Environment | In harmony with nature
Minimizing footprint

Bridgestone’s environmental mission is “to help ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations....” The environmental mission includes three focal points: existing in harmony with nature, valuing natural resources, and reducing CO₂ emissions. The mission’s “In harmony with nature” refers to biodiversity conservation and the Bridgestone Group’s efforts to minimize the impact of operations on the overall ecosystem.

The Group is engaged in various activities to help minimize the impact of its business activities on wildlife and natural habitats, while also engaging in numerous activities to help improve the ecology at the production sites and the communities it calls home. These activities include reducing emissions, conserving water and other important natural resources, and implementing ecological improvements and education-related projects at business locations and in local communities.

The Group intends to be even more ambitious in its activities in response to the continued importance of social and environmental issues, and the potential impact that its business growth has on the environment. Building on the various initiatives introduced in the previous mid-term target to reduce environmental impact on an ongoing basis, the Group is working to improve on these achievements and minimize its footprint even further.

The Group has introduced a Global Sustainable Procurement Policy (hereinafter Procurement Policy). It reflects the Group’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint and creating a thriving and sustainable supply chain for all materials. And the policy includes expectations of suppliers regarding no deforestation, no wetlands development, biodiversity considerations, water management, conserving resources and reducing waste, reducing energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions, and control of chemical substances.

The policy is distributed to all suppliers, and the Group conducts third-party assessments to quantify suppliers’ environmental and social performance and governance and promotes improvements by advising and supporting its suppliers on required solutions.

Consumption of natural rubber is forecasted to increase in step with rising global demand for tires. It is imperative for the Group to foster a sustainable natural rubber supply chain. The Group embraces and recognizes sustainable natural rubber as a key issue for both the general tire industry and for the Group’s own sustainable growth.

As a large user of natural rubber, the Procurement Policy clearly outlines expectations with respect to critical issues within the complex global natural rubber supply chain. To align with stakeholder expectations, including the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) Policy components that were approved in September 2020, the Group revised the Procurement Policy in 2021 accordingly. Furthermore, version 3.0 (January 2024) of the Procurement Policy explicitly stated that Tier-1 suppliers^* are required to extend/share the policies with their own suppliers, with the aim of reaching into the entire supply chain.

For the details of sustainable natural rubber, see “Procurement.”

* Suppliers that supply materials directly to the Group.

The policy sets out actions to ensure water resources are used equitably and sustainably. Specifically, the Group believes achieving equitable and sustainable water use requires understanding the local water situation, improving its efforts at the local level, and maintaining water balance while complying with regulatory and internal standards.

Actions stated in the Policy:
UNDERSTAND

• Understand the local water sources, how water is used and the balance between water withdrawal and discharge
• Understand water challenges in local communities through stakeholder engagement
• Educate employees as to the importance of solving local water challenges

IMPROVE LOCALLY

• Reduce water withdrawal and increase water-use efficiency through our innovations and continuous improvement
• Improve the balance in the local water cycle in cooperation with local communities through stakeholder engagement
• Require suppliers to comply with laws and regulations regarding water including the prevention of unlawful effluent discharge, and encourage them to identify their water risks and manage their water usage in a manner consistent with this Policy

MAINTAIN

• Strive to maintain a balance between water withdrawal and discharge
• Comply with regulatory and internal water usage and efficiency standards
• Promote stakeholder interaction through sharing water efficiency best practices and knowledge that are employed across our operations

Based on the Water Stewardship Policy, the Group will develop and implement specific water stewardship plans by 2030 according to each local environment, focusing on its manufacturing facilities located in water stress areas^*. As of December 2023, all 17 sites in the scope had completed the development of water stewardship plans. These site-based plans include the actions outlined in OUR WAY of the Water Stewardship Policy, such as “reduce water withdrawal and increase water-use efficiency.” The Group will promote the implementation of the plans at their respective sites as well as develop plans for other production sites in water stress areas.

* Water stress areas: Areas with the risk of deterioration of freshwater resources in terms of quantity and quality.

The Group regularly conducts water risk assessments at business sites worldwide using World Resources Institute (WRI) Aqueduct. Based on our latest Aqueduct analysis in 2024, 18 Bridgestone Group sites (in India, Indonesia, China, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey and Italy) are categorized as “extremely high risk.” These sites were assessed as being at risk of not getting enough water in the quality and quantity needed for their operations. However, all these sites are relatively small within the Group, with the total water withdrawal volume of all 18 sites accounting for only 5.5% of the Group’s total.

When building new tire manufacturing facilities, the Group conducts a risk assessment for water quality and volume to ensure efficient use of water resources and handling of wastewater into consideration.

Overview of the Bridgestone Group’s manufacturing facilities (As of June 2024)

● Manufacturing facility with high water stress

● Other manufacturing facility

In order to minimize the potential risk of business operations on water resources, before constructing the Aiken Off Road Radial Plant (U.S.), which began operations in 2014 as the production base of large and ultra-large radial tires for construction and mining vehicles, the Group created a drainage basin map. This map was created to support a preliminary assessment of the potential impact of the plant’s construction on the river basin. The risk assessment findings for water resources on and near the site were reflected in the plant’s design. As a result, the Group was careful to install appropriate drainage treatment and water storage facilities, specifying a drainage system that best suited natural drainage properties. It also built drainage ditches to prevent seepage of facility wastewater into surrounding onsite wetlands even during heavy rainfall in order to preserve the area’s biodiversity.

