Value Natural Resources

Bridgestone focuses on taking care of the earth’s natural resources – reducing, reusing and recycling wherever possible. Looking at the entire lifecycle of a product or service ensures a healthy environment for current and future generations.

Pioneering a new source for natural rubber

Bridgestone is always looking to identify new ways to reduce our impact on the environment and develop more sustainable sources for the products we make. Natural rubber is the tire industry’s most vital natural resource. Currently, the industry is single-sourced from a single biology, as more than 90 percent of the world’s natural rubber comes from hevea rubber trees grown in Southeast Asia. Bridgestone is investing in sustainable innovation that seeks to diversify the world’s natural rubber supply and ultimately develop a natural rubber industry in North America.

Biorubber Process Research Center

At the Biorubber Process Research Center (BPRC) in Mesa, Arizona, Bridgestone is extracting natural rubber from guayule, a desert shrub native to the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico, and developing it for use in various commercial tire applications.

Agro Operations Guayule Research Farm

Bridgestone supplies the BPRC with guayule grown on its 281-acre Agro Operations Guayule Research Farm in Eloy, Arizona. There, agronomists are cultivating and domesticating guayule for use at the BPRC. In early 2015, the company produced its first guayule natural rubber samples for testing in commercial tire applications.

Delivering environmentally-conscious products

Guided by a philosophy of continuous improvement, Bridgestone always looks for ways to make our tires perform even better. We're improving sustainable performance and innovation by using environmentally-conscious materials, such as plant-based oil, while also improving rolling resistance which helps increase fuel efficiency and reduce vehicle emissions.

Eco-Products Designation

Many of Bridgestone’s products have an Eco-Products designation, which means these tires feature environmentally-conscious materials, such as low-aromatic oil and recycled materials.

Recyclable Roofing Systems

The EPDM and TPO roofing systems from Firestone Building Products are 100 percent recyclable. In fact, scrap material from a TPO system can be used in a future TPO manufacturing cycle, thereby eliminating 1,000 tons of scrap every year.

Sustainability at our Retail Stores

All Bridgestone company-owned retail stores recycle 100 percent of the spent tires they remove from vehicles. Last year, Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus and Wheelworks locations nationwide recovered more than 10 million tires, saving these tires from landfills by ensuring they are put to good use as something valuable. Valuable uses for scrap tires include being used as material in rubberized asphalt, in construction materials, and as tire-derived fuel for valuable energy, among other uses. All company-owned stores accept and recycle do-it-yourself used oil and automotive batteries.

Reducing our footprint through retreading

Bridgestone's Bandag business manufactures retreaded tires for the commercial truck and bus tire industry. Retreading prolongs a tire’s lifespan and helps to reduce the number of scrap tires per year. In 50 years of operation, the Bandag retreading process has saved four billion gallons of oil.

Sustainability at our Manufacturing Facilities

Bridgestone Americas has a goal of reaching zero waste to landfill across all of its facilities. Three of the company’s tire manufacturing facilities in Aiken, S.C., Wilson, N.C. and LaVergne, Tennessee have achieved zero waste to landfill. And in January 2014, the Wilson tire plant achieved Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL®) claim validation for zero waste to landfill. Zero waste to landfill is the highest claim validation UL® gives for landfill waste diversion. The Bridgestone Wilson plant is the first facility of any kind to receive this prestigious designation. The plant also received ISO 50001 certification for superior energy performance.

The Bridgestone Americas Technical Center in Akron, Ohio, achieved zero waste to landfill in May 2014 and the Bridgestone Americas Center for Research & Technology, also located in Akron, implemented a glass recycling program for its laboratory reactor bottles in 2013, diverting 11 tons of waste from landfills.

Responsibly-built facilities

Many of Bridgestone’s facilities have been retrofitted or built to meet stringent LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental and Design) requirements.

Americas Technical Center – Akron, Ohio

The Americas Technical Center, Bridgestone’s hub for innovation, achieved LEED® Gold certification for its achievements in energy savings, water management and landscaping among other categories.

Tire Manufacturing Facilities – Warren County, Tennessee and Aiken County, South Carolina

In 2014, Bridgestone’s commercial truck and bus tire manufacturing plant in Warren County, Tenn. earned LEED® recertification at the Silver level for implementing numerous sustainable measures on an already existing structure. The Bridgestone plant in Warren County joins an elite group as it is one of only three manufacturing projects in the world to achieve LEED® certification for “Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance 2009.”

Bridgestone Retail Operations

Our Firestone Complete Auto Care retail store in Smyrna, Tenn. achieved LEED® Gold certification in 2009. The company is incorporating best building practices learned from this store into all new stores.