Social
Procurement

Globalization has brought businesses opportunities to source from diverse locations and has allowed companies to work together despite geographical distance. At the same time, companies face the risks of both affecting as well as being affected by, sustainability issues such as human rights, and climate change, anywhere Bridgestone operates. With the volatile geopolitical landscape, regulatory uncertainty and global aspiration for carbon neutrality in recent years, it has become even more imperative for companies to respect human rights and prevent deforestation and other sustainability risks, going beyond Bridgestone’s own operations, looking throughout the value chain together with business partners.

In light of its impact on society and business, Bridgestone is focusing on sustainable procurement of natural rubber. Natural rubber is a key raw material in tire manufacturing and an essential renewable resource for producing high-quality tires. In addition, it provides quality of life opportunities for as many as 6 million smallholder farmers who are said to be involved in the cultivation of natural rubber around the world. As demand for natural rubber continues to rise, however, concerns about global deforestation are mounting, making it a significant social issue. Bridgestone considers sustainable procurement to be a critical management issue, essential for both business continuity and the well-being of society, and are taking actions in this area, including pursuing risk-based supply chain management, improving traceability, practicing and promoting zero deforestation, respecting human rights, and boosting collaboration with industry associations aimed at enhancing resilience across the value chain.

(percentages are rounded)

* Bridgestone pursues a dynamic share allocation of approved suppliers to preserve business continuity, and reserves the right to periodically revise the mix by country.

Co-creating value with partners, supply-chain risk mitigation including EUDR compliance

Bridgestone expanded its risk mitigation initiatives in 2025 through strategic collaboration with suppliers. By translating risk assessment outcomes into tangible actions on the ground, Bridgestone is seeking to enhance both compliance and community resilience. With the support of an independent external expert, Bridgestone not only verified compliance but also worked to co-create shared value among smallholders, suppliers, and local communities.

Through training in sustainable agricultural practices, reassessments of higher-risk farms, and structured consultations with local and indigenous communities, Bridgestone is gaining a more in-depth understanding of the environmental and social challenges tied to natural rubber production. Through such engagement, Bridgestone is pursuing appropriate risk management, building trust, enhancing local capabilities, and strengthening long-term resilience in producing regions.

Furthermore, a total of 6,675 smallholders were reassessed for legal compliance. Where required, Bridgestone obtained consent and supporting documentation to reinforce traceability and due diligence.

Collectively, these initiatives demonstrate that Bridgestone is progressing from risk identification to measurable risk reduction. Going forward, Bridgestone will continue to create shared value with smallholders and local communities through inclusive, resilient, and responsible natural rubber procurement.

Leveraging upstream traceability to improve supply chain management

Traceability is at the heart of Bridgestone’s commitment to the sustainable procurement of natural rubber. Ensuring traceability enables us to visualize the origins of our materials, their producers, and their production methods, which helps mitigate the risks associated with procurement

Aiming to achieve 100% district-level traceability by 2027, Bridgestone improved the traceability rate to 76% in 2025. We also enhanced farm-level traceability to 62%. Bridgestone will continue to work with suppliers across all regions to further improve traceability.

1. Target
2. GPSNR classification (2024-25 figure calculated by Bridgestone based on supplier information)
3. Information on farm geolocation or boundary mapping

In 2025, Bridgestone advanced from developing upstream traceability systems to integrating these into risk-based supply chain management. Through risk assessments, Bridgestone confirmed minimal exposure to high risks for the year. Building on these findings, Bridgestone has started mitigation actions to ensure more precise and proactive risk management.

* Please see here for information about geographical classifications.

Strengthening EUDR readiness across the supply chain

Bridgestone has implemented comprehensive measures to comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements in close cooperation with its strategic partners, notwithstanding the revised timeline for the regulation. Throughout the reporting period, Bridgestone reinforced governance mechanisms, escalation pathways, and supplier corrective action procedures to promote consistent global implementation.

The deployment of a third-party digital platform further improved the systematic collection of data and the verification of supplier documentation, enhancing traceability, transparency, and reliability across the supply chain.

