In Madrid, more than 200 students studying to be mechanics learned to better understand the challenges facing pedestrians who are vision-impaired or have other disabilities during driving simulations cosponsored by BSEMIA and Fundtrafic.

More than 1,000 pedestrians and bicycle riders in Poznan, Poland received reflective bands from the Bridgestone Test Dummy to help them be more protected at night. Because the program took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, residents also received face masks and hand sanitizer.

Bridgestone Deutschland GmbH is supporting the road traffic safety education activities being undertaken by an NGO. Receiving backing from the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and police, these activities protect children from road traffic accidents on the way to and from school. Since 2007, Bridgestone Deutschland GmbH proposes and distributes to nursery schools throughout Germany educational materials with the aim of developing physical ability for children to not to be involved in road traffic accidents. Since 2013, Bridgestone Deutschland GmbH also implemented a road safety campaign in major cities. Aimed at accident prevention, the campaign involved the distribution of leaflets that informed parents and children of the dangers on the way to and from school as well as the conducting of educational activities on road safety. Since 2013, around 170,000 brochures have been distributed to future first graders and their parents.

Helping professional drivers operate safely also is a priority of the Bridgestone Group. In 2020, a one-month Bridgestone-led “Eyes on the Road” campaign helped truck drivers in Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia understand the importance of physical fitness and eye health to safely performing their jobs.

In association with FleetWatch magazine and other industry partners, Bridgestone South Africa has participated in Brake and Tire Watch, a program aimed at empowering traffic officials to identify unroadworthy vehicles on the roads, as well as to increase transport operator awareness of efficient braking and tire checking. Traffic authorities are taught about the importance of safe tires, tire faults, functional brakes and other visual safety components. Trucks or buses found to be unroadworthy are then removed from the road and issued with discontinuation notices. So far, the program has trained more than 1,200 traffic officials and inspected more than 400 vehicles, of which 60% were not in roadworthy condition. Through these activities, Bridgestone contributes to a safer society.

In Australia and New Zealand, BSCAP continued its sponsorship of a highly engaging one-day road safety workshop with RYDA at two high schools. Since beginning this partnership, more than 1,650 students have learned how to stay safe on the road, as both drivers and passengers.

In Vietnam, where motorbikes are the most prevalent form of personal transportation, Bridgestone Tire Sales Vietnam LLC partnered with local tire dealer Xuan Tung to conduct road safety training sessions with local high school, as well as donated 900 safety helmets to the school children to promote road safety habits.

Our technical team in Vietnam provided in 2020 onsite training on road safety and tire safety knowledge to Yusen Logistics – our fleet customer who is the largest logistic provider in Vietnam. Road Safety stickers for trucks were also distributed to further encourage road safety practices.

Villagers in Weihai were struggling with seriously damaged roads that were affecting their safety as they drove and walked. As public funding was low in this remote town, Bridgestone worked with the local government to repair these roads, which enabled safer travels for 200 villagers.

In addition, Bridgestone worked with seven police stations throughout Hegang, Heilongjiang province, together with local tire shops, and outfitted police cars with winter tires to ensure safer travels before the long and snowy winters descended. Bridgestone also gave lectures on tire safety in winter to the police and local residents to promote road safety practices.

Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd. has been working with the Japan Traffic Safety Education Association to hold a special training course on the safe riding of bicycles at local kindergartens, day care centers, and elementary schools in Ageo City since 2005. The participating children carry out activities to learn best practices for the safe riding of bicycles. Highlight topics include "safety checks before riding," the "importance of wearing helmets," "how to cross intersections and crossings," and "precautions to take when passing parked cars." Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd. provides the bicycles used for the course and takes part in bicycle safety checks.

The Bridgestone Group is making community safety more sustainable with its services, products and initiatives. For example, during Vietnam’s rainy seasons, many of the country’s worn-out wooden bridges pose significant safety challenges for people commuting to work and school. To help, the Bridge to Knowledge campaign, led by Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing Vietnam LLC, pledged to build 20 bridges across flood-prone Vietnam by 2030, and to maintain the bridges for 10 years. In 2020, the Group built three new bridges that provide safe access to educational facilities for students from over 1,000 households.

