MRF Limited is India’s largest tyre manufacturer and the nineteenth largest globally by revenue, operating 10 manufacturing plants and 197 offices across India, with total income of INR 28,561 crore in FY2025. The company published its FY2025 ESG Databook in 2025, complementing a mandatory BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report) for the period ending 31st March 2025 and subjected to reasonable assurance by SGS India, covering all 10 manufacturing plants as the reporting boundary. MRF’s sustainability framework is organised across four thematic areas: Energy and Emissions, Waste Management, Water Stewardship, and Biodiversity, governed by an ESG Council and the Board of Directors with periodic performance reviews.
MRF committed to carbon neutrality by FY2050 with a medium-term intensity reduction target of 25% in Scope 1 and 2 GHG intensity by FY2028 against a FY2023 baseline, and in October 2025 committed INR 990 million to acquire a 26% stake in Serentica Renewables India 26 Private Limited to develop a 170 MW solar-wind hybrid captive power project, the most significant single renewable energy investment in MRF’s corporate history. The BRSR Core indicators are independently assured by SGS India annually, placing MRF within the cohort of Indian manufacturers meeting SEBI’s mandatory sustainability assurance standard, though no external ESG rating from CDP, EcoVadis, or SBTi had been confirmed in sources reviewed as of March 2026.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/sustainability
https://www.mrftyres.com/investor-relations/business-responsibility-and-sustainability-report
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf
Sustainability Strategy and Goals
MRF’s formal sustainability strategy applies a 4R framework: Reduce (rolling resistance in tyres and carbon footprint in manufacturing), Reuse (retreading and reclaimed rubber), Recycle (rCB, recycled cord, EPR-compliant waste management), and Renewable (renewable energy across plants). The strategy aligns with India’s national sustainability requirements under BRSR and SEBI ESG obligations, and with India’s 2070 net-zero goal, but no UN SDG alignment scorecard, TCFD report, or TNFD disclosure has been confirmed in sources reviewed as of March 2026. The ESG Council and Board of Directors provide governance oversight, with a defined reporting cadence under BRSR, and MRF’s FY2025 ESG Databook represents the most comprehensive standalone sustainability disclosure in the company’s history, exceeding the BRSR format in detail across environmental performance metrics.
Net Zero and Carbon Emissions
MRF targets net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by FY2050, with a medium-term interim target of 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG intensity by FY2028 against a FY2023 baseline. No SBTi validation for these targets had been confirmed as of March 2026.
- Total GHG emissions in FY2025 were approximately 1,198,802 tCO2e, comprising Scope 1 at 594,035 tCO2e and market-based Scope 2 at approximately 604,767 tCO2e, across all 10 manufacturing plants.
- Total GHG emissions in FY2024 were 1,202,941 tCO2e, confirming a marginal 0.34% year-on-year reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 between FY2024 and FY2025, despite an increase in total income of approximately 9% over the same period.
- Energy intensity improved from 8.93 GJ per unit of physical output in FY2024 to 8.89 GJ in FY2025, a 0.45% improvement reflecting continued process optimisation, energy-efficient technology deployment, and responsible energy management across all plants.
- Renewable energy contributed 12% of MRF’s total electricity consumption in FY2024 and FY2025, sourced through existing green energy agreements, with the Serentica 170 MW solar-wind hybrid project expected to raise this to at least 51% once commissioned.
- MRF is deploying three near-term decarbonisation levers across all 10 plants: gas-based steam generation as a substitute for coal boilers, biomass blending for process thermal energy, and nitrogen-based curing systems to reduce curing energy demand.
Water Stewardship
MRF manages water across its 10 manufacturing plants with a focus on reducing freshwater withdrawal, expanding wastewater treatment and reuse, and deploying alternative water sources including desalinated seawater at coastal facilities.
- MRF operates 100% desalinated seawater at one of its coastal manufacturing facilities, the only confirmed seawater desalination deployment in the Indian tyre industry for manufacturing process water, eliminating freshwater dependency at that site.
- MRF implemented enhanced wastewater treatment and recovery systems across multiple plants in FY2025, targeting horizontal deployment of wastewater treatment plants across all applicable facilities to maximise treated water reuse in production processes.