These efforts not only demonstrate Bridgestone’s preparedness for EUDR compliance but also contribute to a broader objective—promoting deforestation-free and responsible procurement and building a sustainable value chain.

Advancing due diligence and third-party assessments

Bridgestone achieved a key milestone in its sustainability journey in 2025, completing comprehensive on-site environmental, social, and governance (ESG) inspections for 100% of its Tier 1 natural rubber suppliers. This represents a major achievement in terms of enhancing transparency and accountability across the supply chain. All Tier 1 suppliers also completed EcoVadis sustainability assessments, enabling consistent benchmarking and driving continuous improvements in ESG performance.

The on-site inspections were conducted using a questionnaire Bridgestone developed jointly with WWF Japan, based on the Bridgestone Global Sustainability Procurement Policy. It covered all material sustainability topics, including responsible labor practices, environmental stewardship, and respect for human rights. A notable enhancement in the 2025 inspection cycle was the introduction of worker interviews and surveys.

Inspectors from Bridgestone employed privacy-focused approaches, creating safe environments where on-site workers could share their views regarding labor rights and working conditions. Insights from these consultations are supporting improvements in workplace well-being and helping to embed human rights due diligence across the supplier network.

By integrating due diligence activities into core business operations, Bridgestone is also reinforcing the reliability, accountability, and resilience of the global supply chain. Bridgestone’s efforts across a broad range of areas, including traceability, European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) readiness, smallholder engagement, and supplier assurance demonstrate our commitment to building a transparent, deforestation-free natural rubber value chain that delivers long-term shared value for all stakeholders.

Internal natural rubber manufacturing

Bridgestone owns four natural rubber companies in Liberia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Bridgestone considers having our own natural rubber farms and processing factories to be a significant strength in terms of both business sustainability and traceability enhancement.
These internal companies serve as practical laboratories for sustainability opportunities and risk management, high-level engagement with trusted partners, and close collaboration with them based on a deep understanding of the reality on-site (Genbutsu-Genba). Bridgestone also provides technical support to local communities through Bridgestone’s farms, continuously generating value within the natural rubber business.

The internal natural rubber companies also play an important role in the supply chain, providing about 20% of the volume of natural rubber that Bridgestone procures globally. Tasks such as preparing for EUDR compliance and ensuring traceability are thus vital tasks for these facilities.
One of our companies in Indonesia has already achieved 100% traceability at the farm level, and another one of our companies achieved 100% traceability at the district level. In line with our commitment to serving local communities, Bridgestone operates kindergartens, schools, and medical facilities in Liberia and Indonesia. Bridgestone also provides health, safety, and environmental assistance in Indonesia, including sanitary education, flood rescue, and disaster prevention training.

Theory of Change

In 2025, Bridgestone took part in an initiative to build a Theory of Change (ToC) roadmap for its capacity-building activities for natural rubber smallholders, in collaboration with a partner specializing in impact measurement, GLIN Impact Consulting Co. Ltd.. The ToC aims to systematically organize Bridgestone’s actions for supporting natural rubber smallholders and clarify the value and causal relationships of each of these actions, thereby enhancing understanding among internal and external stakeholders about why each action is being taken, for what purpose, and with what value. Bridgestone believes this will also help in setting meaningful goals and KPIs, contributing to a sustainable impact.

Theory of change for sustainable natural rubber production by smallholders

Support for smallholders around own natural rubber farm

Bridgestone considers the communities and smallholders around its rubber farms to be important stakeholders and part of its inter-dependent ecosystem. Being respectful of local rubber farmers and smallholders is critical to Bridgestone’s commitment to helping protect the environment while creating value for the communities where it operates. These efforts help protect the people and communities Bridgestone relies on. Since 2005, it has provided more than six million saplings to farmers in Liberia and Indonesia, with the budded stumps valued at over USD2.7 million. In addition, Bridgestone has supported dozens of budwood gardens to improve clonal varieties used in replanting in Liberia, while also using genome data to improve breeding technologies and growing methods to make rubber trees more resilient and more productive.

