ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that, together with FamilyMart Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Tatsuo Odani, President and Representative Director; hereinafter “FamilyMart”) and The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture; Shinji Seimiya, President & COO; hereinafter “Yokohama Rubber”), it will be taking initiatives to enhance the sustainability of natural rubber by using PROJECT TREE*-supported tires on FamilyMart’s commercial vehicles.

Natural rubber is an essential natural resource that supports social infrastructure, with approximately 70% of its global consumption being for tires. At the same time, much of its production is supported by smallholder farmers in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Côte d’Ivoire, making it necessary to address a range of issues, including forest conservation, respect for human rights, improvements in agricultural techniques, and the stabilization of people’s livelihoods. In recent years, the importance of managing environmental and social risks and increasing transparency throughout supply chains has also increased.

Against this backdrop, the commercial vehicle tires supplied by Yokohama Rubber to FamilyMart will be supplied as PROJECT TREE-supported tires. As the user of tires that support its logistics operations, FamilyMart, and as the manufacturer supplying such tires, Yokohama Rubber, will each address the sustainability of natural rubber from their respective positions and jointly promote responsible procurement and use. Based on a shared understanding that challenges in the supply chain should not be treated as issues for individual companies to address alone, but should be addressed by all stakeholders, FamilyMart and Yokohama Rubber will contribute to the realization of a sustainable society through this initiative.

ITOCHU will continue working with companies participating in PROJECT TREE to improve the sustainability of the natural rubber industry, increase supply chain transparency, and contribute to solutions to environmental and social issues.

Reference:
Dedicated PROJECT TREE website
https://project-tree-natural-rubber.com/