- MRF’s water conservation programme targets reduced reliance on freshwater sources across all manufacturing locations, with specific projects covering condensate recovery, cooling tower water recycling, and rainwater harvesting at eligible sites.
- No standalone absolute water reduction target with a confirmed baseline year and percentage reduction milestone was published by MRF in FY2025, a disclosure gap relative to Apollo (28% intensity reduction confirmed), Continental (55% below industry average), and Bridgestone (22.3% at water stress sites).
Regenerative Agriculture
MRF sources natural rubber from plantations primarily in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and other South Indian states, making it the most domestically dependent major tyre manufacturer for NR sourcing among all six manufacturers in this report series. MRF’s NR sourcing concentration in India creates a different sustainability risk profile from exporters reliant on Southeast Asia, with deforestation pressure in the Western Ghats rubber belt distinct from but comparable to Sumatra and Kalimantan risks faced by Korean and European manufacturers.
- MRF has not published a standalone Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy aligned with GPSNR Policy Components in sources reviewed as of March 2026, creating the most significant NR governance gap among the six manufacturers in this series and a material EUDR-readiness risk for its export volumes to European markets.
- MRF’s domestic NR sourcing concentration from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka smallholder farmers gives it a structurally closer relationship with rubber-producing communities than any other large-scale tyre manufacturer, but without a published GPSNR-aligned policy, the sustainability credentials of this sourcing relationship are not externally verifiable.
- MRF’s CSR programmes include rural development and environmental sustainability in communities proximate to its manufacturing sites, and its rubber sourcing geographies overlap with those communities, creating a potential co-benefit structure that is currently not captured in its ESG disclosures.
Deforestation and Biodiversity
MRF’s biodiversity commitments are captured in the biodiversity section of its FY2025 ESG Databook, covering ecosystem-level initiatives at and around its production sites, including efforts to advance cleaner energy pathways to reduce indirect land use pressures. No TNFD or LEAP framework disclosure had been confirmed for MRF as of March 2026.
- MRF’s ESG Databook FY2025 confirms biodiversity-linked initiatives as one of the four thematic pillars of its environmental programme, embedding ecosystem restoration within the same governance framework as energy, water, and waste.
- MRF’s biomass substitution projects at applicable manufacturing locations, by reducing coal dependency, indirectly reduce the indirect land use pressure associated with coal mining in ecologically sensitive Indian regions.
- The absence of a Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy with GPSNR-aligned deforestation cutoffs means MRF cannot currently verify deforestation-free status in its NR supply chain to European OEM standards, a growing commercial risk as EUDR implementation advances through 2025 and 2026.
Packaging and Circular Economy
MRF’s circular economy strategy is anchored in its retreading programme, reclaimed rubber integration, bio-based and eco-friendly material inputs, and EPR-compliant tyre waste management under India’s Rubber Waste Management Rules. MRF’s retreading programme is described as one of the most extensive in India, with retreaded tyres engineered for multiple retread cycles reducing GHG emissions by up to 70% compared to manufacturing equivalent new tyres.
- MRF’s retreading programme reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70% per retreaded tyre compared to new tyre production, and saves an equivalent proportion of raw materials, making retreading the highest-impact single circular economy activity in MRF’s current product portfolio by GHG reduction per unit.
- MRF is increasingly integrating eco-friendly, bio-based, and lower-impact input materials into its product range, with the ESG Databook FY2025 confirming active evaluation of bio-based silica and other renewable compound ingredients as replacements for fossil-derived inputs.
- MRF manages all tyre waste including ELT from its own production via EPR-compliant recyclers and approved vendors under India’s Rubber Waste Management Rules, creating a documented end-of-life management pathway for its domestic production volume.
- No commercially available tyre with a confirmed percentage of sustainable materials and independent certification has been confirmed for MRF in sources reviewed as of March 2026, creating the largest gap between current commercial sustainable product content and the rest of the six-manufacturer series.
- MRF’s 4R strategy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Renewable provides a framework for circular economy progress, with reclaimed rubber constituting the primary current circular material in production, consistent with Apollo’s position where reclaimed rubber also dominates current recycled content.
Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing
MRF’s human rights framework is embedded in its BRSR Core disclosure, covering employee welfare, workplace safety, and community engagement in the social pillar. No standalone Human Rights Policy aligned with UNGP standards had been confirmed in sources reviewed as of March 2026.
- MRF received the Overall Best QCDDM (Quality, Cost, Delivery, and Development Management) Supplier award from Suzuki Motor India in May 2024, covering all supply performance dimensions and confirming that MRF’s supply chain governance meets the highest OEM supplier standard in the Indian market.
- MRF’s BRSR Core indicators, assured by SGS India, cover employee welfare, working conditions, and responsible business conduct metrics as mandatory SEBI disclosure requirements, providing an assured baseline for social performance tracking.
- MRF’s CSR programme includes women’s empowerment as an explicit project category in its Board-approved CSR project list for FY2025 to FY2026, confirming gender-focused social investment alongside education, healthcare, and rural development.
Community and Social Impact
MRF’s CSR programme is governed by its Board-approved CSR project list for FY2025 to FY2026, covering education (digital classrooms), healthcare, skill development, safe drinking water, rural development, women’s empowerment, environmental sustainability, and sports promotion.
- MRF’s FY2025 CSR expenditure contributes to digital education infrastructure, healthcare access, safe drinking water, and rural development programmes in communities surrounding its 10 manufacturing plants across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, and Punjab.
- MRF’s sports promotion CSR programme, a long-standing platform that has supported cricketers, motorsport athletes, and racket sports players through dedicated training facilities and sponsorship, represents the most prominent single social brand investment among Indian tyre manufacturers.
- MRF’s CSR Impact Assessment Report for FY2024 to FY2025, conducted by SCA and Associates, provides third-party evaluation of the community benefit delivered by MRF’s CSR investments during the preceding programme cycle, creating an independent assessment of social outcome quality.
Governance and Transparency
MRF’s governance structure includes a Board of Directors with ESG oversight, an ESG Council, a Corporate Governance Committee, and a BRSR-mandatory disclosure framework with independent SGS India assurance on BRSR Core indicators. MRF published its first standalone ESG Databook in FY2025, supplementing the BRSR with more granular environmental performance data than the mandatory format requires, representing a proactive governance transparency step that no Indian tyre manufacturer was required to take.
- MRF’s first standalone ESG Databook for FY2024 to FY2025 provides granular energy intensity, emissions, water, waste, and biodiversity data beyond the BRSR mandatory reporting scope, establishing a more detailed baseline for external sustainability comparison than previously available from MRF’s public disclosures.
- SGS India independently assures MRF’s BRSR Core indicators, the mandatory third-party assurance standard for SEBI-listed companies in India, confirming data quality and completeness for all legally required ESG metrics.
- MRF has not confirmed participation in CDP, EcoVadis, SBTi, GPSNR, or UNGC as of March 2026, creating the largest external governance certification gap among the six manufacturers in this series, though the FY2025 ESG Databook represents the first step toward voluntary disclosure depth comparable to global peers.
Technology and Innovation
MRF’s sustainable technology portfolio comprises five operational programmes: gas-based steam generation as coal substitution, biomass blending for process thermal energy, nitrogen-based curing systems for energy reduction, seawater desalination for process water independence, and eco-friendly bio-based material integration in compounds.
- MRF’s gas-based steam generation programme replaces coal boilers with natural gas-fired steam systems, reducing Scope 1 process combustion intensity and eliminating solid particulate emissions at applicable manufacturing sites.
- MRF’s biomass blending programme introduces biomass alongside conventional fuels for process thermal energy, providing a lower-carbon alternative without full combustion system replacement, enabling a phased transition across all applicable locations.
- MRF’s nitrogen-based curing system deployment reduces thermal energy demand during the tyre curing process, one of the highest-energy-intensity operations in tyre manufacturing, by replacing conventional steam-based curing at eligible presses.
- The INR 990 million investment in Serentica Renewables India 26 Private Limited in October 2025, acquiring a 26% stake in a 170 MW solar-wind hybrid captive power project, is the most consequential single decarbonisation technology investment in MRF’s history. Once commissioned, this project is expected to supply at least 51% of MRF’s electricity from renewable sources, a step-change from the current 12% renewable share.
