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- CSR through environmental activities
- Contributing to the conservation of the environment throughout the supply chain (procurement, production, distribution, and sales)
CSR through environmental activities
- Pursuing manufacturing in a way that helps build a sustainable society
- Overview of the environmental impact of the Group's business activities
- Reducing waste products
- Initiatives to reduce environmental impacts
- To conduct manufacturing operations in a way that facilitates harmony with a society based on "ecological conservation", "resource conservation" and "reducing carbon emissions".
- To lower CO2 emissions per sales from company's total operations (raw material and component procurement, manufacturing and logistics) and also its products' "after-use" compared to fiscal 2005 levels, by 2020
- To implement reduce, reuse, and recycle activities (the 3Rs)
- To make efficient use of water resources
- To make appropriate use of chemical substances and natural resources
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Pursuing manufacturing in a way that helps build a sustainable society
CO2 emissions per unit sales
Bridgestone Group's CO2 Emission Report Independent Review 
The Bridgestone Group believes it is important to achieve ecological conservation, resource conservation and reducing carbon emission in order to build a sustainable future.
To further our goal of helping realize resource conservation, we have consistently implemented and supported ecosystem conservation, research and educational activities in Japan and around the world. We announced The Bridgestone Approach toward Biological Diversity in September 2010, and we are currently striving to increase awareness throughout our company.
To further our goal of helping realize resource conservation, we achieved full zero-emissions status at four tire plants in China in 2010. We have also maintained this same status continuously for all of Bridgestone's plants in Japan since 2005. In May 2011, we announced The Bridgestone Approach to Resource Conservation.
To further our goal of helping to reduce carbon emission, we reduced CO2 emissions per sales from company's total operations (raw material and component procurement, manufacturing and logistics) and also its products' "after-use" by 10.6% in 2010, in pursuit conjunction with our goal of reducing emissions by 35% by 2020. We are striving to assure the transparency of our operations by having a third-party organization issue a review and assessment of our CO2 emission results. Going forward, we will continue to steadily enact initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the company's total operations (raw material and component procurement, manufacturing and logistics) and also its products' "after-use".
We will also continue to work actively to help realize ecological conservation, resource conservation and reducing carbon emission, which we believe is particularly critical to the development of a sustainable future.
Overview of the environmental impact of the Group's business activities
The Bridgestone Group is striving actively to develop a sustainable society by working to reduce environmental impacts throughout the product life cycle, from raw material procurement to product disposal.
We are redoubling our efforts to achieve the global goal of 35% reduction in CO2 per sales from the company's total operations (raw material and component procurement, manufacturing and logistics) and also its products' "after-use."
Initiatives by business activity process
| Process | Initiative to lower environmental impact |
|---|---|
| Raw material and component procurement | In addition to promoting green initiatives, we are striving to reduce raw material use by developing advanced materials, such as natural rubber and carbon, through research. |
| Manufacturing | We are reducing per-product energy use by developing products with low environmental impacts and transitioning to production equipment and processes with higher energy and production efficiencies. |
| Logistic | We are working to improve transport efficiency by reviewing our transport methods and routes. |
| Product development | Some 90% of the CO2 emissions generated throughout the life cycle of a tire result from the emission of vehicle exhaust gas during tire use. We are helping to lower CO2 emissions by reducing tire rolling resistance to achieve improved fuel economy. We are also strengthening efforts to raise consumer awareness of environmentally friendly driving practices, for example by encouraging customers to manage their tire pressure. These efforts extend to our non-tire business segments, where we are expanding environmentally friendly product offerings such as electronic paper, which helps conserve paper resources, and building materials designed to increase heating and cooling efficiency. |
| After-use | Bridgestone encourages consumers to reduce, reuse, and recycle (the 3Rs). In particular, we are working to reduce product disposal while encouraging resource conservation and recycling in our tire business by promoting use of retread tires. |
Plant production certification system
Certification of a raw materials plant in Mexico
Briefing during certification of a raw materials plant in Indonesia
The Bridgestone Group has introduced its own plant production certification system. Based on ISO 14001 certification, the system is being applied to new plant and production line construction.
The system, which is administered by the Group's Technical Center in Kodaira, Tokyo, checks facility performance against environmental requirements, such as national laws and local ordinances, as well as the Group's environmental mission statement in the areas of quality, safety, environment and accident prevention. Certification proceeds by means of a four-stage process that is aligned to the status of operations at the facility, beginning with the start of operations.
In terms of the environment, the system provides certification based on monitoring of target facilities' development of an environmental management system, including the formulation of a plan on how to measure its environmental impact. This will include an initial environmental review at the time of construction, the formulation of an environmental policy, compliance with laws and environmental education and training. In this way, we strive to enhance initiatives for quickly identifying and minimizing environmental risks. During 2010, five facilities in four countries received certification under the system.
