Governance
Compliance, Fair Competition

  • Facebook
  • tumblr

Mission

Ensure excellence through compliance and integrity
We build trust with all stakeholders by ensuring that ethical decision-making guides responsible business practices throughout the Company’s operations.

The Bridgestone Group’s commitment to ethics, compliance, and integrity helps it continuously achieve its mission of Serving Society with Superior Quality and supports its goal of building an effective ethics and compliance program. Bridgestone’s Code of Conduct, which was published in 2018 and redesigned and revised at the end of 2022, provides practical guidance on how to act ethically and with integrity. As the Global CEO states in his message that accompanied the updated Code of Conduct, “Whatever you do at Bridgestone, do it with integrity and let our Code guide you, always.”

This mission is important as anti-bribery and antitrust activities come under increasing scrutiny, along with other matters such as sexual harassment and data privacy. These issues are addressed in Bridgestone’s Code of Conduct and Global Anti-Bribery Policy. In working toward becoming a sustainable solutions company, the policies and other global and regional ethics and compliance programs Bridgestone develops must continue to adapt and evolve to the changing environment and regulatory landscapes.

Bridgestone’s global ethics and compliance program consists of a blend of global and regional initiatives. It aims to balance global consistency with the flexibility needed to effectively address regional and even local risks that can vary significantly due to the wide range of operations Bridgestone is involved in and the variety of geographic, legal, and regulatory environments in which Bridgestone operates. Whether at the local, regional, or global level, initiatives are guided by Bridgestone’s core values and principles and are united under a common framework.

Key elements of Bridgestone's ethics and compliance program

Bridgestone’s global and regional ethics and compliance programs are built on the following five pillars:

  1. Leadership ⏤ Bridgestone engages leaders, managers and supervisors throughout the organization on ethics and compliance to ensure employees act with integrity in everything they do.
  2. Risk assessment ⏤ Bridgestone takes a risk-based approach in designing the ethics and compliance program.
  3. Standards and controls ⏤ Bridgestone has a number of standards and controls, including the Code of Conduct, Global Anti-Bribery Policy, and other global and regional standards and controls.
  4. Learning and engagement ⏤ Bridgestone communicates with employees and helps employees learn in a variety of ways, including e-learning, in-person, and other training programs that are risk-based and designed for targeted audiences.
  5. Monitoring and responding ⏤ The ethics and compliance program provides multiple channels for employees and others to report allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing.

Leadership

The success of any effective ethics and compliance program depends on the ongoing and proactive organization-wide engagement of leaders, managers and supervisors, all working to help build and sustain a culture of compliance. The following briefly highlights how Bridgestone engages leaders at all levels throughout the organization.

Board oversight

Board oversight, supervision, and engagement have been hallmarks of Bridgestone’s ethics and compliance program for many years.

Overseen by the Board of Directors, and in collaboration with senior management in each region, Chief Compliance Officer (CCPO) and the Global Law Leadership Team are principally responsible for the design, administration, evaluation, and enhancement of Bridgestone’s global and regional ethics and compliance programs. The CCPO and Global Law Leadership Team are supported by Bridgestone’s Compliance and Fair Competition Working Group (WG) and regional teams of dedicated ethics and compliance professionals. Together, they work to identify annual and long-term regional and global ethics and compliance priorities and goals, confirm the progress of activities at the regional and global level, and report the results to senior management. Since its establishment, the WG has carefully evaluated the key elements and practices of highly effective corporate ethics and compliance programs and instituted short- and long-term strategies to foster a culture of ethics and compliance that is consistent with Bridgestone’s corporate values and principles.

Leaders, managers, and supervisors

It is the responsibility of the leaders, managers, and supervisors to abide by and enforce Bridgestone’s zero-tolerance policy related to bribery and corruption. Bridgestone regularly engages executive leaders, managers, and supervisors to keep them informed and educated about developments in the ethics and compliance program; ensure leaders, managers, and supervisors regularly talk about the importance of ethics and compliance; involve leaders in various training programs and communications; and help to ensure that ethics and compliance are at the center of all strategic plans and decisions. Periodic updates and reports are prepared and delivered by the regional ethics and compliance teams to their respective regional leadership teams and their respective Boards of Directors. Each region also has a Regional Ethics and Compliance Advisory Panel, consisting of senior leaders from different parts of the business, to help advise on the direction of the ethics and compliance program and ensure its effectiveness.