- MRF’s retreading technology, engineering tyres for multiple retread cycles and reducing GHG emissions by up to 70% per retreaded tyre versus new production, constitutes a commercially deployed circular economy technology at scale across the Indian commercial vehicle fleet.
Global Partnerships and Advocacy
MRF’s external partnerships are primarily domestic, covering the Serentica Renewables captive power joint venture (October 2025), OEM supply relationships with Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, and other Indian automakers, and its CSR implementation partners for community development programmes.
- MRF’s INR 990 million captive stake in Serentica Renewables India 26 Private Limited, the first joint venture investment of this nature by MRF in the renewable energy sector, establishes a committed procurement relationship for 170 MW of solar-wind hybrid power that addresses both decarbonisation targets and India’s Renewable Purchase Obligation requirements.
- MRF’s Suzuki Motor India Overall Best QCDDM Supplier recognition in May 2024 confirms that its supply chain governance and quality management standards satisfy the highest tier of OEM supplier assessment in the Indian market.
- MRF does not yet participate in global multilateral sustainability platforms (GPSNR, TIP, UNGC, RE100, CDP, SBTi, or EcoVadis), the most comprehensive absence from external voluntary frameworks among the six manufacturers in this series, representing the primary governance positioning gap relative to its global and Indian peers.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/MRF-BRSR-FY-24-25.pdf
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/serentica-renewables-to-develop-170-mw-hybrid-project-for-mrf/124524800
https://www.angelone.in/news/market-updates/mrf-invests-in-serentica-renewables-for-solar-and-wind-power
https://alcircle.com/news/mrf-commits-inr-990-million-to-serentica-renewables-in-a-major-clean-energy-investment-115789
https://tracenable.com/company/mrf/ghg-emissions
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/mrf
Progress vs. Target Tracker
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/MRF-BRSR-FY-24-25.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/mrf/ghg-emissions
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/serentica-renewables-to-develop-170-mw-hybrid-project-for-mrf/124524800
Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
- Serentica Renewables 170 MW solar-wind hybrid captive power project: MRF’s October 2025 commitment of INR 990 million to acquire a 26% stake in a 170 MW solar-wind hybrid project developed by Serentica Renewables is the single most consequential decarbonisation investment in MRF’s history. Once commissioned, it is expected to supply at least 51% of MRF’s electricity from renewable sources, a step-change from 12% in FY2025 and the most rapid single-action renewable energy transition available to a manufacturing company operating primarily in India. The captive power model under India’s Electricity Act framework provides long-term cost predictability alongside the carbon reduction benefit.
- Seawater desalination for manufacturing process water: MRF operates 100% desalinated seawater for process water at one of its coastal manufacturing facilities, eliminating freshwater dependency at that site through a commercially deployed and operationally mature alternative water technology. This is the only confirmed seawater desalination deployment for manufacturing process water among all six manufacturers in this report series, and it creates a template for water independence at coastal tyre manufacturing sites that is directly replicable at other coastal Indian facilities.
- Retreading programme for GHG reduction at commercial vehicle scale: MRF’s retreading programme, integrated into the commercial vehicle fleet management ecosystem across India, reduces GHG emissions by up to 70% per retreaded tyre compared to new tyre production and saves an equivalent proportion of raw materials, creating the highest unit-level GHG reduction of any single circular economy programme in MRF’s portfolio. With India’s commercial vehicle fleet among the largest in the world, MRF’s retread programme delivers sustainability outcomes at a scale that is not replicated by any product innovation in the passenger car segment.
- Gas-based steam generation with horizontal deployment: MRF’s gas-based steam generation programme replaces coal boilers with natural gas-fired steam systems across applicable manufacturing locations, representing a systematic process heat decarbonisation programme deployed in parallel with biomass blending and nitrogen curing. The horizontal deployment model, explicitly stated as the company’s internal roll-out strategy, confirms that the programme is designed for group-wide implementation rather than pilot-site demonstration, the critical difference between a technology trial and a structural decarbonisation commitment.
