Environment | Value natural resources
Waste reduction and recycling in our operations

The new Milestone 2030 affirms the Bridgestone Group’s intention to be even more ambitious in its ongoing global efforts to manage and reduce waste. One of the key actions informing our operations is the continuous improvement of environmental performance on waste (such as 1% improvement) year by year through the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) cycle. To achieve this goal, the Group has to accelerate the adoption of a circular economy in its business, through enhancing resource productivity, material circularity and product circularity.

The Group is committed to valuing natural resources by using resources efficiently throughout our products’ lifecycle, from raw material procurement to disposal and recycling. The key activities include reducing waste volumes and promoting zero waste to landfill, and encouraging the development of a circular economy by reusing and recycling.

The Group aims to reduce the amount of waste generated at manufacturing facilities. As an example of the activities, for reducing waste oil of manufacturing equipment, the Group developed a recycling technology for waste oil at Kurume (Japan) Plant, and verified its effectiveness with a local college. Introduction of the technology led to reduction of 100 tonnes of waste oil annually.

In 2020, the Group generated a total of 289 thousand tonnes of waste and achieved a recycling rate of 90%.

The Group promotes waste reduction with ownership in each region. For example, in the Europe, Russia, Middle East, India and Africa (EMIA) region, its target is to improve waste generation per production volume to 58kg/tonne by 2021, with the outcome for 2020 at 64.7 kg/tonne. The Burgos Plant in Spain recycles rubber waste into rubber products such as agricultural and horticultural products. Efforts to reduce waste are underway, including a 75% reduction in spew rubber waste by 2020 compared to 2017.

As part of the enhanced drive to reduce the amount of waste generated and improve recycling rates, the Group promotes “zero waste to landfill” across the Group. In 2010, all 44 manufacturing facilities in Japan achieved this zero waste to landfill status and continue to do so today.

In the EMIA region, ten plants in Spain, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Belgium, and Turkey, as well as eight plants and three research facilities in North and South America, have also reached zero waste to landfill status. In China, four tire plants have achieved this status. The Group will continue pursuing initiatives to reduce waste generation and promote beneficial use of waste as part of its efforts to contribute to a circular economy.

Bridgestone’s waste data is verified by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance, a third-party institution, to ensure the accuracy and transparency of this information.

Independent Assurance Statement (488KB)

The Group is committed to reducing the use of single-use plastics as one of the key actions of Milestone 2030.

In transportation, Bridgestone Corporation is working on reducing the packaging of exported tires. It currently uses packaging for exported tires to ensure quality during storage and prevent damage during transportation. It is researching more environmentally responsible methods by eliminating or simplifying packaging, or using packaging made of recyclable materials.

The Group has also started a variety of initiatives at each of our global sites. For example, Burgos Plant (Spain) and the Kings Mountain Plant (United States) have eliminated plastic cups and launched a campaign to raise employee awareness of the need to reduce the use of single-use plastics. At the Rayong Plant (Thailand, steel cord manufacturing), straws and plastic bags are no longer provided in the cafeteria and pantry, and food containers have been replaced with biodegradable ones.

The Bari Plant (Italy) launched the “6Rs of our GREEN Project” to raise awareness about single-use plastics and held an event to distribute reusable bottles on World Water Day in 2020. The Group is also promoting the reduction of single-use plastics in many other locations.