Amidst the fight against COVID-19, Bridgestone continued to provide humanitarian aid to support the communities suffering from natural disasters. In early 2020, Bridgestone in Australia donated funds to aid in recovery of animals and their habitats affected by the bushfires, and also provided support to those who had lost their families through fire-fighting. Similarly, in Thailand, Bridgestone helped to re-stock the supply of necessary items for fire-fighters dealing with wildfires across Thailand.

At the same time, Jakarta and West Java regions in Indonesia were struck by heavy rains in the first two months of 2020, causing floods and typhoons, affecting millions of families in Indonesia and submerged many homes. Bridgestone provided essential groceries and supplies to tide these families through the difficult period.

Later in the year, parts of Vietnam experienced their worst floods and landslides in two decades, affecting millions of people, among which 2.5 million are children. To aid families struggling in severe circumstances, Bridgestone Tire Sales Vietnam LLC and Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing Vietnam LLC, in partnership with local dealers Tan Hoang Gia and Dang Thao, donated jackets, electric kettles, rice cookers and cash to 300 families in Quang Binh province and 100 families in Quang Tri province.

2020 was a year which brought unprecedented challenges, but at the same time, saw heart-warming actions that went into aid. Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. and Bridgestone Tyre Sales Singapore Pte. Ltd. supported Food Bank Singapore’s “Let the Feeding Continue” initiative, which redistributes food to communities in need, including families and migrant workers whose lives were disrupted during the pandemic. Bridgestone also donated tires to Food Bank Singapore’s delivery fleet to help reinforce safe transport while distributing food to the needy.

Bridgestone Americas owns and operates a weather center in one of its tire manufacturing facilities in the state of Tennessee, USA. The center includes weather spotter cameras, a local weather scanner and current weather radar, giving the ability to predict weather patterns. This facility can alert surrounding areas when inclement weather such as typhoons and cyclones is imminent or occurring in the area.

In 1983, the Bridgestone Group developed high-quality, highly-functioning seismic isolation bearings by applying tire manufacturing technologies. Today, as the leading manufacturer of seismic isolation bearings for buildings in Japan, these products are utilized in a wide range of public and private buildings, including logistics facilities that are becoming increasingly important as e-commerce increases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Group also used bearings for the Bridgestone Innovation Park, which is currently under construction.

In addition, more than 73,000 people (as of the end of 2020) have learned about the key role of seismic isolation technology in disaster prevention via experiential information vehicles that visit educational institutions and local community events.

In 1981, Bridgestone was one of the first companies in Indonesia to respond to the government’s request to address the shortage of skilled manpower in the country by creating and operating the Loka Latihan Keterampilan (LLK) vocational training program at our Bekasi manufacturing facility. Now in its 37th year, Bridgestone Indonesia accepts 48 students every two years into the residential program focusing on mechanical and electrical skills. To date, more than 50 percent of the program’s 754 graduates have chosen to build their careers at the Bridgestone Group.

Bridgestone China, Asia Pacific (CAP)’s Happy Tangram Project in China provides students in rural areas with otherwise precious art, music and physical education classes. Since 2009, the company has also donated more than 102,000 books and established 40 libraries through this project.

Bridgestone Thailand’s U-Camp project led by employees at our Nong Khae facility provides leadership development skills to students at 14 universities.

To increase financial independence for women in Pune, Maharashtra, India, Bridgestone India has partnered with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry Ladies Organization since 2018 to provide training for women to start their own businesses or become nurses or delivery personnel.

In India, many people living in rural areas are deprived of basic educational infrastructure due to economic reasons. Bridgestone provided school facilities and educational materials to children with limited educational opportunities living near the Chakan plant at our affiliate company in India, Bridgestone India Private Limited (BSID). By supporting educational opportunities for children, the company helps foster educational opportunities that can break the chain of poverty.