To help independent smallholder farmers, Bridgestone hosts Seeding Success to Smallholders workshops in Southeast Asia, providing technical training and productivity improvement techniques developed on its own farms. Every year, hundreds of smallholders participate in sessions to learn techniques such as how to grow quality rubber trees, replant trees, prevent disease, and pursue best practices for tapping trees. In 2025, approximately 3,700 smallholders participated in Bridgestone workshops in Indonesia, and Bridgestone donated rubber trees, tapping kits, and other supplies to more than 22,000 smallholders.

During 2012-2020, Bridgestone and Waseda University launched a project in Indonesia involving rubber tree planting by residents, led by Waseda University and Japan International Forestry Promotion and Cooperation Center (JIFPRO). This was a Waseda-Bridgestone Initiative for Development of Global Environment (W-BRIDGE) project. Bridgestone has drawn on this 8-year project scheme to restart reforestation activity from 2023 as a new initiative. Many related parties, such as from local universities, governments, JIFPRO, and local communities, participate every year in this activity, which is targeting 20 hectares of wasteland peryear. This activity contributes not only to reforestation but also to improvement in smallholders’ livelihoods, in part by means of farm managementtraining and technical guidance for better yields.

Through this activity, Bridgestone supported capacity building for 100 smallholders in 2023-2025.

Engagement activities by Extension Officers at smallholder farms (Liberia)

Firestone Liberia (FSLB) is promoting a program aimed at building a fair, reliable supply chain by providing support for agricultural techniques for smallholders. Targeting about 5,000 smallholders with 100% traceability to the farm source, the program seeks to facilitate the sharing of knowledge about best practices and help expand sales channels more broadly the market.

On its farms in Liberia, Bridgestone also ensures access to safe and clean water, provides free medical care, operates 18 schools from kindergarten to 12th grade, and employs more than 235 teachers and school administration personnel. It has also introduced renewable energy sources to allow sustainable access to lighting and energy in 40 communities.

Activities in collaboration with partners

In 2025, Bridgestone made further headway with its commitment to a nature-positive future through a risk mitigation project supporting smallholders and local communities in Indonesia and Côte d’Ivoire. Conducted in partnership with an outside service provider, the project aimed to address environmental and social risks affecting upstream natural rubber supply chains while enhancing the resilience of smallholder farmers and their surrounding ecosystems.

The initiative focused on both analysis and action. Working closely with suppliers, local authorities, and community stakeholders, Bridgestone identified 6,675 smallholders considered at relatively high risk and provided tailored coaching on good agricultural and environmental management practices. Each participant underwent a reassessment process covering biodiversity protection, soil and water management, and adherence to social and labor standards.

Adopting better cultivation techniques and environmental stewardship practices gave smallholders access to premium natural rubber supply chains. This created pathways to higher and more stable incomes while simultaneously fostering more sustainable land use and natural resource protection.

Consultations with local and indigenous communities in Indonesia provided valuable insight into the interdependence between livelihoods, culture, and the natural environment. This engagement helped Bridgestone to develop a set of practical recommendations aimed at strengthening social inclusion, land stewardship, and ecosystem resilience at the community level.

Project with WWF Japan

In 2024, Bridgestone, in partnership with WWF Japan, launched a project to disseminate technologies that contribute to the improved yields of natural rubber smallholders in Riau and Jambi provinces in Indonesia. The targeted areas are regions where the switch from natural rubber to oil palm has been particularly marked. By helping to improve smallholders' livelihoods by means of greater productivity, Bridgestone also aims to prevent both this switch and the deforestation caused by the development of new farmland. Bridgestone held four training sessions over about four weeks throughout the year in 2024. During the sessions, experts from its natural rubber farm in Indonesia (PT. Bridgestone Sumatra Rubber Estate) and Technical Center in Japan supported 11 smallholders from the Kuantan Singingi Rubber Farmers Association (APKARKUSI) in Riau province and five smallholders from Jambi province, helping them to improve tapping skills and the coagulating and collecting of natural rubber latex by cup lump, and to acquire necessary knowledge. As a result, the interview survey found that most of the participating smallholder farmers reported experiencing an improvement in productivity approximately one year after the training. Based on shipment volume data, the monthly average increased by approximately 8% compared with the pre-training period. However, for smallholder farmers, harvesting frequency varies significantly by year, by month, and by individual farmer, and is also influenced by other factors. Therefore, monitoring continues to further assess outcomes and identify challenges.