Chief Compliance Officer (CCPO)

Bridgestone’s Chief Compliance Officer periodically reports to the Board of Directors’ Compliance Committee. Reports pertaining to global ethics and compliance activities are periodically made to the Board of Directors. The global compliance program, as well as the Code of Conduct (including its provisions related to the prohibition of all types of corruption, including bribery), is ultimately subject to the oversight of the Board of Directors.

Employees

While the ultimate responsibility for building and maintaining an effective ethics and compliance program starts with senior management, every employee must also own this responsibility. With that in mind, in addition to fostering regular and open communication with and among senior leadership on compliance improvement processes, Bridgestone’s ethics and compliance program focuses on active engagement with employees at all levels (including managers and supervisors) within the organization. It aims to emphasize their responsibility to perform their roles with integrity and employ ethical business practices at all times. Bridgestone’s ethics and compliance program uses this practical, risk-based approach to promote a true culture of ethics and compliance throughout the business.

Risk assessment

Bridgestone takes a risk-based approach in designing the ethics and compliance program and promotes a true culture of compliance throughout its business. Bridgestone regularly assesses how its operations are changing, as well as the evolving risks it faces, and takes appropriate actions to address and mitigate such risks. The following briefly highlights how Bridgestone manages risks relating to bribery, corruption, and antitrust issues.

Global Anti-Bribery program

As a global company, Bridgestone operates in countries with a wide range of risk profiles, making anti-bribery a central focus of its global compliance program, along with regional compliance education efforts. In 2023, Bridgestone updated its Global Anti-Bribery Policy, which was launched in 2020, to reinforce its expectations of all employees and third-parties acting on its behalf and to realize the Bridgestone E8 Commitment. This policy reinforces Bridgestone’s longstanding stance against bribery and corruption and represents another significant milestone toward achieving its long-term goal of having an effective global ethics and compliance program. This policy builds on the Code of Conduct and conveys Bridgestone's comprehensive stance against all forms of corruption, addressing topics such as bribery, facilitating payments, gifts and entertainment, dealings with third parties, books and records, and political contributions. The policy applies to employees of Group Companies around the world, including joint ventures that it controls, and third parties acting on Bridgestone’s behalf. Where Bridgestone participates in but does not control a joint-venture relationship, it encourages partners to adopt similar requirements and abide by the principles of this policy in their own operations.

As further described below, Bridgestone also recognizes the bribery risks that exist in working with third parties and conducts due diligence on the third parties it engages. Bridgestone has a robust compliance due diligence program, supported by a third-party screening tool, to identify bribery and trade-compliance risks presented by third parties with which Bridgestone works.
The Global Anti-Bribery Policy and the tool help to significantly strengthen Bridgestone’s global anti-bribery program.

Third-party relationships

Bridgestone’s commitment to ethics and compliance extends to third parties with whom it does business. Accordingly, a variety of third parties that Bridgestone engages and works with are subject to the expectations of the Code of Conduct and the Global Anti-Bribery Policy, including Bridgestone’s comprehensive prohibition of bribery and corruption described above.

Bridgestone’s suppliers are also subject to the requirements of the Global Sustainable Procurement Policy. The policy’s requirements include the strict prohibition of all forms of corruption, bribery, extortion, and embezzlement, as well as a requirement to comply with applicable laws, including those related to competition. As to version 3.0, revised and published in January 2024, Bridgestone established the goal and KPI of “100% of all Level 1 and 2 suppliers will have acknowledged the revised Global Sustainable Procurement Policy.” (As of March 31, 2025, 74% of Level 1 and 2 suppliers had done so.)
Please refer to the “Procurement” section for detailed information.

Bridgestone also seeks to mitigate third-party risks by conducting appropriate due diligence. This includes communicating its Global Anti-Bribery Policy and assessing risks posed by each third party. The risk-based approach – including Bridgestone’s assessment of the relevant risks and procedures – is designed to ensure that high-risk third parties are subject to enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring. This includes intermediaries (contractors and agents) who have dealings with government entities and officials and those who operate in high-risk locations for bribery, money laundering, or other forms of corruption. This ongoing due diligence helps inform Bridgestone’s decisions about which third parties to engage and how to manage and oversee such relationships. If this due diligence or ongoing monitoring reveals any signs of irregularity, Bridgestone will take appropriate action, including but not limited to terminating business with the third party.

To further reinforce the compliance due diligence program and mitigate anti-bribery risks, Bridgestone started a review of all high-risk intermediaries in 2023 with the aim of ensuring that proper controls are in place when engaging with these intermediaries. As of December 31, 2024, 95% of Bridgestone's high-risk intermediaries have been reviewed.

Bridgestone did not pay any fines, penalties, or settlements in connection with corruption-related activities in 2024.