In 2023, the amount of water withdrawal at its production sites in water stress areas of the Group was 2,493,000m², a decrease of 8.1% from the previous year. In these sites, the Group is working on developing and implementing Water Stewardship Plans based on the Water Stewardship Policy. The site-based plans may involve local stakeholders, depending on local water conditions.

To highlight a specific achievement, the Buenos Aires Plant of Bridgestone Argentina S.A.I.C (BSAR), which is located in a water stress area, reduced water withdrawal per unit of production by approximately 53% in 2023 compared to a 2005 baseline.

In 2019, the plant started a partnership with cement manufacturer Loma Negra. In this collaboration, the water discarded from BSAR is reused as raw material in Loma Negra’s cement production, resulting in a reduction in the overall amount of water withdrawal. Through this initiative, BSAR had supplied an approximate cumulative total of 47,000 m3 of water by the end of 2023. BSAR is not only working on plant-related projects, but also on initiatives that contribute to water conservation in the Llavallol District of Buenos Aires. BSAR will continue promoting projects to contribute to reducing water withdrawal in the region.

This partnership realizes the Group's long-term vision of minimizing its footprint while enhancing its environmental contribution by reducing impact of water discharge and water withdrawal in the water stress area.

The Group has set continuous improvement of water withdrawal intensity as one of its key actions to reduce water withdrawal and improve water use efficiency through innovation and continuous improvement. As one of the activities to achieve Milestone 2030, the Group is continuously working to improve water withdrawal intensity year by year (such as 1% improvement) through the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. In the reporting year, the total amount of water withdrawal was reduced by 6.3% compared to 2019, but the weighted average reduction rate of water withdrawal intensity worsened by 3.1% due to the impact of fluctuations in production volume.

Bridgestone’s water withdrawal is verified by LRQA Limited, a third-party institution, to ensure the accuracy and transparency of this information.

Independent Assurance Statement (241KB)

The Group reuses or recycles water at manufacturing facilities worldwide. The Group is also working on using water resources more efficiently and reducing water consumption by improving production processes and utilizing harvested rainwater where possible.

For example, at the Izmit facility in Turkey operated by the Group, employees identified ways to reduce the site’s dependence on groundwater. This included recovering, treating and using rainwater and wastewater. Through these steps – and an education campaign on the importance of using water wisely – the facility cut its water withdrawal by nearly half over 10 years.

The Bridgestone Americas Sao Paolo plant launched a joint initiative with the city in 2016, which is designed to promote water recycling to help reduce the consumption of deep well water. Since the project was launched, over 50% of water used for the cooling system and boilers in the facility is recycled water supplied from a wastewater treatment company.

Tire Mold Thailand Co., Ltd. started water recycling in partnership with Fusion Development Company in 2014. Over the past six years (2018-2023), 918 tons of recycled water has been used. In 2023, 174 tons of wastewater was recycled and the amount of wastewater was reduced by about 50%.

Based on the Global Environmental Standard, the Group defines minimum requirements for manufacturing facilities to prevent negative environmental impact from its wastewater. The Group’s manufacturing facilities take measures to comply with wastewater regulations and to prevent any spills from being discharged externally based on the standard.

Wastewater treatment systems are installed in facilities if necessary to comply with regulatory limits. Secondary containment vessels for large tanks are installed to prevent contamination of groundwater and wastewater, and/or monitoring and shut-off systems are installed to prevent any spills being discharged externally. A global Group procedure has been established to prevent wastewater contamination.

The Group defines continuous improvement as ongoing efforts to improve its environmental performance year by year (such as a 1% improvement) through the PDCA cycle. Because continuous improvement in reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions is a key action of Milestone 2030, the Group is working to switch to alternative chemical substances from substances with potential negative environmental impact, such as high VOC solvents, and reduce the overall amount of chemical substances used in the manufacturing process.

In the EMEA region (EU, Middle East, Africa), the Group is continuously working toward VOC emissions reduction and set the 2023 target of solvent consumption per production volume equal to 1.16 kg/tonne, with a consolidated results of 1.09 Kg/tons of production. As of January 2024, the result was 1.07 kg/tonne, which is better than the target. After almost 20 years of research, and in collaboration with the Bridgestone Technology Center in Europe, tire manufacturing facilities operated by Bridgestone in Europe succeeded in drastically reducing VOC emissions related to the use of solvents in the production process by reducing the total amount of solvents used by approximately 80% compared to 2005 results.

In particular, the Burgos Plant in Spain eliminated all cement adhesives in the production process, limiting the use of solvents for a few cases of tire repairs. Going forward, the Group will continue to work to further reduce VOC usage at its business bases around the world.

The Group defines continuous improvement as ongoing efforts to improve its environmental performance year on year (such as a 1% improvement) through the PDCA cycle. Continuous improvement in reducing its environmental footprint is a key action of Milestone 2030, and the Group is working to reduce emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at its manufacturing facilities by shifting from heavy fuel oil to natural gas. More than 83% of fuel energy already comes from natural gas. In 2021, fuel conversion from heavy oil to city gas was completed at the Amagi Plant. In 2023 its emissions of SOx totaled 511 tonnes, for an increase of 3.5% compared to the previous year and its emissions of NOx totaled 1,660 tonnes, for a decrease of 11.5% compared to the previous year.