- Nitrogen-based curing systems for thermal energy reduction: MRF’s deployment of nitrogen-based curing systems replaces steam-based curing in eligible tyre presses, reducing thermal energy demand at the highest-energy-intensity stage of the tyre manufacturing process. This technology reduces both energy consumption per tyre and Scope 1 steam-related combustion emissions, and its horizontal deployment across all applicable plants places it alongside biomass blending and gas steam generation as one of three simultaneous process decarbonisation programmes running in parallel at MRF’s 10 manufacturing sites.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/serentica-renewables-to-develop-170-mw-hybrid-project-for-mrf/124524800
https://www.angelone.in/news/market-updates/mrf-invests-in-serentica-renewables-for-solar-and-wind-power
https://alcircle.com/news/mrf-commits-inr-990-million-to-serentica-renewables-in-a-major-clean-energy-investment-115789
Measurable Impacts
MRF’s most independently verified sustainability impacts in FY2025 are in absolute GHG emissions reduction, energy intensity improvement, and water independence at its coastal facility. Total Scope 1 and 2 absolute emissions fell marginally by 0.34% from 1,202,941 tCO2e in FY2024 to 1,198,802 tCO2e in FY2025, achieved despite a 9% increase in total income, confirming that MRF has begun to decouple emissions from revenue growth for the first time in a measurable way.
- Energy intensity improved from 8.93 GJ per unit of physical output in FY2024 to 8.89 GJ in FY2025, a 0.45% year-on-year improvement confirming operational efficiency gains across the 10-plant network.
- 12% of total electricity came from renewable sources in FY2025, established through existing green energy agreements, providing a confirmed baseline for the projected jump to 51% once the Serentica 170 MW captive project is commissioned.
- 100% desalinated seawater operations at MRF’s coastal plant confirm that complete freshwater independence at a single production site is operationally achieved and not merely targeted, making this the most complete single-site water sustainability outcome in the Indian tyre manufacturing industry.
- MRF’s retreading programme reduced GHG emissions by up to 70% per retreaded tyre compared to new tyre production in the commercial vehicle segment, the highest unit-level circular economy carbon saving of any product programme across the six manufacturers in this series.
- BRSR Core indicator assurance by SGS India confirms that all mandatory sustainability disclosures for FY2025 are independently verified, meeting the SEBI-imposed evidentiary standard for sustainability data credibility in the Indian listed company universe.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/mrf/ghg-emissions
https://www.angelone.in/news/market-updates/mrf-invests-in-serentica-renewables-for-solar-and-wind-power
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/MRF-BRSR-FY-24-25.pdf
Challenges and Areas for Improvement
MRF’s 25% Scope 1 and 2 GHG intensity reduction target by FY2028 from a FY2023 baseline is tracking at insufficient pace. The absolute emissions reduction in FY2025 was 0.34%, and the intensity improvement per unit of physical output was 0.45%, both far below the trajectory required to achieve 25% intensity reduction in three fiscal years from the reporting date. The Serentica 170 MW project, when commissioned, will structurally address Scope 2 electricity emissions by moving renewable share from 12% to 51%, but has not yet started commercial operations, and no commissioning timeline has been publicly confirmed. Without confirmed commissioning by FY2027, the FY2028 intensity target becomes mathematically very difficult to reach.
The absence from all major voluntary sustainability frameworks is MRF’s most structurally significant gap relative to peers. MRF has not confirmed CDP participation, EcoVadis assessment, SBTi application, GPSNR membership, UNGC membership, or ISCC PLUS certification as of March 2026. In a market where European OEM customers are implementing mandatory supplier sustainability assessment under CSRD Scope 3 reporting requirements, and where the EU Deforestation Regulation requires NR supply chain traceability from plantation to port, MRF’s export volumes to Europe face a growing documentation and verification gap that will require resolution as OEM contract renewals from 2026 onward include mandatory ESG qualification criteria.