Plant production certification system
Reducing waste
Zero-emission initiatives
In an effort to upgrade its drive to eliminate emissions of industrial waste throughout the Group and bring those initiatives to overseas facilities, the Bridgestone Group has defined "1% zero-emissions status" as the reduction of industrial waste through a final disposal volume of less than 1% of all waste generated. Similarly, "0.5% percent zero-emissions status" refers to the lowering of final disposal volume to less than 0.5% of total waste generation, while "full zero-emissions status" refers to the sustained elimination of all industrial waste final disposal volume*.
All 15 (at the time) of Bridgestone plants in Japan achieved 1% zero-emissions status in 2004, followed by full zero-emissions status in 2005. We launched an effort to lower emissions at our companies involved in manufacturing in September 2005, and 43 plants achieved 1 % zero-emissions status in 2006. We then established a target of achieving 0.5% zero-emissions status in 2008, and all 45 plants achieved 0.5% zero-emissions status in December of that year. We will pursue initiatives to achieve new reductions as part of an effort to eliminate all emissions.
Overseas, we launched a program of activities at four tire plants in China in 2007 to achieve 1% zero-emissions status. After achieving 0.5% zero-emissions status in December 2009, the plants went on to achieve full zero-emissions status in June 2010. We plan to expand these activities in stages by working to achieve 1% zero-emissions status at other overseas plants.
*Requires the conclusion of a recycling contract for all industrial waste products.
Waste volume and final disposal volume (16 Bridgestone plants and Technical Centers in Japan)
*Figures for the Kitakyushu Plant, which began production in June 2009, are included in statistics starting in 2010.
Waste volume and waste volume per unit sales (16 Bridgestone plants and Technical Centers in Japan)
*Figures for the Kitakyushu Plant, which began production in June 2009, are included in statistics starting in 2010.
Waste management (2010 figures)
Initiatives to reduce environmental impacts
The Bridgestone Group has established voluntary standards concerning the environmental impact of its production activities that exceed the standards imposed by laws and ordinances, and we conduct ongoing monitoring. At the same time, we are enhancing activities to reduce environmental impacts, for example by improving production processes and deploying a range of processing equipment.
In addition to identifying environmental pollution risks using proprietary environmental risk diagnostic techniques, we are working to prevent environmental pollution by installing, monitoring and measuring equipment and automatic cutoff systems.
Conserving water resources
The Bridgestone Group considers the conservation of water resources to be a key aspect of environmental management. Our production processes primarily use water for cooling and steam generation, and we are working to reduce water consumption as appropriate in light of national and local characteristics. In areas such as China and Mexico where water shortages are a concern, we are working to implement systems for processing wastewater for increased water reuse.
We are also working to reuse water at facilities in Japan, including developing a system capable of monitoring water consumption in real time at the Kitakyushu Plant. At the Kuroiso Plant, where groundwater is primarily used in air conditioner heat exchange and production equipment cooling, clean, warm water is piped to a heated pool for the enjoyment of employees and the local community. In addition to working to reduce water consumption in the future, we will continue to strive to make effective use of water resources. Overseas, we are working to utilize rainwater, for example by using it as process water and to water plants on facility premises.
Concerning wastewater, we are both strengthening our assessment of environmental impacts through management based on voluntary standards and building a system for preventing water pollution risks from manifesting themselves by deploying automatic monitoring equipment and automatic cutoff systems.
Plant water consumption (16 Bridgestone plants in Japan)
*Figures for the Kitakyushu Plant, which began manufacturing in June 2009, are included in statistics starting in 2009.
BOD* load (13 Bridgestone plants in Japan)
*BOD: Biochemical oxygen demand; the amount of oxygen needed when organic pollutants in the water are broken down by microorganisms. BOD serves as an indicator of the extent of contamination in marine water as well as lakes and marshes. Higher values indicate greater pollution.
*Figures do not include the Hofu Plant, Shimonoseki Plant, or Kitakyushu Plant, which do not measure BOD.
COD* load (3 Bridgestone plants in Japan)
*COD data is collected at the Hofu Plant, Shimonoseki Plant, and Kitakyushu Plant, which do not measure BOD.
*Figures for the Kitakyushu Plant, which began manufacturing in June 2009, are included in statistics starting in 2010.
*COD: Chemical oxygen demand; the amount of oxidant consumed when organic and other matter in the water is oxidized, i.e., converted to a quantity of oxygen. COD serves as an indicator of the extent of contamination in marine water as well as lakes and marshes. Higher values indicate greater pollution.