The Group is training the next generation of automotive service professionals. In Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., BSAM sponsors the Maplewood High School Automotive Training Center, and in Akron, Ohio, U.S., it sponsors the Bridgestone Academy of Applied Engineering & Technology at East Community Learning Center. Both schools host a near-replica Firestone Complete Auto Care store and training curriculum. Since 2015, 39 students have been hired by the Bridgestone Group from the Nashville program and 90 students are currently studying in the Akron program. Increasingly, women are pursuing the automotive service profession and receiving great training at these BSAM-sponsored programs.

BSAM has long partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). In 2020, customers donated 3.6 million USD to the Bridgestone Driving Great Futures partnership that supports BGCA. Among other uses, these funds provided technology grants to help BGCA participants adapt to remote learning.

Research shows that the more children attend the club, the greater their chances for academic and social success, so Bridgestone Retail Operations offers financial grants to help clubs with vehicle maintenance and, in some cases, with the purchase of new vans to transport children to and from clubs.

Established in 2003, Bridgestone Corporate University (BCU) provides education and training opportunities to employees, suppliers, local citizens and other stakeholders. The Center was opened in 2015 to foster specific training and education aligned with the Argentinian curriculum. Since opening, the Center has spent a total of 2,100,000 hours on training, more than 500 people have graduated from BCU and over 8,900 stakeholders have received training.

In Turkey, Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Brisa), Bridgestone's affiliated company, is helping disadvantaged and underprivileged people secure employment as tire service technicians. Since, 2010, Brisa has trained about 5,000 students. Most recently, two innovative new programs trained 26 women technicians, the first women in the tire sector to work in local dealers, and at least 50 people currently in prison are receiving technician training to help them reintegrate into society. Additionally, more than 5,000 students have taken free courses offered in vocational high schools; 65 of these students now work with Brisa dealers.

BSEMIA is helping people incarcerated at the Featherstone prison in Staffordshire, U.K. prepare for a successful career as tire technicians when they are released. About 30 inmates are training to receive Institute of the Motor Industry accreditation credentials, leveraging Bridgestone’s well-regarded REACT Roadside Tyre Technician Training.

Traineeships for high-school science students were held at our Bridgestone EMIA Technology Center in Rome offering an inside look at careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and confirming our commitment to expand education and training opportunities in order to develop job and life skills. In 2018, 124 students participated in this program.

Volunteer Spanish employees give lectures to bachelor of mechanics students. In 2018, 200 students participated in the lecture.

In Spain, the Bridgestone Group provides machine-engineering training for young people with intellectual disabilities. The 400-hour program can be adapted to suit the intellectual level of each participant.

In Japan, Bridgestone Corporation held a Global Communication Class for junior high school students. Employees shared their experiences helping the Group expand its business globally. This gave participants an opportunity to understand the importance and challenges of communicating effectively with a wide variety of people. The Corporation also has been holding environmental programs since 2004 and has reached 29,000 students to date. It plans to continue these efforts in 2021 and beyond.

In Japan, Bridgestone Group employees visit elementary schools and teach children about manufacturing and Bridgestone’s initiatives to improve the environment. Using a fun board game, children get to experience plant management virtually and think about the environment and work.

Helping people live healthier lives is another of the many ways the Bridgestone Group makes its communities and society more resilient.

To encourage healthier communities in the region and join the fight against cancer, BSCAP collaborated with the Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) to develop a first-of-its-kind nursery rhyme campaign titled “Molly Monkey Sings and Saves.” The campaign uses the familiar tune of ‘Wheels on the Bus’, to illustrate how to conduct a breast self-check, serving as an important reminder for women to take charge of their health through regular self-examination.
In 2019, more than 5,000 participants in Singapore’s Pink Ribbon Walk learned of the campaign that encourages children to remind their mothers of this important health check.

As a firm believer in the power of sports to excite and unite, BSCAP launched a regional step challenge to encourage employee fitness by unlocking donations to UNICEF and societies and foundations related to cancer. For the first time, employees used the Bridgestone Group's BS-Fit mobile app, which enables them to track their steps and maintain health. In 2019, more than 20,000 employees participated, logging more than 15 billion steps and unlocking donations of USD 113,000.

BSEMIA helped neighbors near its India operations by organizing a health camp that offered regular check-ups and hemoglobin, diabetes, blood pressure and calcium tests. The Health Camp also provided medicine free of charge to those in need.

