Bridgestone, the world’s largest tyre and rubber company, opened an Environmental Education Center (CEA) in its unit located in Camaçari, Bahia. The CEA will host activities focused on sustainability and the environment targeted at students aged 07 and 08 years old from public schools.
The CEA will offer workshops involving theoretical and practical presentations, with activities on recyclable materials, an interactive game on the environment and workshops for manufacturing toys and objects based on the sustainability concept of the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). Participants will also be able to visit the seedlings nursery located at the factory to learn about the planting of seedlings.
“Through its global commitment to social responsibility, Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone continually works toward a sustainable society and healthy environment for current and future generations," says Marcelo Araujo, industrial director of the Bridgestone plant in Camaçari. "One of the fundamental pillars of the Environment Priority Area is acting in harmony with nature, contributing to biodiversity through the improvement of habitats, environmental research and education, which is the premise for the Environmental Education Center", he adds.
All activities were developed to encourage sustainable thinking. “The aim is to encourage children to reflect on their relationship with the environment and society so they can disseminate good practices," explains.
Environment Actions
All Bridgestone plants in Brazil have established specific indicators in its production, logistics, and raw materials processes to reduce CO2 emissions, energy and water consumption, and have zero waste generation.
In the Camaçari plant, initiatives such as the automation of the water collection system, implementing flow reducers, and improvements in the industrial supply network promoted, between 2014 and 2018, a 47% reduction in water consumption. As for CO2 emissions, during the same period, they were reduced by 26% thanks to measures such as implementing frequency inverters in high power consumption equipment, the operational control of the air conditioning system and insulation of steam and hot water lines. Regarding power consumption, the reduction was 17%, during the same period.
At the plant, all the waste from plant operations is recycled, except for that classified as ordinary, such as sanitary waste. All others, such as tire trimmings, rubberized fabrics, aluminum scraps, returnable packaging, among others, are recycled through processes such co-processing, reuse, among others, depending on the specific type of material.
The unit also uses a biodigestor to process organic wast produced in its cafeteria. After the maturation period necessary for the biodigestion process (anaerobic decomposition - without the presence of oxygen); the material is converted into biofertilizer and biogas, used to power an electric generator. Currently, the plant recycles 99.6% of its organic waste.
