Social | Community
Support in times of disaster/COVID-19

The Group co-create long-term social and customer value by working collaboratively with customers, employees and partners to develop sustainable community solutions that positively impact a wide variety of cultures facing unique challenges. In addition to these long-term efforts, when urgent support is essential — for example, in times of disaster, COVID-19 or support humanitarian efforts— the Group also steps up to immediately support its communities.

Bridgestone Group’s reconstruction assistances and relief efforts

Year	Case	Bridgestone Group’s supports
2022	Supports humanitarian efforts to Ukraine	Approximately 500 million JPY* in total
2020	Heavy Rain in July 2020	Bridgestone Group: 1.29 million dollars
2020	COVID-19	8 million yen
2019	Typhoon Hagibis 2019 (Typhoon No. 19)	10 million yen
2018	Sulawesi Earthquake	P.T. Bridgestone Tire Indonesia, P.T. Bridgestone Mining Solutions Indonesia : 280 million Indonesian rupiah
2018	Lombok Earthquake	P.T. Bridgestone Tire Indonesia : 200 million Indonesian rupiah
2018	Heavy rains in West Japan	10 million yen
2017	Hurricanes in America	Bridgestone, Bridgestone Americas Inc. : 1 million dollars
2017	Heavy rains in Kyusyu	15 million yen
2016	Kumamoto Earthquake	20 million yen
2015	Heavy rains in East Japan	10 million yen
2014	Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever	Bridgestone : 54 million yen Bridgestone Americas Inc. : 500 thousand dollars
2013	Typhoon in the Philippines	Bridgestone : 10 million yen Bridgestone Asia Pacific P.T. Ltd. : 50 thousand Singapore dollars
2013	Sichuan Earthquake	Bridgestone : 15 million yen Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd. : 300 thousand yuan

COVID-19 relief efforts

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, schools around the world moved to remote learning. Many families lacked the basic technology needed for children to keep pace with their studies, so the Bridgestone Group stepped in to help.

In Mexico, BSAM donated tablets and school supplies to children at Mexico City’s the RAmelia B de Casas Kindergarten to help them continue their studies. BSAM also donated laptops to the Bandera Blanca Foundation in Costa Rica for children in vulnerable situations. Digital workshops also were offered to parents and grandparents of these children to help them learn to use the technology.
In partnership with the CompSharing charity project, BSEMIA donated computers to ussian Red Cross for families in need of computer access during the pandemic.

In 2021, the Group sent 56 ventilators, 120 oxygen concentrators and 10,000 N-95 masks to India through its global network in Japan, United States and Europe. The Group and its employees helped in numerous other ways as well:

Kodaira District and Hofu Plant provided their own facilities to local governments as venues for COVID-19 vaccinations in Japan．
Conducting mass vaccination for employees, families, and contractor by collaborating with local government, Chamber of Commerce, and Indonesian Employers Association in Indonesia. A total of 2100 food packages and 675 sets of antigen swab kits were donated．
Donating Funds to purchase medical equipment and medical supplies to the University hospital and Hospital Foundation　and visiting those isolated at home and those waiting at hospitals, and delivered food and other supplies. They visited those isolated at home and those waiting at hospitals, and delivered food and other supplies in Thailand.
Supporting the frontline medical workers who have been tirelessly battling the outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan, our teammates banded together to participate in a bento box delivery mission, sending more than 100 bento boxes from the Children are Us Foundation restaurant to workers in the Hsinchu County vaccination station.
Donating three sets of tyres for ambulances in Cho Ray Hospital and HCMC 115 Emergency Center, providing free rescue services for tyre punctures and vehicle related emergencies, contributing to the Vietnam Prime Minister’s Vaccine Fund and the COVID-19 Prevention Fund of Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee to bring more vaccines to the Vietnam community, as well as sponsoring50,000 four layer antibacterial face masks and 600 bottles of hand sanitizer to support the Bridgestone Family Channel to ensure safe working conditions.
There is “Seguro Llegas” (Get There Safely) Campaign.“Seguro Llegas” aimed at carriers to provide information including safety and accident prevention recommendations in USA. Due to the pandemic, tire check activities were suspended; however, a different approach called “Seguro me transporto” (I Drive Safely) was carried out, which donated COVID-19 prevention kits to drivers in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Providing NGO and fleet partners in India with food and other essentials for truck drivers stranded on highways.
Donating two cars, 100 blankets and bags for patients’ belongings to a field hospital in Spain.
Collecting necessities for families in need in Costa Rica, France, Germany, Italy and Mexico.
Partnering with Food Bank Singapore to host a food donation campaign for those in need and providing new tires for the organization’s fleet of vehicles.
Sponsoring “Be Heroes Together” blood drives in Thailand and Taiwan to boost supplies to fight COVID-19. More than 490 employees donated over 200,000 cc of blood.
Supporting seven hospitals, one school and Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 vaccination research efforts at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.

Other Support Activities

Bridge to Knowledge campaign (Vietnam)

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 2021, the Group built two new bridges that provide safe access to educational facilities for students from over 1,000 households.

Supporting communities in times of need during natural disasters (Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam)

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 animal sand 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.

Assuring food security during trying times (Singapore)

Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. and Bridgestone Tyre Sales Singapore Pte. Ltd. supported Willing Hearts – a charity that operates a soup kitchen, that prepares, cooks, and distributes 10,500 daily meals to those in need to over 70 locations across Singapore, 365 days a year.

Over a period of a few months, Bridgestone refreshed the charity’s fleet of 10 vehicles with new tyres, while encouraging safe tyre usage and promoting road safety. At the end of 2021, the BSCAP and BSTSG teammates banded together to donate 120 bags of essential items to some of Willing Hearts’ recipients, while helping to distribute meals at the same time. We are grateful to have supported such a heart-warming and meaningful activity to bring nourishment to those in need.

Disaster control center (United States)

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.

Social | Community Support in times of disaster/COVID-19