Partnerships and Collaboration with External Organizations

Although its commitments are significant, the Bridgestone Group cannot work toward a sustainable society alone. That is why the Group is working collaboratively with 10 other leading tire companies that represent around 60 percent of the world’s tire manufacturing capacity through the global Tire Industry Project (TIP) operated under the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). All TIP activities are reviewed by “Assurance Group”, an independent group of outside scientists.

In March 2023, WBCSD released the Guidance on Avoided Emissions to accelerate decarbonization through the development of products and services. It focuses on “avoided emissions,” which are emissions savings occurring outside a company’s value chain, and offers guidance and resources to help define, calculate and report the contribution to the reduction of emissions of society. The Group is actively involved in discussions on the use of the guidance to visualize values created through its unique Sustainability Business Model, including providing products and services that contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions.

Formed in 2005, TIP has served as a collaborative, CEO-led forum for the tire industry to approach sustainability through a science-driven agenda. Every year the CEOs of member companies meet to review progress and set a forward-looking agenda for new and continuing work on a two-year cycle. Historically focused on research, in 2022, the CEOs of TIP member companies approved a broadening of the organization’s mission to incorporate sustainability issues relevant to the industry across the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) spectrum, consistent with TIP’s Tire Sector SDG Roadmap. This renewed mission is accompanied by organizational changes, whereby TIP expands its activities beyond research to include action, engagement, and communication.

Since its foundation in 2005, the Group has played a central role in TIP’s evolution. The Group has been a leader within TIP as a Co-Chair company and was instrumental in driving the evolution towards a broader and more action-oriented focus. Experts from the Group contribute valuable input and energy across all working groups and taskforces, including a new taskforce to research and promote mitigation actions in response to Tire and Road Wear Particles (TRWP). Whether the issue is TRWP, End of Life Tires (ELT), or Key ESG Performance Indicators, a TIP agenda built on research, action and engagement, and communication will help lead to faster solutions and foster co-creation within the industry and society.

One of the high priority topics of TIP is to accelerate the study for TRWP, which has recently received increasing interest from stakeholders. TIP’s current TRWP knowledge and the state-of-play of tire industry efforts to mitigate TRWP are summarized in “Tire Industry Project Commitment to Addressing Tire and Road Wear Particles”. TIP is studying the effect of TRWP to rivers and oceans as well by expanding the study scope.
The examples of TIP achievement are;

1. TIP’s research on the environmental and ecological impacts of TRWP

• Two-part study focused on the Seine watershed (France) concluded that most TRWP is deposited on roadside soil, whilst around 18% of TRWP can be removed from the road surface as runoff and reach surface waters. It is expected that more than 60% of the TRWP which reaches surface waters is transported to wastewater treatment. The study suggests that 2-5% of TRWP is expected to travel as far as the estuary.

  “Understanding TRWP in the environment”

• TIP study suggesting TRWP makes minor contributions to airborne Particulate Matter (PM), comprising an average of less than 1 percent of particles in the PM10 and PM2.5 fractions sampled. TIP-sponsored risk assessment on the effects of exposure of mammalian species to TRWP have indicated there is unlikely to be a risk to human health from exposure to TRWP in the air.

  “Understanding TRWP in the air”

• TIP study regarding the acute and chronic toxicity of TRWP to freshwater – and freshwater-sediment-dwelling organisms using TRWP in sediment at concentrations up to 10,000mg of TRWP per kg of sediment under conditions representative of receiving water bodies indicate that under typical exposure conditions TRWP in sediments pose a low risk of toxicity to aquatic organisms.

  “Environmental risk assessment”

• TIP-sponsored risk assessment considered the potential for exposure to airborne TRWP and the potential hazard associated with TRWP in the PM10 and PM2.5 size ranges concluded that there is unlikely to be a risk to humans from exposure to TRWP in the air.

  “Human health risk assessment”

2. Study of End-of-Life Tire (ELT) management systems

TIP has been contributing to enhance ELT management in regions all over the world by issuing study reports:

The Group is proud of its sustainability progress but improvements at scale will be achieved through industry-wide collaboration. That is why the Group and other global tire companies launched the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), to transform the industry for the better. As a member of the GPSNR Executive Committee, the Group actively drives discussions among rubber suppliers, automakers, NGOs, smallholder farmers and tire companies. GPSNR members are working together to help improve respect for human rights, prevent land-grabbing and deforestation, protect biodiversity and water resources, improve yields, and increase supply chain transparency and traceability.

For information regarding the Group’s activities within GPSNR, please refer to Procurement.

The Group supports the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). The Group began participating in the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) Forum in March 2022.

As the world becomes increasingly concerned about climate change and the loss of natural capital, there is a growing movement towards a decarbonized society, as exemplified by the Paris Agreement. Additionally, efforts to achieve a nature positive* world, as outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, are gaining momentum. Within this context, the Group is working to comprehensively assess and manage its dependency and impact on the climate and natural capital, as well as the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and the loss of natural capital, reflecting these in business strategy.

• TCFD and TNFD Index

* Nature positive: The term "nature positive" refers to action for stopping or reversing losses to biodiversity and natural capital with the goal of spurring the recovery of the natural environment. It is used to highlight transitions to social and economic activities aimed at reducing the impact of businesses on biodiversity and natural capital, preserving and restoring natural bounties, and using natural capital in a sustainable manner.

The Group has joined The Valuable 500, a global initiative launched at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos in January 2019. The Valuable 500 aims to help business leaders transform their businesses and unlock the social and economic value of people living with disabilities around the world. It gains the endorsement of the CEOs of 500 companies worldwide. The concept of The Valuable 500, which respects diversity and promotes inclusion, has much in common with the Group’s corporate philosophy and is in line with the intended direction of its Global Human Rights Policy.

The Group will continue to focus on creating work environments where diversity is embraced and employees with disabilities can easily demonstrate their abilities.