Environment
Environmental management

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Total Environmental Advanced Management System (TEAMS)

The Bridgestone Group’s Total Environmental Advanced Management System (TEAMS) serves as the foundation for the Group’s environmental activities. To acquire and maintain ISO 14001 certification at its manufacturing sites, the Group has implemented its Environmental Management System (EMS) framework across the Group. TEAMS was developed by adding the following two concepts to EMS:

Total: the participation of all business units, facility functions and employees throughout the Group
Advanced: the commitment to active disclosure and advanced, world-class activities

Under the TEAMS concept, each Group strategic business unit (SBU) and facility prepares and adopts an EMS using ISO 14001 methodologies. Environmental activities are then improved through the use of the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle at three levels: individual facilities, SBUs, and globally.

To support TEAMS activities, the Group is also working to provide and consolidate shared global information systems, for use in improvements across the Group’s PDCA cycle based on analysis of each SBU’s environmental activities and data. It reinforces various infrastructure and human resource developments to ensure environmental management at SBUs and business locations.

For example, all non-production sites, including distribution centers and retail shops, conduct environmental self-assessments, grading each location’s environmental management against one of three levels (I, II, or III), with the information used for further improvement using the PDCA cycle.

In addition, the Group holds conferences for environmental managers to enhance environmental education and cooperation across the entire Group. The training includes on-site lectures and group discussions aimed at enhancing the capabilities of environmental managers and strengthening regional cooperation.

Bridgestone Environmental Management Policy

The Group has also established the Bridgestone Environmental Management Policy, which has been approved by the Global Sustainability Committee (GSC). The policy summarizes the Group’s environmental commitments based on the Environmental Mission Statement, and informs our decision-making when implementing Bridgestone’s environmental management system. The policy covers the management of waste and other environmental risks, monitoring environmental impact, assessing the Group’s environmental performance, regularly disclosing the performance data, and conducting due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, as well as activities demonstrating that they are in harmony with nature, value natural resources and reduce CO2 emissions. The policy applies to all Bridgestone employees, contractors, businesses, products and services, including manufacturing.

Management Policy (Guideline of Environmental Activities in the Group) (1.9MB)

Internal environmental audit

TEAMS serves to enhance the environmental audit system of the Group’s manufacturing facilities by regularly conducting system audits (mainly organizational audits) and performance audits (mainly based on performance data). The Group also conducts internal audits based on the ISO 14001 standard and undergoes external audits, as well as regular training for internal environmental auditors.

ISO 14001 certification demonstrates environmental commitment

The Group requires all manufacturing sites with 50 employees or more to acquire ISO 14001: 2015 environmental management certification. Achieving this certification shows that operations are continuously working to minimize their impact and comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations. At the end of 2023, all 98 required sites had obtained ISO 14001 certification.

Bridgestone’s ratio of sites with ISO 14001 certification is verified by LRQA Limited, a third-party institution promoting information transparency.

Independent Assurance Statement (241KB)

For details of ISO 50001, please see “CO2 emissions reduction across our operations.”

Global environmental management structure

The Group’s organization structure comprises of three meeting bodies: the Global Sustainability Committee, the Global Environment Working Group (WG) and strategic business units (SBUs), who coordinate and cooperate with each other to enhance TEAMS activities in line with the mid-term plan. The Global Environment WG and the GSC are supervised by the Global Executive Committee (G-EXCO), and work to develop global environment strategies and policies for the entire Group. These bodies periodically report the progress of their strategies and actions to the G-EXCO. Once strategies and policies are approved, the SBUs implement them through their EMS.

The Group established the Global Environment WG, which consists of members representing the environmental departments from each region, to strengthen coordination of global and regional environmental activities.

Global Management Structure (As of June 2024)

Environmental education program


Training for environmental managers at plants around the world

In Japan, Bridgestone classifies environmental education into general and specialized education and conducts employee training according to each employee’s position and job responsibilities. Globally, the Group provides training to enhance understanding of the Group's environmental activities and to develop employees as future leaders in environmental activities through e-learning etc. In addition, the Group conducts training for specialized employees involved in environmental activities, including new environmental manager training and internal environmental auditor training. It also conducts a survey after each training course with the aim of continuously improving the content of the training courses and enhancing the environmental education program.

Factory production qualification system

The Group has adopted a proprietary factory production qualification system based on the ISO 14001 standard to rapidly identify and minimize environmental risks at new factories and production lines.

It is a four-stage system for checking and certifying the environmental management systems at new factories. These stages are: formulate an environmental plan, perform a preliminary environmental review when building a new factory or production lines, prepare environmental policies, ensure legal compliance, and conduct environmental training programs.



Production qualification at a tire factory in Turkey

Environmental risk management

Each of the Group’s manufacturing facilities carries out environmental activities based on the ISO 14001 standard using the PDCA cycle under the leadership of senior management. The Group also works to reduce the environmental footprint of each facility by reducing and controlling pollutant emissions into the water and air. This is achieved by designing processes to minimize waste generation, and properly managing the waste that is generated. To do so, it secures the necessary number of personnel tasked with reducing these environmental risks and properly managing the relevant facilities. As one of the measures, the Group has established Global Environmental Standards which are the necessary requirements for facilities to minimize environmental impacts.

