Sustainability  drives  the  business  practices  and  operating  principles  of  the  United  States tire industry, from engineering innovations that maximize  tire  longevity and performance, to  ensuring  driver  and  employee  safety,  to  preserving  the  environment  throughout  the  life The survey results  demonstrate that, overall, there is strong  alignment between the priorities of USTMA members and external stakeholders. See the reverse for additional information. cycle  of  a  tire.  Those  efforts  and  more  were  captured  in  the  first  sustainability  report  of  the U.S.  Tire  Manufacturers  Association  (USTMA),  published  in  2019.  The  report  laid  out  USTMA’s sustainability visions for the  industry and reiterated its commitment to working toward these visions in partnership with relevant stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, legislators, regulators  and  NGOs.  In  that  spirit,  USTMA  conducted  a  materiality  survey  of  its  members and  stakeholders  in  Spring  of  2020  to  help  maximize  alignment  with  their  sustainability priorities in future  USTMA programs and communications. 

Materiality  assessments  are  traditionally  undertaken by individual  companies  to identify environmental,  social  and  governance  issues  that  could  affect  their  business;  results are used to inform company strategy, targets,  and reporting.  USTMA is a  pioneer in  applying  this  concept  at  the  trade association level. 

USTMA  developed and conducted its materiality  survey in  collaboration  with  Future  500,  a non-profit  consultancy.  Together,  they  formulated  a list  of  24  relevant sustainability  topics using  guidance from the Global  Reporting  Initiative (GRI),  Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB),  Ceres Roadmap  for Sustainability, United  Nations  Global  Compact, and other external experts.  The web-based survey was distributed more than 600 stakeholders across diverse stakeholder categories, drawn from USTMA and member rolodexes and Future 500 recommendations.