Why ISCC PLUS for steel tire reinforcement matters: closing the loop across tire materials

The tire industry is moving fast toward verifiable sustainability and that requires more than ambition. It requires trust, transparency, and harmonization in how recycled and renewable content claims are made and verified.

For years, ISCC PLUS has been widely used to support traceability and certification across a wide set of materials relevant to tires; including rubber-related inputs and other key components. But one major material category remained difficult to bring into the same framework: steel tire reinforcement. 

Steel reinforcement was one of the last missing pieces

Tires are complex products made from multiple materials. Achieving credible, comparable sustainability claims becomes significantly easier when those materials can be covered under one harmonized certification approach.

Recognizing this gap, Bekaert took the lead in addressing one of the key missing elements in the ISCC PLUS framework: the inclusion of steel tire reinforcement. By actively engaging with ISCC and key partners, Bekaert helped enable the expansion of the certification scope to reflect the full material reality of tire production.

That is why the inclusion of steel reinforcement into the ISCC PLUS scope matters: it strengthens the industry’s ability to move toward a more unified, end-to-end sustainability framework.

ISCC itself describes the tire sector as a space where traceability and credible verification are becoming increasingly critical and where the scope of eligible certified materials is expanding to reflect the real complexity of tire production, including steel cords and bead wires. 

Controlled blending vs mass balance: the chain of custody choice that makes steel claims credible

When people hear “ISCC PLUS,” they often assume it equals mass balance. But that’s not always true and for steel tire reinforcement, that distinction is essential.

Why the chain of custody matters more for steel

Steel is widely recycled across industries and geographies, and scrap can originate from many sources. That makes transparency and robust chain-of-custody choices especially important if recycled-content claims are to remain credible and auditable.

For steel tire reinforcement under ISCC PLUS, the mandated chain of custody is controlled blending, chosen specifically to preserve physical connectivity of recycled content and to reduce the risk of weaker claims.

A quick view: the five chain-of-custody levels

ISCC PLUS references chain-of-custody approaches aligned with ISO 22095, which includes multiple options across a “strength ladder.” In the webinar, the message was clear: physical connectivity is preserved at the stronger levels, and not preserved at the weaker ones.

For steel tire reinforcement with high recycled content, the framework relies on controlled blending because it keeps claims tied to traceable, documented, batch-linked evidence across the certified supply chain.

What controlled blending changes in practice

Controlled blending supports more credible verification by making sustainability declarations and documentation product- and batch-linked, connected through the chain from upstream inputs to finished tire cord and bead wire deliveries.

This is also why the webinar emphasized that credit transfers are not allowed upstream for steel tire reinforcement under this model — the focus is on maintaining the physical presence and traceability per batch/unit.

What customers can still do downstream

A key practical takeaway from the webinar: once certified materials reach the tire maker, downstream chain-of-custody choices can follow the same level or a lower level (as described with ISO 22095 logic). That means tire makers may continue with controlled blending or use mass balance downstream where permitted.

A deliberate choice for credibility

Controlled blending was not selected by chance. It reflects a deliberate choice to ensure that recycled-content claims for steel tire reinforcement remain physically grounded, traceable, and auditable.

Building on its own recycled-content framework, Bekaert contributed to shaping how ISCC PLUS is applied to steel, helping set a clear, credible standard for sustainability claims across the industry.