News - 2017

“Bridgestone Group Awards 2017” Awards Ceremony

Bridgestone Recognizes Worldwide Teams for Accomplishments Awards Program Celebrates 10 Years, Contributes to Company’s Ultimate Goal

2017/04/20

Tokyo (April 20, 2017) - Bridgestone Corporation today announced that the “Bridgestone Group Awards 2017” Awards Ceremony was held on March 29, 2017.

Bridgestone Global CEO and Global COO with the winners of the Bridgestone Group Awards 2017

The Bridgestone Group Awards are a recognition program open to all organizations and employees of the Bridgestone Group. The Awards were created with the purpose of increasing employee awareness of corporate activities based on the Bridgestone Corporate Philosophy, fostering a sense of unity among Group employees and recognizing accomplishments. This program is the highest level of awards within Bridgestone Group and plays an important role in working toward achieving the Group’s ultimate goal of becoming a truly global company and “Dan-Totsu” in all aspects of our businesses. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the program.

Using the framework established in our new CSR commitment “Our Way to Serve", the awards fall into five categories for 2017: “Achievement”, “Mobility”, “People”, “Environment” and “Management Fundamentals”. Our global board members selected applications from all global business units to determine this year’s winners. As a result, among all the various activities conducted by organizations and employees of the Group, seven activities were selected for recognition this year.

The Bridgestone Group considers the Bridgestone Group Awards as an important management tool. Amid significant change in our operating environment, innovation and continuous improvement is essential in order to secure a competitive advantage and create value for both our customers and society. By recognizing outstanding activities through the awards and sharing examples of best practices, we believe we can achieve further improvements across the entire Group.

The activities selected for recognition are as follows.

Achievement: Two Winners

Recognized activity	Activating the Bridgestone Worldwide Olympic Partnership at the Olympic Games Rio 2016
Award winning team	Bridgestone Americas, Inc., Bridgestone Corporation and the Group Companies
Overview	This activity entails Bridgestone achievements leading up to and during the Olympic Games Rio 2016. An integrated group of global leaders and contributors collaborated to create the foundational team, operating structure and governance process for Bridgestone’s activation as a Worldwide Olympic Partner. Operating against a short timeline, the team also successfully planned and executed a variety of marketing, promotional, public relations, hospitality and teammate engagement activities for its debut as a Worldwide TOP Partner at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. These efforts helped increase global awareness for the Bridgestone brand, cultivate global corporate culture, and prepare the company to fully maximize its Worldwide Olympic Partnership through 2024.

Recognized activity	Innovative Strategic Partnerships for Retail Channel Reinforcement
Award winning team	Bridgestone Europe NV/SA (BSEMEA)
Overview	This activity entails BSEMEA’s Strategic Partnerships. The retail channel reinforcement is one of the key strategies for BSEMEA. BSEMEA developed a strategic partnership plan and executed various activities including the acquisition of Speedy and the joint-venture with Pneuhage Management. These activities contributed to the growth of BSEMEA business.

Mobility: One Winner

Recognized activity	The New Technology E-bike with Dual-Drive System
Award winning team	Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd. (BSC) and the Group Companies
Overview	This activity includes the development of E-bike equipped with the new technology “Dual-Drive” system. BSC launched three E-bikes with Dual-Drive system; commuter bike, city cycle and bike with child carrier to provide experience of “safety”, “reliable” and “lightly” to various stakeholders. This unique technology also contributed to promoting Bridgestone's technical capabilities to the public and increasing brand value.

People: Two Winners

Recognized activity	30 Year Leukaemia Foundation Partnership Celebration
Award winning team	Bridgestone Australia Ltd. (BSAL)
Overview	This activity celebrates the continuous support for the Leukaemia Foundation. BSAL has supported the Leukaemia Foundation for 30 years since 1986 through various activities including charity events, donation of transport vehicles and free accommodation for patients and their families.

Recognized activity	Bridgestone Corporate University Training Center
Award winning team	Bridgestone Argentina S.A.I.C.
Overview	This activity entails the creation of Bridgestone Corporate University (BCU). BCU was established in 2004 to offer educational and training opportunities for stakeholders including employees, customers and neighbors. Additionally, a Training Center was opened in 2015 to provide continuing education and training. Since it was created in 2004, BCU has had 413 graduates and has trained more than 6800 stakeholders.

Environment: One Winner

Recognized activity	Self Adhering Roofing Membranes with “Secure Bond™” Zero Volatile Organic Compound Technology
Award winning team	Firestone Building Products Company, LLC (FSBP)
Overview	This activity recognizes the development of Secure Bond™ adhesion technology, a new technology that doesn’t use Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and can be applied to various roofing applications. FSBP first launched products with the technology in 2015. These products have provided customers with easier and safer roofing solutions compared to similar existing materials, in addition to contributing to reducing environmental footprint with zero VOC.

Management Fundamentals: One Winner

Recognized activity	The Restoration Activities from Kumamoto Earthquake and Reinforcing Crisis Measures
Award winning team	Bridgestone Corporation, Bridgestone Tire Japan Co., Ltd. and the Group Companies
Overview	This activity entails restoration activities toward Kumamoto Earthquake occurred in April 2016. Group teammates in Japan cooperated with each other and supported affected teammates and communities. This prompt action contributed to the restoration of affected area, prevention of health problem and early restart of production and sales. This crisis response experience also led to the reinforcement of crisis measures.

Related link:
News Release on March 29, 2017
BRIDGESTONE UNVEILS “OUR WAY TO SERVE” AND FOCUSES SCALE AND EXPERTISE ON ADVANCING GLOBAL CSR WORK

About Bridgestone Corporation:
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tire and rubber company. In addition to tires for use in a wide variety of applications, it also manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which include industrial rubber and chemical products and sporting goods. Its products are sold in over 150 nations and territories around the world.