A sustainable future requires the support and commitment of companies, individuals and communities. Bridgestone aims to be in balance with ecological function and actively pursues partnerships that foster positive lasting connections across ecosystems.
Since the 1990s, Bridgestone has engaged in numerous activities to help improve biodiversity. The company has 10 certified wildlife habitat sites at our manufacturing facilities, and we work with the global Wildlife Habitat Council to manage these lands and improve biodiversity as a whole.
The company contributed 10,000 acres of forest land in Middle Tennessee, about an hour from its Americas headquarters in Nashville. Known as the Bridgestone-Firestone Centennial Wilderness, this protected area has promoted an enduring culture of conservation in the Middle Tennessee region.
In 2008, Bridgestone established the Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom & Habitat (BEECH) at the company’s Warren County truck and bus tire manufacturing plant. The site is a 680-acre certified wildlife habitat designed to enhance native plant and animal populations. The curriculum is grade-specific and supports Tennessee’s state learning standards.
The team at the Bridgestone Bandag plant in Muscatine, Iowa, replaced 15 acres of turf grass with native landscapes, and now the facility has a total of 25 acres of native landscapes on its property. The Wildlife Habitat Council recognized Bridgestone with its “Wildlife at Work” certification for converting to native landscapes.
Bridgestone reduces water consumption in its manufacturing processes by efficient use and recycling. The company is committed to clean water and water conservation, and supports the cleanup of lakes, streams, waterways, and public lands.
Since 2012, in partnership with the River Network, Bridgestone has supported more than 450 community cleanup events and recycled more than 120,000 used tires through the Tires4ward program. Founded on the company’s vision of one day creating a waste-free tire industry, the Bridgestone Tires4ward program works to assure that for every new tire Bridgestone sells in the U.S., one spent tire — a tire that has reached the end of its life on a vehicle-- is recovered and put to valuable new use. Through Tires4ward, Bridgestone recycles tires recovered in organized cleanup events of rivers and waterways at no charge.
The world’s largest tires are built at Bridgestone’s off road tire plant in Aiken, SC. The manufacturing factility was built to LEED specifications and features Firestone Building Products’ geomembrane pond liners and pavers, which create retention ponds and support water harvesting at the global operation.