Antitrust program

In addition to the guidance and requirements detailed in the Code of Conduct, all regions currently have their own antitrust policies in place for their respective regions and regularly evaluate how to continuously improve and strengthen their antitrust programs. This is a topic Bridgestone takes seriously and makes sure that all new and existing employees understand the requirements.

The departments responsible for compliance in each region work closely with other regional departments — including sales, marketing, human resources, procurement, finance, and internal audit — to understand changes in the marketplace, workplace, and society in general. They also ensure that overall operations, including global and regional ethics and compliance programs, evolve in parallel. Because the global and regional ethics and compliance programs are intricately linked to all aspects of Bridgestone’s business and operations, the global and regional ethics and compliance functions proactively seek dialogue and opportunities to ensure that the programs are supportive and reflective of the Mid Term Business Plan. This includes providing ongoing legal and compliance advice on antitrust laws and processes, and identifying employees who are most likely to face antitrust risks and provide training (which may be live, e-learning, or other types of training) for those employees.

The global and regional ethics and compliance programs also regularly assess, review, and update (as needed) Bridgestone’s existing processes and standards to ensure they are well designed and effective to ensure compliance with applicable antitrust laws.

Standards and controls

Bridgestone aims to provide appropriate guidance for its employees on how to think and act in accordance with the ethics and compliance program by carefully assessing what policies, procedures, and controls can help them do the right thing. Bridgestone regularly reviews existing policies, processes, procedures, and controls to ensure that they are effective and working as intended. The following describes some of the key compliance program policies.

The Bridgestone Code of Conduct

In 2018, regional codes of conduct were replaced by Bridgestone’s global Code of Conduct, which is intended to provide employees, suppliers, and contractors worldwide with practical guidance for handling a wide range of ethical issues, including anti-corruption, competition/antitrust, conflicts of interest, and corporate charitable and political donations. Toward realizing the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, Bridgestone updated its global Code of Conduct at the end of 2022, with reference to Bridgestone’s Global Anti-Bribery Policy, and to reflect the Group’s Global Human Rights Policy that was revised in 2022.

The Code of Conduct covers a variety of topics, including:

  • Promoting respect, dignity, and diversity (including prohibitions on harassment and discrimination)
  • Privacy, personal data, confidential information, integrity of records, disclosures, and financial reports
  • Product safety and quality
  • Bribery, corruption, conflicts of interest, and gifts and entertainment
  • Trade restrictions
  • Free and fair competition

As a global organization, Bridgestone ensures the Code of Conduct is easy to understand. Therefore, it has been published in multiple languages throughout the regions in which Bridgestone does business. It is available to employees and the general public through global and regional corporate websites. It is also accessible to employees through Bridgestone’s regional intranet sites.

Other global and regional policies

The Code of Conduct is supplemented by global, regional, and local policies, which are available to employees through a variety of ways, including Bridgestone’s corporate intranet sites, and some policies (such as the Global Anti-Bribery Policy) are publicly available on Bridgestone’s website. These policies are consistent with the Code of Conduct and provide detailed and practical guidance on key topics, taking into consideration the requirements of local legislation. Each region creates additional processes or procedures (for example, processes and approval requirements relating to gifts, meals, entertainment, and travel involving third parties) to help ensure the correct application and interpretation of the Code of Conduct and other global policies.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, Bridgestone regularly evaluates the existing policies to address new compliance risks and to identify opportunities where it would make sense to consolidate regional or local policies into global policies.

Learning and engagement

A sign language training session on Bridgestone’s Code of Conduct for employees in Brazil

Compliance is the responsibility of every Bridgestone Group employee. Bridgestone is focusing on effective and risk-based education and employee engagement relating to ethics and compliance. These efforts start at the top, with business leaders regularly speaking about the importance of ethics and compliance and playing active roles in Bridgestone’s compliance training and awareness programs.

Following the introduction of its Global Anti-Bribery Policy in 2020, Bridgestone introduced an e-learning course in 2021 to help ensure that employees understand and comply with the policy. It also further engaged leaders in each region in embedding the policy in their operations. In 2024, Bridgestone launched an updated mandatory e-learning course on the Code of Conduct in most regions. The average regional completion rate for employees with a corporate account was 98% as of December 31, 2024.

Bridgestone strategically deploys an extensive training program in each region to help ensure Group employees are educated on the compliance risks most relevant to their work. In 2024, 1,287 live and online sessions were held globally. Employees, including sales team members, receive training on topics such as anti-corruption and antitrust/competition. Training on anti-corruption addresses Bridgestone’s policy against all forms of corruption and covers topics such as bribery, facilitating payments, gifts and entertainment, money laundering, and political contributions.