Sustainable material content in commercial products is unconfirmed. No commercially available MRF tyre with a certified or declared percentage of bio-based or recycled material content was confirmed in sources reviewed as of March 2026. The contrast with Apollo (4.8% recycled in production, 75% concept agri tyre), Nexen (52% demo tyre), Hankook (77% iON GT commercial), and Bridgestone (70% M870 commercial) illustrates that MRF is at the earliest stage of the sustainable material transition in its commercial product portfolio among the six manufacturers in this series. MRF’s FY2030 and FY2050 product material targets have not been separately published.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/mrf/ghg-emissions
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/serentica-renewables-to-develop-170-mw-hybrid-project-for-mrf/124524800
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/MRF-BRSR-FY-24-25.pdf
Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
MRF’s long-term sustainability trajectory through FY2050 rests on three sequential transitions: energy decarbonisation through the Serentica captive renewable power project achieving 51% renewable electricity, process heat decarbonisation through horizontal deployment of gas-based steam, biomass blending, and nitrogen curing across all 10 plants, and circular material integration through bio-based compound development and EPR-linked recycled material scaling. The FY2028 intensity target provides the first science-adjacent milestone, even in the absence of SBTi validation.
The Serentica 170 MW project is the defining investment event in MRF’s near-term sustainability trajectory. At INR 990 million, it represents a capital commitment that, once commissioned, will transform MRF’s Scope 2 profile faster than any process efficiency programme could achieve. The combination of 51% renewable electricity, ongoing gas-steam and biomass thermal substitution, and nitrogen curing deployment, if all executed simultaneously across the FY2025 to FY2028 window, creates a plausible but time-compressed pathway to the 25% intensity reduction target.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/serentica-renewables-to-develop-170-mw-hybrid-project-for-mrf/124524800
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
Comparisons to Industry Competitors
Competitor reports:
https://corporate.apollotyres.com/sustainability-and-ethics/policy-and-documents/
https://www.nexentire.com/me/company/esg_report/
https://www.hankooktire.com/global/en/esg/esg-report.html
https://www.bridgestone.com/responsibilities/esgdata/
https://annualreport.continental.com/2024/en/report/sustainability-report.pdf
What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Three specific signals through mid-2027 will determine whether MRF’s sustainability position begins converging toward its peers or remains structurally isolated at the bottom of the voluntary disclosure and certification landscape:
- Serentica 170 MW commissioning timeline announcement: MRF committed INR 990 million to a 26% stake in Serentica Renewables India 26 Private Limited in October 2025, but Serentica was newly incorporated in May 2025 and had not started commercial operations at the time of MRF’s investment. A confirmed commissioning timeline for the 170 MW solar-wind hybrid project, expected to be announced in 2026 as part of the project development cycle, will determine whether the step-change from 12% to 51% renewable electricity occurs within the FY2028 intensity target window. No commissioning timeline announced by December 2026 would create material risk to the FY2028 25% intensity reduction target and would indicate the project has encountered regulatory, land acquisition, or grid interconnection delays that are common for hybrid projects of this scale in India.
- First voluntary framework participation: CDP, SBTi, or GPSNR: MRF’s absence from all major voluntary sustainability frameworks is the most binary governance gap in this series, and any one confirmation would represent a step-change in MRF’s external accountability architecture. CDP participation, which requires a climate questionnaire response and public disclosure of GHG data and governance, is the lowest-cost entry point and the highest-visibility external signal. SBTi application would provide science-based absolute near-term targets, directly addressing the current intensity-only FY2028 commitment gap. GPSNR membership would resolve the NR deforestation policy gap that creates EUDR risk. The FY2026 Annual Report and BRSR, due July 2026, will confirm whether any of the three has been initiated. Participation in at least one by mid-2027 would represent a material governance quality upgrade. Absence from all three by mid-2027 would confirm that MRF is making an explicit strategic choice to remain outside the voluntary framework ecosystem, with direct implications for European OEM export contract qualification.
