Environment | Reduce CO₂ emissions
Lower rolling resistance tires for improved fuel economy

When a vehicle is in motion, a variety of resistance factors are working against it, including air resistance and tire rolling resistance, all of which increase fuel consumption. Minimizing these resistance factors enables the vehicle to use less energy, which leads to improved fuel efficiency.

For the target of a 25 percent reduction in tire rolling resistance by 2020 (from a 2005 baseline), we achieved a 21 percent reduction (equals to contribution to approximately 13.4 million tonnes reduction CO₂^*1) in 2018. Improving rolling resistance and maintaining safety at the same time is a difficult task that requires innovative technologies. Bridgestone has developed NanoPro-Tech™^*2 technology and promotes sales of fuel-efficient tires utilizing this technology around the world, helping to reduce CO₂ emitted at the usage stage. Bridgestone’s CO₂ emissions are verified by a third-party institution promoting transparency of information.

Our improved fuel economy tire technology “ologic” realizes superior performance through the following two features:

(1) These tires have a large diameter and high internal pressure (high inflated air pressure), which significantly reduce tire deformation from contact with the road surface and lower rolling resistance.

(2) The tire’s narrow tread design lowers air resistance, an important factor linked to improved vehicle fuel efficiency.

Further, by optimizing the material, structure and pattern of the rubber and reinforcement layers, the rolling resistance coefficients reduced approximately 30% compared to conventional standard tires. At the same time, safety is enhanced by improving vehicle handling on wet road surfaces by approximately 10%.^*1

ECOPIA with ologic tires employing ologic technology are standard equipment on the i3 revolutionary electric vehicle developed by BMW. They are also used on solar cars participating in the World Solar Challenge, the world’s top solar car race.

The Bridgestone Group aims to reduce CO₂ emissions when tire are used through improvements of vehicle fuel economy while reducing CO₂ emissions within manufacturing processes, as well as the technological development and global sales of more fuel efficient tires.

Bridgestone is promoting fuel-efficient tires with low rolling resistance, focusing on its ECOPIA brand, as a way to mitigate climate change through greater vehicle fuel efficiency.

Firestone Building Products Company (FSBP) develops and sells various construction materials. UltraWhite Sheet, a roof material, is effective in reducing indoor energy consumption by significantly increasing surface reflectivity. It also is effective for the reduction of the heat-island effect and contributes to the reduction of customers’ energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. Demand for this product is growing as the need for sustainable buildings in the United States continues to increase.

Using rubber material development technology cultivated through the development of the ECOPIA fuel-efficient tires, Bridgestone offer our flame-resistant conveyor belts that add further capacity to save energy worldwide.^*1

The most significant source of energy loss from belt conveyor operation is produced by resistance when the belt travels across rollers (roller crossing resistance). By focusing on this roller crossing resistance and introducing the rubber materials development technologies cultivated in our tire business, we succeeded in developing a conveyor belt designed to save energy while maintaining flame resistance. We offer this innovative product as a solution for reducing operating costs for customers at mines, ports, power plants, and other facilities. We will capitalize on the development of this product to meet the needs of an even broader base of customers.