Pirelli is the first tire company to support the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund and – with the aim of supporting the Fund in having a significant impact on road safety globally – will provide an initial contribution of $600.000 ( 2018-2019). At the same time, Filippo Bettini, Chief Sustainability and Risk Governance Officer, was appointed as a member of the Fund's board. The main objective of Pirelli, as a leader in the tire sector, is to further increase road safety through the use of innovative technologies. The contribution to this fund – and therefore to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the aim of which is to halve fatal accidents worldwide by 2020 – represents the natural and complementary extension of the corporate mission.
“I am pleased to welcome Pirelli in supporting the United Nations fund dedicated to road safety. Given the growing interest, I ask for the support of other donors to be able to increase the most urgent resources to address the critical road safety situation,” said the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt. “Tyres are the only point of contact between the vehicle and the road and therefore represent the core of all its safety systems. Throughout our history, we have been dedicated to the constant improvement of tire safety and now we are entering the era of smart tires with the new monitoring and communication possibilities with the cyber ecosystem they bring,” said Pirelli's Filippo Bettini . "However important a company's efforts are, it is clear that the only key to significantly reducing the number of road accidents globally is collaboration with government agencies, associations and advocacy groups."
Thanks to the launch of two high-tech products related to intelligent tires – Coccetto and Cyber Car – Pirelli takes tire monitoring and information accuracy to a new level and is thus able to guarantee optimal tire performance and safety. Cyber technologies represent a system of sensors installed on the inside of the tread, capable of collecting and transmitting information, such as monitoring pressure, temperature and tire wear. In the case of the Connected, the information is transmitted to the driver's smartphone via a dedicated App, while in the case of the Cyber Car it is sent directly to the car's electronic systems. According to United Nations data, about 1,25 million people are killed each year in road accidents and over 50 million are injured, costing the global economy about $1,85 billion. The United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund, set up earlier this year, aims to accelerate progress in improving road safety by leveraging new resources that can support concrete action. The fund will focus on strengthening the functions of governments, including local governments and city authorities in developing and implementing road safety-related programs by prioritizing low- and middle-income countries.
The UNECE estimates that every $1.500 donated to the Road Safety Trust Fund can save a life, prevent 10 serious injuries and generate $51.000 in new investment. Road safety is a fundamental pillar of Pirelli's sustainable development which, among other things, actively supports the two organizations most involved in road safety: the FIA (International Automobile Federation) and the WBCSD World Business Council for Sustainable Development). Pirelli supports the FIA's ACTION FOR ROAD SAFETY campaign, not only because it is an extremely important and high-level sponsorship, but also for the projects actually carried out on the road, while with the WBCSD Pirelli participates in the Simplify project for the development of a sustainable and safe mobility in different cities around the world.
