Showing our support for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 SDGs encompass a broad range of social, economic, and environmental targets, aiming to address global challenges like poverty, inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation by 2030. The SDG Flag Day is held annually on the anniversary of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

United Nations’ Global Compact (UNGC) is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Nokian Tyres has been a member of the UN Global Compact since 2015. We have determined seven SDGs that are especially important for the company, and we align our actions with them to help drive progress toward a more just, inclusive, and environmentally responsible world. 

Susanna Tusa, our Vice President of Sustainability, chose two SDGs that she’d personally like to highlight:

SDG 3 – Good health and wellbeing: “The importance of physical safety is a must, as we have a lot of employees in tire factories. But in my opinion psychological safety is just as important, not only for wellbeing but also for business. When people feel safe to speak up, it leads to better innovation, earlier identification of risks, faster problem solving, and higher employee engagement and performance.”

SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: “Innovation is at the heart of both our strategy and sustainability. Through R&D and manufacturing innovation, we improve safety, reduce environmental impact, and advance circularity. Our FUTUREPROOF research, development and innovation program confronts the key challenges of future mobility, crosslinking industries to join the common cause.”

Sustainability creates business opportunities

Sustainability is increasingly becoming a source of innovation, resilience, and competitive advantage. Rather than being a separate activity or a mandatory check-in-the-box, sustainability succeeds when it is embedded into every business decision.

“Sustainability should be integrated into core business strategy so that it is aimed at creating products, services, and business models that generate both financial and societal value. The most successful sustainability initiatives create business opportunities while solving environmental challenges”, Susanna says.

However, sustainability is more than environmental topics. Susanna believes that social sustainability will become increasingly important in the years ahead:

“While climate action remains critical, business success ultimately depends on people. This includes employee wellbeing, skills for the digital transition, diversity and inclusion, human rights in global supply chains, and ensuring that technology benefits society broadly. The organizations that build trust with employees, communities, customers, and regulators will be better equipped to adapt, remain resilient, and achieve sustainable long-term growth in a rapidly changing world.

We’re proud to fly the flag for sustainability!