Environment | Vision and KPIs
Long-term environmental vision and Milestone 2030

Long-term environmental vision: Looking ahead to the world in 2050
Milestone 2030

Long-term environmental vision: Looking ahead to the world in 2050

It is expected that in 2050, the world population will surpass 9.7 billion^*1 and the number of automobiles will increase to 2.4 billion^*2. Moreover, CO₂ emissions in the world are predicted to rise from 28 Gt to 75 Gt from 2008 to 2050^*3.

With the increased demand for automobiles accompanying population increase and improved living standards, the world will face significant problems in climate change, resource depletion and biodiversity loss. As a global company, Bridgestone Group is aware that it shares responsibilities for meeting the various needs of the world and assuring a stable supply of high-quality products. While fulfilling these responsibilities, it aims to contribute to building a sustainable society by balancing its operations with the earth’s capacity. Based on this philosophy, the Group has set the long-term environmental vision targeting 2050 and beyond in three activity areas. The following initiatives are conceived to help realize the sustainable society described in the Environmental Mission Statement, which outlines the direction of its long-term environmental aspirations in 2012.

In balance with nature (Contribution > Footprint)
The Group minimizes the footprint of its business activities on biodiversity while enhancing its contribution through conservation and restoration of ecosystem, thereby contributing to realization of living in harmony with nature.
Towards 100% sustainable materials
The Group values natural resources by working towards the use of 100% sustainable materials, which are defined as materials 1) that come from resources with a continual supply, 2) that can be used as part of its business over the long-term, and 3) that have a low environmental and social impact over their lifecycle from procurement to disposal.
Contribute towards carbon neutral
The Bridgestone Group contributes towards carbon neutral based on the Paris Agreement (holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2℃ above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels), IPCC reports, and subsequent international debates.

World Population Prospects 2019 (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2019).
Projection of World Energy and Transport Demands Mainly in the Automobile Sector (The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, 2012).
Based on the scenarios of RCP8.5 of the CLIMATE CHANGE 2013 - The Physical Science Basis - Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC (WG1), 2013).

Challenge for the future: decoupling

Two aspects of decoupling

The total number of automobiles worldwide is expected to increase with the global population and economic development in emerging nations. As a result, demand on natural resources will likely increase, creating additional environmental impact.

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) defines decoupling as separating economic growth from the impact on the environment and growing resource consumption.

The Group simply does not accept that resource consumption and environmental impact are inevitable outcomes of population growth and economic development. Rather, it must engage in a balance between business success and the use of Earth’s resources.

Decoupling is a key concept of the Group’s long-term environmental vision. This is its challenge for the future in order to balance growth and environmental considerations.

Environmental impact assessment

Bridgestone Group’s Long-term Environmental Vision

The Group has seen the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, as well as momentum behind other social movements. Today, environmental issues are one of the greatest global risks, rising in importance in terms of both risk and opportunity for corporations.

To achieve Bridgestone’s long-term environmental vision by 2050, the Group had previously set global commitments within its mid-term 2020 targets under Milestone 2020. It aimed at improvement of environmental efficiency, and the targets were achieved ahead of schedule.

As part of reviewing initiatives for the next decade until 2030, the Group conducted an assessment of the business impact of environment-related issues as well as its potential impact on society. It has applied the assessment results into strategic and business plans to set Milestone 2030.

Milestone 2030

The Group's Milestone 2030 sets targets based on the result of the environmental impact assessment to reflect how the Group intends to make further reductions in the environmental impact (increase contribution and reduce footprint), while promoting the circular economy and contribution towards carbon neutral through innovation and leading-edge technologies. Through Milestone 2030, the Group will accelerate its ambition to decouple business growth from environmental impact and resource consumption.

In harmony with nature	Improve environmental impact
	Key actions	Create and implement water stewardship plans based on Water Stewardship Policy (policies related to the responsible use of water) Continuous improvement^1 of water withdrawal intensity Continuous improvement^1 of environmental footprint (reduce hazardous/nonhazardous waste, waste to landfill, VOC from solvent use, SOx/NOx) Improve supply chain environmental footprint through the Sustainable Procurement Policy Enhance activities that contribute to improved biodiversity *1 Continuous improvement is ongoing efforts to improve environmental performance year by year (such as 1% improvement) through PDCA cycle.
	Focused target	Execute water stewardship plan at manufacturing facilities in water stress areas^2 by 2030 2 Manufacturing facilities in water stress area : manufacturing facilities that have water-related risks due to the locations with the risk of deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity and quality
Value natural resources	Accelerate circular economy adoption in our business
	Key actions	Develop and implement roadmap to expand sustainable materials Continuous improvement of resource productivity Continuous improvement in product circularity (beneficial next use of used tires) Develop and implement policy/roadmap to contribute to single-use plastics reduction
	Focused target	Increase ratio of recycled and renewable material* to 40% by 2030 * Within total material weight for tire products including tire casing for retreading
Reduce CO₂ emissions	Reduce emissions across the product lifecycle and entire value chain
	Key actions	Develop products and services that contribute to CO₂ emissions reduction Continually improve energy efficiency in operations to reduce total energy consumption Enhance renewable electricity ratio Promote manufacturing and engineering innovation
	Focused target	Reduce our absolute CO₂ emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 50% by 2030^1 Contribute to global CO₂ emissions reduction across the lifecycle and value chain (Scope 3) of our products and services exceeding five times our operation’s (Scope 1 and 2) CO₂ emissions by 2030^2 Base year: 2011 Base year: 2020