Driving a Climate-Friendly Tire Circular Economy AZuR – the Alliance for the Future of Tires – is on a mission to build a climate-friendly circular economy for tires across Germany and Europe. The goal: to keep sustainable new tires rolling as long as possible through repair, regrooving, and retreading—and then ensure their materials are recovered through eco-friendly mechanical or chemical processes. By doing so, Germany could avoid hundreds of thousands of tons of waste each year, cut CO₂ emissions, conserve natural resources, and keep valuable raw materials like textile fibers, steel wire, and rubber in the loop. More than 90 AZuR partners from industry, SMEs, retail, and academia cover the entire tire circular economy. Universities in the AZuR network are fueling innovation with research projects and studies to improve processes and boost tire recycling technologies. Between 2023 and 2026, AZuR and its partner network received multiple sustainability accolades. AZuR itself won the Recircle Circular Economy Award (2023), the European Transport Award for Sustainability in the category Tyres and Tyre Peripherals (2024), the German Award for Sustainability Projects in the category 'Overall Concept – NPO' (2025), and the NRW Special Award for Resource Conservation for its cooperation model (2025). In addition, seven AZuR partner companies were honored with Recircle Awards 2025 in Bologna, and AZuR partner BEAR Machines won the European Transport Award for Sustainability 2026. 🌍 The AZuR model for a successful tire circular economy is drawing attention worldwide — and it’s ready to be scaled to other regions and waste streams.