In addition to live training sessions, Bridgestone also uses e-learning training for targeted groups of employees. In 2024, the average regional completion rate for employees targeted for e-learning was 93%. Topics covered by e-learning in 2024 included, but were not limited to, the Code of Conduct, anti-bribery, antitrust, and data protection.

Tailored publicity related to Bridgestone’s ethics and compliance program is organized on a regional or local level, with the support of common global tools. Bridgestone is increasingly enhancing the communication efforts to incorporate digital messages and resources.

In addition to leadership messaging, regional and local efforts in 2024 included diverse events and programs. Specific examples are provided below.

  • For the fifth year in a row, Bridgestone conducted a survey in Japan of more than 10,000 employees to measure overall knowledge and secure feedback on the ethics and compliance program, the Code of Conduct, the Global Anti-Bribery Policy, and the different resources available for sharing concerns.
  • Bridgestone Europe, Middle East, and Africa (BSEMEA) launched two updated policies: the Gifts & Entertainment Policy (including rules on travel involving third parties) and the Conflicts of Interest Policy. Both policies, effective as of January 2024, are supported by a digital disclosure tool accessible to all employees in the region. Targeted employees received live or online training on these policies in the first quarter of 2024.
  • Banner- Speak Up Policy Launch

    Banner- Speak Up Policy Launch

    BSEMEA also adopted an updated Due Diligence Procedure on April 15, 2024, to further increase its due diligence efforts and align the due processes in the WEST region. Targeted employees received live training on the procedure in the first quarter of 2024. BSEMEA also launched an updated Speak Up Policy on October 1, 2024, further increasing transparency of its internal investigations practices. To ensure compliance with the European Whistleblower legislation, this policy has been published on the company’s external websites in a number of different countries. Employees who support the investigation of cases received live training on the updated policy in the third quarter of 2024.
  • >Picture - Bridgestone West Ethics & Compliance Celebration 2024

    Picture - Bridgestone WEST Ethics & Compliance Celebration 2024

    BSEMEA and Bridgestone Americas (BSAM), which together make up the Bridgestone WEST Compliance team, held an annual Ethics & Compliance Celebration. The event included a leadership discussion panel and celebrated the winners of the Bridgestone WEST Integrity Awards for teammates who are exemplary role models in building and sustaining a culture of integrity, ethics, and compliance. In 2024, the Bridgestone WEST Compliance Team also launched annual Ethics and Compliance Certifications for hundreds of leaders across the Americas and BSEMEA.
  • Poster - Integrity Day in Singapore (BSAPIC)

    Poster - Integrity Day in Singapore (BSAPIC)

    Bridgestone Asia Pacific, India, and China (BSAPIC) launched its first annual Ethics and Compliance Certification for senior management and certain departments in 2024 to increase compliance awareness, receiving more than 600 items of feedback. As one key initiative (implemented annually), Integrity Day is celebrated in almost all countries in BSAPIC including Singapore, China, Thailand, India, Malaysia, South Korea, and Vietnam. The 2024 event was designed for all employee levels with a common theme focusing on Psychological Safety to encourage employees to speak up and contribute to the E8 commitment.

Bridgestone’s compliance team continues to pursue innovative and interactive methods of sharing information that enable all employees to conduct business in an ethical and legally compliant manner.

Bridgestone regularly requires management level employees in each region to reaffirm their commitment to the Code of Conduct and the ethics and compliance program.

Monitoring and responding

Speaking up and reporting concerns

DO THE RIGHT THING

Bridgestone seeks to create an environment in which employees feel comfortable speaking up and know that they will be heard.

A wide variety of resources are available to all Bridgestone Group employees and stakeholders to encourage them to speak up with questions or concerns. Employees can report their concerns through a supervisor, the Human Resources Department, the regional Chief Compliance Officer, the Law Department, the Internal Audit Department, and BridgeLine (an ethics hotline). Once a concern has been raised, the matter is promptly investigated by the appropriate function and in accordance with Bridgestone’s internal investigation procedures. Bridgestone actively monitors and analyzes data relating to its internal investigations, including, among other things, the types of matters reported, substantiation and anonymous reporting rates, the length of time taken to complete investigations, and any disciplinary or corrective actions taken.