In addition, the Group has prepared emergency response procedures based on the ISO 14001 standard and conducts scheduled drills to verify their effectiveness. It regularly reviews these procedures to make sure that plant production can be stopped and restarted without causing environmental problems in the event of disasters, such as a major earthquake.

The Group has established a Global Environmental Standard for EMS that stipulates the minimum EMS elements that should be followed to achieve the intended outcome. The Group will apply this standard to all Bridgestone Group sites that have not obtained ISO 14001 certification.

The Group’s Main Environmental Risk Reduction Initiatives

Environmental risks Main risk reduction initiatives
Air pollution Established a Global Environmental Standard for prevention or minimization of dust emissions from the rubber mixing process (to be applied to all production sites). In addition, step up efforts to prevent air pollution and reduce the environmental impact of combustion gases from boilers, incinerators and drying ovens, and of exhaust gases from dust collectors and local exhaust devices. In particular, outlets are continuously monitored using the monitoring device and conduct environmental impact assessments to prevent air pollution due to the scattering of carbon and other dust particles.
Odors Efforts to reduce the odor of rubber, the Group’s major raw material, include targeting both the source and the outlet: selecting raw materials based on the use of highly sensitive odor component analysis, optimizing the manufacturing process, developing deodorizing technology and installing deodorizing devices at outlets (e.g., non-thermal plasma technology). Also, it carries out odor reduction initiatives such as conducting environmental impact assessment using odor diffusion simulation technology and optimizing emission conditions. For reducing odors other than rubber, such as solvent odors, the installation of other deodorizing technologies (e.g. catalytic combustion) with high odor removal efficiency is promoted.
Wastewater Established a Global Environmental Standard for wastewater to apply to all production sites. In order to comply with wastewater regulations and to prevent any spills being discharged externally, the standard requires pollution reduction efforts at the source, installation of equipment to contain any spills at the source, installation of an effective wastewater treatment system, and the installation of a monitoring and shut-off system.
Noise Measure noise generated in the production process and within plant boundaries and carry out noise reduction measures in consultation with local communities. Measures include properly operating facilities, lowering noise and installing soundproof walls.
Soil and groundwater pollution Work to ensure proper management of chemical substances at all business sites and spillage prevention at storage facilities, and regularly conduct emergency drills. Before conducting large-scale land modifications or purchases, perform studies to comply with regional, national and local laws and regulations.
If pollution is identified by these studies, promptly report to the government (as required) and take necessary measures.
Waste Established a Global Environmental Standard for waste management environmental operation requirements. It is to be applied to all Bridgestone operations, excluding office locations. In order to comply with waste regulations and to prevent any spills being discharged externally, the standard requires proper management of waste (hazardous waste/non-hazardous waste) from the point of generation through to final disposition. The requirements include identification and characterization/classification of all waste, determination of compliance obligations, management of waste accumulation and storage areas, vetting of waste management facilities, emergency actions, training, and record keeping.

For the details of the Group’s efforts to minimize environmental footprint, see “Minimizing footprint.”

Environmental responsibility throughout the supply chain

Working together with suppliers, the Group developed its Global Sustainable Procurement Policy to promote environmentally responsible business throughout the supply chain.

The Group is monitoring and rating the environmental and social performance and governance (ESG) of its suppliers using third-party assessments as a tool to encourage suppliers to enhance their ESG commitment. The ESG issues, which are assessed and linked to the Sustainable Procurement Policy, include environmental aspects such as energy consumption, water, biodiversity, pollution and waste. The Group holds sustainable procurement seminars and provides on-site support based on the assessment results and is working together with suppliers in their environmental activities.

Bridgestone is an active member of the Japan Business Initiative for Biodiversity, which promotes environmental conservation. As a member of its working group (consisting of various businesses), the Company is involved in researching effective ways to implement business-led policy measures to conserve biodiversity by reducing the impacts of the supply chain, and to visualize environmental impacts.

For more information on the Group’s commitment to sustainable supply chain procurement, see “Procurement.”

Procurement with a low environmental footprint

The Group requires all of its raw materials and component suppliers to comply with their respective national and regional regulations on the use of hazardous substances and materials. The Group also requires suppliers to eliminate the use of chemical products from the early stages if any hazardous substances are suspected in such products.

Prior to purchasing major components from suppliers, the Group conducts an environmental management review of suppliers based on its outsourcing authorization system. In this review, the Group examines suppliers’ overall environmental management and programs. In addition to checking suppliers’ management systems for chemical products, the Group also checks their systems for managing air, water, noise, vibration, odor and industrial waste. If any item requiring improvement is identified, it notifies the supplier of the issue and asks them to make the needed improvements. Additionally, prior to purchasing new production equipment, the Group requests suppliers to include information on the use of any hazardous substances in the equipment in their quotation.

Read more about the Group’s Global Sustainable Procurement Policy

Relevant Information

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