On 26 February 2026, Michelin Italia presented the fifth edition of its “Sustainable Management Certificate”, an initiative which, although young compared with the brand’s 120-year history in Italy, marks a significant milestone. The 2026 edition, based on 2025 mileage data, saw participation double, confirming that sustainability has become an essential strategic lever for Italian fleets.
At the core of the French manufacturer’s sustainability strategy is what the company calls the “Multi-Life model”, under which the truck tyre is no longer a disposable product but a durable asset designed to be regenerated several times. “We buy it new and that is the first life; when it wears down, we can regroove it, generating a second life that allows an additional 25% mileage,” explains Silvia Vergani, Marketing Director of Michelin Italia. The process does not stop at regrooving. The Michelin casing, specifically designed for durability, can then be retreaded, regrooved again and, thanks to new commercial offers recently launched, retreaded a second time. “For most of the ranges we offer, we can therefore speak of a tyre that can have up to six lives.”
Vergani quantifies the benefits of this approach, both for the environment and for transport operators’ balance sheets. “Each retreaded tyre uses 50 kilos less raw material, because I use the original casing of the new tyre. In concrete terms, this means that, on average, a retreaded tyre costs the transport fleet 40% less than a new premium tyre.” According to Michelin estimates, full adoption of the Multi-Life model leads to an overall reduction in cost per kilometre of around 33%.
One of the most sensitive issues when discussing retreading is safety. Vergani sought to dispel any doubts: “Every tyre retreaded in Michelin plants undergoes 86 stages of inspection.” These are not random checks but individual inspections of each unit, both before and after processing. The technologies used include shearography, a sort of MRI scan to detect voids or air bubbles, and X-rays to verify the integrity of the casing’s steel cords. The result? “The accident rates we have recorded are lower than those of new tyres.” According to Michelin, casing quality is what makes the difference compared with competitors. “Statistics from third-party retreaders tell us that they actively seek Michelin casings because, at a minimum, 90% of them can be retreaded,” Vergani adds.
As for the 2026 edition of the certificate, the data presented show strong growth in interest in these practices. “We are talking about figures that have doubled,” Vergani announced. “In 2026, 67 heavy transport companies obtain the certificate. These correspond to 23,000 vehicles that have generated significant savings: 8,228 tonnes of CO2 and almost 3,000 tonnes of raw materials.”
The certificate is issued by Michelin in collaboration with Dekra, a certification body that validates the data, and is reserved for companies that meet two critical thresholds: a regrooving rate of at least 10% and the use of at least 30% retreaded tyres across the fleet. The pool of participants is widening, no longer limited to large structured fleets but also including medium and small operators, among them passenger transport companies and quarry and construction businesses.
