encourage youth to consider careers in
manufacturing, addressing the widening gap in the nation’s
workforce pipeline. Cooper celebrated National Manufacturing
Day in October in our headquarters and plant communities of
Findlay, Texarkana and Tupelo. Plans are already underway to
support this effort again in 2016. To activate this program at a
grassroots level, Cooper established a “Dream Team,” a group of
early-career employees from our major facilities who are active in
this program and others. Their goal is to raise awareness of the
many positives associated with careers in manufacturing.
Throughout the year, in 2015, the Dream
Team executed multiple programs in
local communities, including children’s
mentoring efforts, teaching in local middle
schools using interactive, manufacturingrelated curriculum, and engaging in a number
of other community-based efforts, such as fairs and speaking
engagements. Several activities took place during October to
coincide with the celebration of Manufacturing Day :
ÎÎ
Findlay: More than 800 eighth-grade students were hosted
for the Cooper Tire Manufacturing Experience, where a
series of interactive experiences at Cooper were designed to
spark their interest in manufacturing.
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Tupelo: The Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo was
attended by 3,000 eighth-grade students.
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Texarkana: The Cooper Tire Manufacturing Experience was
attended by 1,100 eighth-grade students.
In all, throughout 2015, more than 7,000 students were reached
by Cooper through the Dream It. Do It. program.
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SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT INNOVATION
ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS
Cooper is the lead entity in the Biomass Research and
Development Initiative (BRDI) to conduct research on developing
the guayule (pronounced why-YOU-lee) plant as an alternative
natural rubber source for the tire industry. Other BRDI partners
include Clemson University, the USDA Agricultural Research
Service, Cornell University and PanAridus.
The purpose of the research is to develop enhanced
manufacturing processes for the production of solid rubber from
the guayule plant as a biomaterial for tire applications, as well as
evaluating the plant’s residual biomass for fuel applications.
guayule based components, assessing high volume use of this
material in tires. Prototype tires will be built and tested with
maximum feasible replacement of both natural and synthetic
rubber with guayule natural rubber as early as 2017.
FUEL-EFFICIENT TIRES
Cooper completed work sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy to develop advanced tire technology aimed at increasing
vehicle fuel efficiency. The project challenged Cooper to develop
technology for light vehicle tires that delivered a minimum
3 percent improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency while
lowering average tire weight by at least 20 percent without
sacrificing performance.
Cooper was successful in developing technologies that
exceeded the project’s goals: delivering an average fuel efficiency
improvement of 5.5 percent and weight reduction ranging from
23 percent to 37 percent in concept tires. Cooper presented
its findings to the DOE last year for the development work done
at Cooper’s North America and Global Technical Centers, both
located in Findlay.
Cooper’s engineers have made major strides and have
completed tire builds made with multiple 100 percent guayule
components. In August 2015, Cooper hosted the industry’s first
ride and drive event on guayule tires with the BRDI consortium
during its annual meeting at the Cooper Tire & Vehicle Test
Center near San Antonio, Texas. Consortium members and
their teams were able to drive on prototype tires that have been
produced as an outcome of the work the grant team has been
doing. Performance of these tires was equal to tires made with
Hevea natural rubber, which is currently what is used to produce
tires.
In a nod to the importance of this research, in August 2015, the
New York Times covered the milestone in a major story entitled
“Making Tires From a Desert Shrub Found in the U.S.,” while
in a related story, Bloomberg cited that “Cooper researchers
discovered they are getting close to accomplishing a feat that
eluded the great American inventor Thomas Edison.” The BRDI
group continues to develop and evaluate tires with 100 percent
Cooper achieved the project goals without any trade-offs in
performance or durability. A new, energy efficient tire profile and
design in combination with an ultra lightweight tire construction
was developed. The process utilized innovative materials not
typically used in tires today. In all, Cooper developed and
evaluated six new technologies as part of the program’s first
phase. We also evaluated the holistic impact of putting all of
these technologies into a concept tire in the program’s second
phase. Combining these advancements allowed us to reach
and exceed the grant’s aggressive goals.
As a result of this work, Cooper has already incorporated new
tire modeling technology into its development process and
is evaluating long wearing and fuel efficient tread compound
technology for use in future tires for the replacement and
original equipment markets. Other technologies are being further
developed for potential commercial applications in the future.
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SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT INNOVATION
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TIRE
FOR ASIA MARKET
Cooper Tire Asia launched the new ECO C1, a passenger car
tire designed to meet the emerging needs of the Asia market
for tires that respond to environmental considerations. The
Cooper ECO C1 delivers outstanding rolling resistance and wet
grip performance, achieving a high level European grade label
rating of B for wet grip and B for rolling resistance (205/55R16),
while also delivering solid tread wear, noise reduction and a
comfortable ride. Traditional tire compounds result in a decrease
in rolling resistance as traction is improved. Our engineers and
scientists have overcome these trade-offs, significantly
increasing performance in both areas without compromise.
Reaching this level of customer value in an environmentally
friendly product involved use of innovative technologies including
a new mold profile design, new tread compound, and new
sidewall construction.
PRODUCT INNOVATION AWARDS
BEST BUY
Cooper Zeon RS3-A, awarded by
Consumers Digest (January 2015)
GOOD DESIGN™
U.S. tires Discoverer STT Pro and
Discoverer SRX; China tires Discoverer
UTS and Weather Master Ice 100,
awarded by the Chicago Athenaeum:
Museum of Architecture and Design and
The European Centre for Architecture Art
Design and Urban Studies for their design
excellence (December 2015)
ENERGY-SAVING TIRE AWARD
Cooper Zeon ECO C1, by Auto Magazine
and A Car (May 2016)
SUSTAINABILITY AT COOPER
At Cooper, sustainability is part of The Cooper Way which embodies our core values: Help Each Other Succeed, Have Engaged
Communication, Be Agile, Provide World-Class Customer Service, Be Results Focused, and Do The Right Thing. We believe each of
these values involves sustainability. We will continue to practice sustainability AND succeed because of it.
To ask questions about or comment on the 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report, please contact:
Tom Wood
Director, Global Environmental Affairs
tewood@coopertire.com
419-424-4345
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