 |
| |
Continental’s Mostafa Farouk Sheds Light On Sustainable Future Of Mobility In The Middle East | |
| Staff Writer |
Tyres have always been a reliable circular solution providing the three R's - reduce, reuse, and recycle. However, in the age of the Circular Economy, the novel application of circularity and resource productivity in tire production now determines their sustainability and effectiveness.
 |
Leaders in the global tyre industry, consistently strive to break barriers and exceed expectations by providing sustainable and high-performance tyres. These industry giants invest in collaborative efforts and prioritise sustainability to create a brighter, cleaner future for generations to come.
Continental Tyres hope to ignite the sustainable mobility revolution by emphasising the importance of users' conduct and introducing state-of-the-art connected and intelligent tires, along with pioneering digital solutions, contributing impactfully to SDGs.
In an exclusive interview with Thirty To Net Zero Magazine, Mostafa Farouk, the Head of Marketing at Continental Middle East expounds on the implementation of sophisticated tyre technologies and Continental’s steadfast commitment to eco-friendly mobility, these companies pave the way for a greener tomorrow.
Q: Can you describe your hopes for sustainable transport in the Middle East?
A: I believe that sustainability is the responsibility of everyone living on this planet, and it all starts with awareness, in the middle east some years ago the awareness of sustainability topics almost did not exist, now there is an improvement but I hope that everyone realizes that the simple day to day activities can have an impact on the overall sustainability, accordingly, I really hope that all the ecosystem around transportation in the middle east starts to be educated about possible measures and possible impacts, this doesn’t need to be major measures or huge investments but it will all start with simple actions that will create a snowball effect over the time
Q: What are the major challenges in embedding sustainable solutions in the transport domain?
A: Again, lack of awareness of possible horrendous impacts on our future and the future of the next generations is still delaying efforts for investing in sustainable solutions. Still, many sustainability solutions are just luxury and marketing tools, sustainability solutions usually come with a cost for investment and here a very important question arises, how much everyone from individuals, the private sector, manufacturers, and governmental bodies are willing to invest?
Q: How Middle Eastern government is helping or supporting green transport through various policies and announcements?
A: Last year we saw the COP 2022 held in Egypt and for 2023 be held in Dubai, and in UAE it was announced that 2023 is the year of sustainability so we see increased attention to the topic of sustainability and climate change and for transportation, we see initiatives all over ME countries but, I will focus more on the activities in UAE
- UAE wants 42,000 Evs on its roads by 2030
- Dubai has a commitment since 2016 that 10% of new vehicles bought by selected government bodies will be electric or hybrid cars, as a part of its green mobility initiatives 2023. a fresh directive has been issued to increase the annual government procurement target for Evs and Hybrid vehicles to 20% starting from 2025 with a future increase to 30% starting from 2030, Dubai’s clean energy strategy 2050 aims towards having 75% vehicle electrification.
- Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has endorsed a five-year sustainability plan for 2021-2025 aligned with its rejuvenated strategic goals and objectives aimed at supporting sustainability. Such projects are based on the environmental, societal and economic drivers of sustainability.
- Dubai Road and Transport Authority has revealed a plan to have net-zero emission public transport by 2050.
- The RTA said in addition to the public transport project, it also aims to minimise its carbon footprint in its buildings and waste-management plants.
 |
Q: At IAA Mobility 2021, Conti unveiled the GreenConcept type, a prototype of the tyre of the future. Please explain how this can transform the future of the mobility industry.
A: Continental has a vision for 2030 that includes several pillars, and one of the most important pillars is sustainability, we have a clear vision to be the most progressive tire company in terms of environmental and social responsibility and we have a clear strategy covering the four phases of the value chain
- Material resourcing
- Operations
- Use phase
- End of life
2030 we have clear targets.
› 60% sustainable materials in flagship products
› 0% landfilling of Continental-controlled tires worldwide.
› 20% waste reduction; 95% waste recycling rate.
› 20% energy and water** reduction***
And by 2050:
› 100% sustainable materials
› 100% carbon-neutral & responsible supply chain.
› 100% renewing and recycling of our tires.
These targets are not just dreams we already started the journey.
- Today:
With the Conti Green Concept, Continental’s Tire division is merging current and future technologies to make sustainable passenger and light truck tires, Development engineers and material experts at Continental have consistently implemented the innovative tire concept on three levels of impact: An especially high proportion of traceable, renewable and recycled materials, an innovative, resource-efficient lightweight technology and an extension of the service life with a renewable tread.
Q: Continental's low-rolling-resistance truck tires can greatly lessen the negative impact of truck transportation on the environment. What other detail can you give us?
A: Rolling resistance can be defined as the amount of energy a tire uses over a defined distance. It is one of five forces – along with gravity, aerodynamics, inertia and mechanical friction – that must be overcome for a vehicle to move forward. There are a number of factors that affect rolling resistance: the design, bead, belt, sidewall, tread and inflation pressure of the tire itself, the load and distribution of the vehicle, the road conditions, and the weather.
Rolling resistance accounts for up to 30% of a vehicle’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Improving rolling resistance without compromising handling, grip and mileage is a delicate balancing act. Thanks to improvements in technology and production processes, however, reconciling these conflicting targets is possible.
Q: Multiple variables, including policy, infrastructure, technology, and driver behavior, contribute to sustainable mobility. How may this be improved to create a more secure system of transportation?
A: We believe that it all starts with awareness and creating a sense of urgency, and this is the responsibility of both public and private sectors to start putting the topic of sustainability as a crucial topic on every business agenda and start education starting from the top to down and cascade all the knowledge and awareness to the public, this itself will eventually lead to a serious and constructive discussion about possible measures and possible impacts that can be reflected later on regulations and legislations that considers sustainability in transportation
Q: Since the region is moving towards EVs, can you give us a rough view of the current percentage of EV and fossil fuel vehicles running in the Middle East?
A: I can’t tell what the current exact share is, but it is obviously still very small yet growing fast. There are many studies and forecasts regarding the growth of this sector which will depend on
- Regulations
- Public chargers’ infrastructure
- Customer readiness and willingness
There are still many valid uncertainties from customers regarding how the EV is feasible economically and functionally, which puts on the shoulder of both EV manufacturers and governments the responsibility for clarifying those uncertainties.
 |