Bridgestone established the BridgeLine reporting system (operated by third-party specialists) to allow all Group employees and any Bridgestone stakeholder (including, for example, contractors, suppliers, consumers, and customers) to confidentially and anonymously report suspected criminal conduct; violations of the Code of Conduct (including bribery, facilitating payments, gifts and entertainment, money laundering, political contributions, and the Code’s provision on anti-corruption and various human rights violations); violations of other Company policies, or the law; or other ethical concerns and questions. BridgeLine is accessible to employees and non-employees through the corporate website and is publicly referenced in various documents, including the Code of Conduct. BridgeLine is a 24/7 hotline available in all regions and in multiple languages.

BridgeLine

Internal investigations

Regardless of how an allegation of misconduct is raised, each report is thoroughly investigated by Bridgestone’s Compliance team or other relevant departments (such as the Human Resources Department or the Internal Audit Department) depending on the subject matter. Each region has detailed investigation procedures and protocols to help ensure the quality and consistency of investigations. Each region has developed and tracks certain data and metrics to identify risk areas and trends as well as assess the effectiveness of internal investigations. The results are provided regularly to the Board of Directors and each significant subsidiary around the world.

Substantiated or partially substantiated reports of wrongdoing may lead to disciplinary or corrective actions, including up to termination of employment. Regardless of the investigation outcome, process improvement opportunities may be identified to create a more effective control environment.

BridgeLine posters in multiple languages

BridgeLine posters in multiple languages

Each region makes significant efforts to promote BridgeLine and encourage a culture in which employees feel comfortable disclosing potential compliance issues. Each regional Group Company regularly conducts campaigns centered on the “Speak Up!” message.

Reporting lines are only effective if employees feel secure that speaking up will not negatively impact their employment. Bridgestone prohibits retaliation when business conduct or ethical issues are reported in good faith. This longstanding policy is incorporated into the new Code of Conduct and is reflected in numerous regional and local policies.

In 2024, a total of 1,933 BridgeLine reports and questions were received worldwide. Upon investigation, over 28% of the reports were substantiated or partially substantiated. The majority of reports and questions (49% to 75%, depending on the region) related to human resources issues including diversity, harassment, and workplace respect, with a substantiation rate of 32%. All confirmed violations resulted in appropriate corrective and/or mitigating action, including disciplinary measures up to and including termination. There were no significant confirmed reports in 2024 for the area of corruption and antitrust/competition. A breakdown of the categories of reports and questions received globally appears below.

2024 BridgeLine Reports by Category

2024 BridgeLine Matters per Category

2024 BridgeLine Reports - Anonymity

2024 BridgeLine Reports - Anonymity

Audits

In addition to BridgeLine reports, Bridgestone reviews compliance with the Code of Conduct and identifies non-compliance through various methods, including periodic audits related to key compliance areas such as fraud and corruption.

Evaluating the compliance program and compliance risks

An effective ethics and compliance program must constantly evolve and be evaluated to ensure Bridgestone is addressing current risks and expectations. Bridgestone actively monitors published legislative updates and resources such as Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) to understand the key compliance risks in the places where it does business.

Key compliance issues, including anti-corruption, antitrust, fraud, and discrimination, have long been included in annual enterprise risk assessments, and breaches of regional codes of conduct and/or anti-corruption policies have been tracked on a regional and global basis. Formal and informal compliance-specific risk assessments have been conducted regionally for a deeper view of compliance risks since 2019.

Key risks identified through these processes are communicated to senior leadership on a regional and global basis. Controls are implemented to address critical risks, including corruption risks (such as risks related to facilitating payments, gifts and entertainment, money laundering, and political contributions) in high-risk locations. These controls are carefully considered and strategically implemented to effectively counter significant risks without placing an undue burden on Bridgestone’s business.

The effectiveness of key controls, including those related to fraud, corruption, and money laundering, are reviewed within the scope of periodic enterprise audits. In the spirit of continuous improvement (kaizen), processes and controls are frequently reviewed and optimized. Bridgestone’s new global compliance structure has created many opportunities for reviewing existing processes, identifying best practices and gaps, and implementing enhancements.

Similarly, the global compliance framework creates opportunities for reviewing and optimizing policies related to key compliance risks. When preparing Bridgestone’s global Code of Conduct, Bridgestone's Global Compliance team considered the effectiveness of existing regional policies and codes of ethics and sought to address any existing gaps. The Code of Conduct is a living document, and the global team will continue to review periodically its effectiveness and update it if necessary.

The compliance program is also reviewed and updated as needed to meet the goal of maintaining an effective compliance program. As its business and operations continue to evolve, Bridgestone will also look at how to adapt its ethics and compliance programs to ensure that they remain relevant, adequately resourced, and work effectively in practice. Bridgestone periodically conducts self-assessments of the global and regional programs, as well as working with outside advisors to help assess the effectiveness of the programs.

Relevant information

Sustainability