International Women’s Day is celebrated globally on March 8. In recognition, Bridgestone India in 2019 organized 11 breast cancer and other health screening events for more than 100 women in rural health centers across Khed taluka, Maharashtra, India. In addition to tests for breast and cervical cancer, blood pressure and diabetes, women received a free supply of protein, iron and calcium supplements for their overall health.

Within its own operations, Bridgestone Americas works to create a diverse and inclusive workplace by offering five employee resources groups (ERGs). Open to all, ERGs support employees, create opportunities to engage in community-service volunteerism, and offer learning and development opportunities. ERGs include:

• BRAVO community of veterans and veteran supporters;
• BWIN dedicated to helping female employees thrive and lead;
• BNEXTGEN supporting the growth and development of young professionals;
• BProud! encouraging an environment of inclusiveness and collaboration; and,
• BBOLD empowering an inclusive community of Black/Africa American employees and allies.
• BUnidos promoting inclusiveness and professional growth of Latinx, Hispanic and ally employees.

For more details, please see “Respecting diversity and inclusion.”

Imagine a caravan of Bridgestone Group vehicles traveling the mountainous, difficult terrain of Argentina to bring much needed supplies to remote, usually indigenous communities. That is exactly what the Bridgestone Solidarity Caravan has been providing since 2010. Employees collect medicine, clothing, school and cleaning supplies, kitchen utensils and furniture and then deliver them during a week-long journey. Along the way, Caravan members help make improvements to schools and communities such as installing solar panels and pumps for drinking water.

Firestone’s Natural Rubber operations in Liberia co-sponsored a team of medical professionals from Children’s Surgeries International to provide more than 100 free surgeries for cleft lips and palates, hernias and a variety of urological conditions at the Firestone Medical Center in Duside. This is the seventh such mission since the collaboration began in 2010.

The Bridgestone Group’s rubber actuator is a polymer composite consisting of a rubber tube and a fiber-braided sleeve that applies its tire and hydraulic hose technologies. These rubber actuators are flexible, impact resistant, lightweight and high output. As one of its applications, the Group is developing a robot hand that can correctly grip everything from soft to hard objects of various sizes and weights, ranging from items like strawberries to tires. The soft-robot hand is expected to be used in a wide variety of applications. This is another example of how the Group is co-creating social and customer value with numerous stakeholders.

Bridgestone, in partnership with Ochanomizu University (one of two women’s national universities in Japan) has been implementing the Future Starting Point Project to help cultivate the next generation of female leaders since 2019. Females in high schools, undergraduate universities and graduate schools participate in a dialogue about future societal needs with stakeholders from business, education and local government.

Today, the Bridgestone Group values sports as one important way to promote healthier communities. That is why the Group is proud to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as a worldwide partner of both the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee. Multiple tenets of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements – community service, diversity, environmental stewardship and sustainability – also lie at the heart of Our Way to Serve.

In Japan, the Bridgestone x Olympic x Paralympic a GO GO! initiative is bringing the excitement of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements to communities across the country through a fun event with top-level athletes to help everyone from children to the elderly recognize the fun of playing sports.

Bridgestone is using the Company’s tire technology and innovation to support para athletes in Japan. Employees created rubber soles for sports prostheses that make it easier to run on a variety of surfaces, and gloves that help wheelchair athletes more efficiently propel the wheels of the chair.

Bridgestone CAP promotes the employment of people with disabilities across the region. In Thailand, 10 employees are para athletes training to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Bridgestone believes that sports has the power to excite, inspire and unite people from diverse backgrounds all over the world, and continues to support Olympic related activities in Thailand, Australia, China and Singapore. Bridgestone in China held an “Olympic X Paralympic Go Go Go” event at its Wuxi Plant, hosting employees and their children, together with students from local badminton clubs to let all participants have a taste of competitive sports.

In the United States, the company partnered with its Team Bridgestone athlete ambassadors to support local youth programs and charitable organizations, including Boys and Girls Club of America, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and the Scott Hamilton’s Learn-to-Skate Program in Nashville.