Preventing air pollution
Dust monitoring system overview
Because combustion gases from production process boilers, incinerators, dryers and other equipment, as well as exhaust gases from soot collectors and local ventilation systems impose environmental impacts, the Bridgestone Group is working to prevent air pollution. In particular, we use specially selected monitoring equipment at points of discharge and conduct environmental impact assessments using simulation technology to prevent air pollution caused by carbon and other particulate emissions.
In Japan, we conduct risk diagnoses related to pollution prevention structures and potential alteration of data based on the guidelines for preventing environmental pollution compiled by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and we implement improvements based on the findings.
Preventing dioxin emissions
Bridgestone measures dioxin concentrations in exhaust gas, incineration dust and soot produced at its two incineration facilities: the Tochigi Plant and the Amagi Plant. Both facilities comply with standards imposed by the Act on Special Measures against Dioxins*, and measurement results for 2010 continued to be significantly below regulatory values.
*Act on Special Measures against Dioxins: An act requiring operators of waste incinerators and other facilities to measure dioxin concentrations in exhaust gases and other emissions and to report the results to the governor of their prefecture at least once each year. Measurement results for dioxin concentrations contained in exhaust gases, discharged wastewater, soot and other emissions at the incineration and power generation facility at Bridgestone's Tochigi Plant and the incinerator at the company's Amagi Plant indicate a toxic equivalent of zero, and those results have been reported to Tochigi Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefecture.
Sulfur oxide (SOX) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions
Bridgestone is working to transition to clean fuels for its cogeneration systems, boilers and other facilities. We plan to continue the transition to gas fuels in 2011, and beyond.
SOX and NOX emissions (16 Bridgestone plants in Japan)*
*Figures for the Kitakyushu Plant, which began production in June 2009, are included in statistics starting in 2010.
Reducing offensive odors
A system designed to mitigate offensive odors outside the Hikone Plant
The Bridgestone Group uses rubber as its primary raw material, and it strives to reduce offensive odors emitted by the substance. This effort includes measures that address the issue both at its source and at points of discharge, including through raw material development that makes use of high-precision analysis of offensive odor components, optimization of manufacturing processes and development of odor-eliminating technologies. We also continue to advance odor-reducing measures, for example by conducting environmental impact assessments using odor diffusion simulation technologies, optimizing discharge conditions and continuously monitoring odor emissions at discharge points.
We are also working to deploy odor-eliminating equipment as part of efforts to address odors from solvents and other sources unrelated to rubber. We have verified odor-reducing effects of 90% and higher in processes where this equipment has been newly installed.
In addition, we are actively involved in exchanging information by strengthening communication with the local community in which our plants are located. When we receive a report of an offensive odor from the community, we investigate its source and take the necessary measures to address the issue. We will continue to engage in open and constructive dialog with local communities in order to address these.
Offensive odor complaints
Measures to reduce noise
In addition to measuring the level of noise produced by production processes, the Bridgestone Group is working to strengthen noise-reducing measures such as optimized operation of equipment, implementation of changes to lower noise levels and installation of soundproof walls through communication with local communities.
Preventing soil and groundwater contamination
In addition to working to prevent discharges by such means as optimal management of chemical substances at worksites and use of storage facilities, the Bridgestone Group is actively involved in efforts to prevent pollutant discharges by staging regular emergency exercises.
Whenever we plan to make major modifications to the soil at a worksite or purchase new land, we conduct a voluntary investigation in compliance with the provisions of the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act. In the event that this investigation reveals contamination, we report the findings immediately to governmental authorities and take such measures as are necessary to mitigate the pollution. An ongoing, third-party investigation launched in the aftermath of a fire at the Tochigi Plant in 2003, continued to indicate no issues in 2010.
TOPICS
Accolades
Bridgestone's zero-emissions activities win recognition
The Clean Japan Center recognized the Bridgestone Group's efforts to eliminate waste emissions with the Clean Japan Center Chairman's Award at the 2010 Award for 3R(Reduce, Reuse and Recycle)-Oriented, Sustainable Technology.
The honor recognized Bridgestone's ongoing full zero-emissions operations at plants in Japan and the recent achievement of full zero-emissions status at the Group's four plants in China by utilizing domestic expertise.
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- Message from CEO
- The Bridgestone Group's approach to CSR
- Initiatives Related to the 22 CSR Focus Points
- Feature
- Fundamental CSR activities
- Corporate Governance
- With customers
- With business partners
- With shareholders and investors
- CSR through environmental activities
- Environmental Mission Statement
- Environmental Management
- Environmental communication
- Contributing to the conservation of the environment through products and services
- Contributing to the conservation of the environment throughout the supply chain (procurement, production, distribution, and sales)
- Contributing to the environment through social activities
- With employee
- With society and communities
- Independent evaluation statement
- CSR Reports