The Bridgestone Group's approach to CSR | CSR

Home
Responsibilities
CSR
The Bridgestone Group's approach to CSR

We at the Bridgestone Group conduct our daily business activities in a way that increases the overall level of our CSR activities based on our belief CSR is at the heart of management itself. These CSR initiatives help the Bridgestone Group achieve its ideal state.

Framework for pursuing CSR activities
The company's CSR activities
Individual CSR
CSR communication
CSR management

Framework for pursuing CSR activities

CSR activities at both the corporate (organizational) and employee (individual) levels

More than just a series of abstract philosophical principles, CSR must be put into practice in the course of Group companies' daily business activities. Based on this belief, the Bridgestone Group has taken a two-pronged approach to CSR that includes company activities at the management level as well as employee activities at the individual level. We also strive to enhance and expand both the scope and quality of our CSR programs by examining past activities through CSR communication with stakeholders.

The company's CSR activities

Pursuing CSR activities that are consistent with our business activities

CSR and the Mid-term Management Plan

The Bridgestone Group considers CSR to be a core component of management that should be omnipresent in our daily business operations and activities. We have developed specific policies in the form of a Mid-term Management Plan to identify and achieve our CSR vision and goals. In short, CSR activities are conducted in the PDCA ("plan," "do," "check," "act") cycle for achieving the goals of the Plan so that they are an integral part of that process.

22 CSR Focus Points

Structure of the 22 CSR Focus Points

In 2007, the Bridgestone Group established 22 CSR Focus Points to serve as a Group-wide common language that would guide the pursuit of consistent, steadfast CSR activities. The Focus Points were selected from a range of general societal requirements and organized according to three perspectives: importance to the Bridgestone Group, importance to stakeholders and progress by the Group in taking appropriate actions.

We pursue these 22 Focus Points by means of Group-wide "instructions" that embody specific objectives, policy directions and approaches. These instructions are reviewed and revised on a regular basis to ensure that we take into account changes in societal requirements.

In 2011, the entire Bridgestone Group conducted a self-assessment to ascertain whether the instructions based on the 22 CSR Focus Points were being implemented. Since the self-assessment helped us better visualize these activities, we are now pursuing improvement initiatives based on its findings.

We also reviewed the level of Bridgestone's activities based on ISO 26000, which was issued in November 2010. We have developed an action plan prioritizing those items that the results of this review indicate we need to address through further initiatives.

Individual CSR

We believe that the awareness and the way individual employees pursue their daily responsibilities are critical in the Group's business activities and approach to CSR. Each employee must apply CSR to his or her own work and take positive action to achieve the Group's vision.

Bridgestone employees deepen their understanding of the Group's CSR activities by attending CSR Report Reading Workshops and Bridgestone Essence Workshops. Individual employees also make a personal commitment that lays out what they believe to be important in their jobs and how they intend to conduct themselves so that they are better able to behave in a manner that earns the trust of stakeholders.

CSR communication

The Bridgestone Group strives to strengthen its CSR activities by communicating with local communities, customers, shareholders, business partners and employees. Additionally, we work to increase the transparency of our activities by publicizing our progress toward achieving CSR goals in annual CSR reports.

Independent evaluation of CSR activities

Based on its CSR initiatives in areas such as the environment, human rights, and labor, Bridgestone has been selected for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) Asia Pacific, an international socially responsible investment (SRI) index. The company also continues to be included in the Morningstar Socially Responsible Investment Index (MS-SRI), a leading Japanese SRI index. (This information is current as of April 1, 2012.)

Initiatives addressing global issues that affect the entire tire industry

Together with other leading tire manufacturers, Bridgestone is examining potential environmental impacts of tires through the Tire Industry Project, which was formed under the Geneva, Switzerland-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Examining the environmental and ecological impacts of Tire and Road Wear Particles (TRWP)
Tire and Road Wear Particles (TRWP) are generated as tires wear down during use. Having identified methods for collecting and quantifying TRWP, project members are now examining the impact of TRWP on the environment and its ecosystems.
Examining effective end-of-life tire (ELT) management systems and publishing ELT management manual
There is variation in ELT management systems among different countries and regions, both in the methods and in the level at which they are implemented. Following a review of how ELTs were being managed, The Tire Industry Project published a manual, End-of-Life Tires: A Framework for Effective ELT Management Systems in an effort to propose an effective system for managing ELTs worldwide.
Compiling guidelines on the use of nano-materials
Bridgestone is involved in a project dedicated to compiling guidelines on the research, development and industrialization of nano-materials, particularly in tire development and manufacturing, in partnership with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

CSR management

Structures for pursuing CSR activities

The fundamental approach to CSR initiatives throughout the Bridgestone Group is set by the Integrated CSR Enhancement Committee, which is chaired by the CEO and Representative Board Member. The Global Management Platform (GMP), which is responsible for pursuing activities in each issue area, then develops a basic direction for the Group's initiatives based on that approach.

Strategic business units, or SBUs, which are responsible for conducting business operations, translate that direction into action after taking into account specific circumstances and conditions in individual countries and regions.

Additionally, the following committees have been formed to advise the Integrated CSR Enhancement Committee and assist in guiding initiatives undertaken in each issue area: the Compliance Committee, the Risk Management Committee, the Social Activities Committee, the Group Environmental Committee and the Group Safety Committee.

Framework for CSR activities in Japan

The Bridgestone Group strives to promote CSR awareness through lectures for management-level employees, a company magazine and its corporate intranet. Each division and plant elects a key CSR person whose job is to organize CSR Report Reading Workshops for administrative and technical employees. The Group also holds training sessions and workshops in Japan for certain corporate officers and employees of overseas Group companies in an effort to promote CSR awareness throughout the Group.

Structures for pursuing CSR activities

Page Top