Projects & joint-ventures
An impact-oriented approach to creating positive environmental and social outcomes on the ground.
river
A unique project as Michelin sources directly from smallholder Sri Lankan farmers.
On the way to sustainable natural rubber
Michelin is conducting a three-year project in Sri Lanka as part of its efforts to transform the natural rubber industry towards sustainability.
It aims to train 6,000 farmers and their families in agricultural techniques, soft skills, and environmentally friendly farming practices to secure improved livelihoods. In addition to in-person training, it leverages a digital training tool to enhance learning and to measure impact.
This public-private partnership brings together the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Plantations, Ksapa, an NGO coordinating this initiative on the ground and Michelin’s Sri Lankan subsidiary.
Smallholders make up a majority of the natural rubber supply chain, and it is essential that they can secure decent livelihoods while farming rubber in an environmentally and socially responsible way. It is also part of Michelin’s approach to its duty of care, where risks throughout its supply chain are assessed and mitigated.
By end 2023, 172 farmers received training.
CASCADE
A concrete and virtuous project to support natural rubber producers in Indonesia.
Reinforcing competencies
Together with Porsche, CASCADE, an acronym for Committed Actions for Smallholder CApacity DEvelopment, is a capacity-building project with smallholder natural rubber farmers and their families in Central Sumatra, Indonesia.
This four-year project aims to address sustainability risks linked to natural rubber production, based on results from RubberWay™ risk assessments, by empowering 1,000 of smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable practices. A digital training tool is used to enhance scalability and measure impacts.
This project is unique as it encompasses the entirety of the supply chain, from car manufacturer to smallholder farmers.
As part of their learning journey, smallholder farmers begin with a 3-day ‘Rubber Clinic’ which covers best agricultural techniques such as tapping, pest and disease management and health and safety. This is held on site and reinforced through the innovative mobile application where farmers can view lessons and track their results.
A second phase of training also began on ‘Price Discovery’ and also on ‘Income Diversification’ to develop other crops in addition to rubber.
By end 2023, 1,000 smallholder rubber producers have been trained in best cultivation, environmental and social practices.
In 2024, the project will continue to accelerate with new farmers, and additional modules including some relating to environmental practices.
MAHAKAM
A project in East Kalimantan, Indonesia to support natural rubber farmers.
Based on the learnings from CASCADE, a similar capacity building project, called MAHAKAM, is been deployed in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Pilot groups of smallholders have received training. In total, 111 farmers were trained in 2023.
Building capacity in Agroforestry
A project in Thailand to support income diversification for smallholder farmers through agroforestry.
Diversifying activities
Michelin pledges funding for a GPSNR (Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber) project in Thailand, the world’s largest natural rubber producer.
This three-year project will empower smallholder farmers to enhance their livelihoods, while creating positive environmental outcomes. Agroforestry aims to integrate various trees, plants, and food crops into farming systems.
The positive impacts of agroforestry systems include:
- Additional income streams,
- Reduction in agrochemical inputs,
- Increased carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
In 2023, 109 farmers were trained on agroforestry systems. In 2024 and 2025, the project will continue to accelerate deployment to provinces in South Thailand with the aim to train 1,000 farmers in the coming years.
Natural rubber development in Amazonas, Brazil
A partnership project to strengthen the natural rubber extraction chain.
Empowering local communities
The objective of this project, supported by WWF Brazil and the Michelin Corporate Foundation, is to develop natural rubber extraction in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, preserve the forest and promote the development of Amazonian communities.
Over the next 3 years, the partnership also goals to generate a positive economic impact for 1,000 families, who will benefit from the work of conservation and management of 767,600 hectares in 14 Units of Conservation in the state of Amazonas.
The production of 700 tons of rubber will boost the local economy while respecting the defined social and environmental standards.