- Published sustainable material content target and first certified commercial product: MRF currently has no publicly confirmed commercial tyre with a certified sustainable material content percentage. The FY2026 ESG Databook, due mid-2026, will confirm whether a material content target for 2030 has been set and whether any commercial product category has been designated for sustainable material integration under the 4R strategy. A confirmed commercial tyre with at least 10% bio-based or recycled certified content in 2026 would signal that MRF’s circular material programme has transitioned from the bio-material evaluation and retread-only phase to commercial product deployment, the critical step that differentiates governance-stage sustainability from product-stage sustainability.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/serentica-renewables-to-develop-170-mw-hybrid-project-for-mrf/124524800
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/MRF-BRSR-FY-24-25.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/mrf/ghg-emissions
MRF’s sustainability profile is the most operationally distinctive and the most governance-lagging among the six manufacturers in this series. The combination of India’s highest-revenue tyre manufacturer, operating 10 plants with over 1.2 million tCO2e in annual Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and zero participation in CDP, EcoVadis, SBTi, GPSNR, UNGC, or ISCC PLUS, creates an accountability architecture that is structurally misaligned with the voluntary disclosure ecosystem that governs competitor positioning with European OEM customers and ESG-rated institutional investors. The FY2025 ESG Databook is the first sign that MRF’s leadership recognises this gap and is taking a first step toward closing it through voluntary disclosure depth.
The October 2025 INR 990 million Serentica Renewables investment is the most important single sustainability action MRF has taken in its history, and it is the right investment. Moving from 12% to 51% renewable electricity in a single project addresses more than half of MRF’s total Scope 1 and 2 emissions at the structural level, and it does so through a captive model that eliminates energy procurement risk alongside the carbon reduction benefit. If commissioned by FY2027, it becomes the most impactful single decarbonisation project by a tyre manufacturer in the Indian market, with implications for energy transition policy and renewable captive procurement across the Indian manufacturing sector.
Three strategic takeaways for practitioners benchmarking or replicating MRF’s approach:
- Use MRF’s Serentica captive renewable model as the India-specific template for tyre manufacturer Scope 2 elimination: The captive minority stake model under India’s Electricity Act, purchasing a 26% stake in a 170 MW dedicated solar-wind facility, provides cost-predictable renewable electricity without requiring grid-level renewable availability in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, or Andhra Pradesh. Indian manufacturers in any energy-intensive industry with Scope 2 electricity as a primary GHG driver should evaluate the captive group model as the fastest and most commercially secure pathway to RE50 or RE100 in India’s current grid environment, using MRF’s INR 990 million for 51% electricity as the investment-to-coverage ratio benchmark.
- Treat MRF’s absence from voluntary frameworks as the highest-priority single sustainability governance action for OEM supply chain ESG teams: Any European automaker, fleet operator, or institutional investor with MRF in their supplier or investee portfolio faces a supplier ESG data gap that is not resolvable from BRSR data alone. CSRD Scope 3 reporting, which requires suppliers to provide independently verified GHG intensity data in a format comparable to the procurer’s own disclosure, cannot be satisfied by BRSR-only disclosure at MRF’s current voluntary framework participation level. OEM procurement sustainability teams should formally request CDP response and GPSNR policy publication from MRF as a condition of FY2027 and beyond supply contracts, using the contractual leverage of OE supply relationships to accelerate voluntary framework adoption in the same way that European automotive customers successfully drove ISO 14001 adoption across the Indian supply base in the 2010s.
- Monitor MRF’s retreading programme as India’s most scalable near-term circular tyre economy intervention: MRF’s retreading programme delivers up to 70% GHG reduction per retreaded tyre compared to new production at commercial vehicle fleet scale across India. No bio-material product innovation in any manufacturer’s portfolio achieves this unit-level carbon saving at comparable commercial volumes in the Indian market today. Government fleet operators, logistics companies, and bus corporations procuring commercial vehicle tyres in India should prioritise retreaded tyre specifications in their fleet sustainability policies and measure MRF retread adoption rates as a Scope 3 procurement sustainability indicator, alongside the sustainable material content metrics that dominate European fleet sustainability frameworks.
Source
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/ESG-Databook-FY24-25.pdf
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/serentica-renewables-to-develop-170-mw-hybrid-project-for-mrf/124524800
https://tracenable.com/company/mrf/ghg-emissions
https://www.mrftyres.com/downloads/MRF-BRSR-FY-24-25.pdf
https://corporate.apollotyres.com/sustainability-and-ethics/policy-and-documents/