Aiming to further expand the impact of these efforts, Bridgestone started a Farmer-to-Farmer training program in 2025, in which the farmers trained in 2024 become instructors and conduct technical training for surrounding smallholders, using the standardized yield improvement guidelines developed with the local farmers. By providing each farmer with two training sessions per year—an initial session followed by a review session after the farmers had practiced on their own farms for a period of time—both the improvement and retention of the farmers’ tapping skills became evident through technical evaluations.

There are no nurseries available in the targeted regions, making it difficult for smallholder farmers to obtain high-quality seedlings. Therefore, to support the sustainability of production in these areas, Bridgestone is providing technical guidance and assistance for nursery management based on its own technologies. Bridgestone is also supporting the establishment of a model farm designed to demonstrate replanting practices and maintenance incorporating agroforestry, which has the promise of supporting income diversification for smallholders.

To measure the outcome of this project scientifically from a nature positive perspective, Bridgestone has attempted to set KPIs and targets through a SBTN Land disclosure trial in collaboration with WWF Japan and Deloitte. The full report on this trial can be found on the website (Japanese only).

Projects with the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR)

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) is truly a multi-stakeholder and inclusive network. It serves as an effective platform for collaboration, sharing resources and knowledge, and uniting Bridgestone’s efforts in enhancing the sustainability of the natural rubber industry with those of other tire makers, automakers, smallholders, processors and producers, and NGOs in tackling this vast and complicated issue.

Bridgestone donated USD60,000 to GPSNR to support initiatives GPSNR led for smallholder capacity building to be conducted in 2023, and was recognized by GPSNR as an important donor. With the donation, GPSNR organized a series of agroforestry and income diversification projects, involving a series of agroforestry workshops and training for smallholders in Indonesia, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire, with the participation of a total of 99 smallholders between 2023-May 2024.

In addition to providing the donation to GPSNR’s capacity-building projects, Bridgestone is a member of GPSNR’s Smallholder Representation and Capacity Building Working Group, which aims to provide effective support for smallholders and promote their voices in GPSNR. To support the enhancement of smallholder capacity (increasing yield per hectare in a sustainable manner), Bridgestone is actively involved in the discussion around GPSNR’s Shared Responsibility Framework, discussing ways in which to build the most equitable financial distribution mechanism, share resources and knowledge, and recognize and award members’ efforts in enhancing natural rubber’s sustainability.

Project with Solidaridad: Project Unnati (sustainable natural rubber project in Kerala, India)

Project Unnati is one of Bridgestone’s initiatives for building a sustainable natural rubber supply chain in two districts of Kerala (Idukki and Kottayam) in India. The project aims to support 5,000 smallholders by 2027, helping them to enhance their rubber cultivation capacity and improve their livelihoods and enabling them to cultivate rubber with respect for human rights and the environment.

With the support of Solidaridad, an international civil society organization, Bridgestone works to improve the quality of rubber, smoke houses, and rubber sheet preparation. This intervention is based on a needs assessment conducted in Kerala and is expected to yield several outcomes:

• A 5%-7% improvement in the overall quality of rubber sheets supplied by rubber producers
• Improved access to quality services, facilitated by members of Rubber Producers' Societies (RPSs)
• Identification and strengthening of 10 entrepreneurs for existing smoke houses and sheet preparation to support smaller cultivators

Summary of Project Unnati activities in 2025:

Key activities to improve the productivity of natural rubber

#1: Capacity building and mobilization of farmers

A total of 1,196 farmers enrolled in 56 capacity-building sessions were held in 2025. The sessions focused on the following areas:

• European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and Sustainable Natural Rubber Initiative (SNR-i), and occupational health and safety
• Latex harvesting technology, including marking, opening, and stimulation (inputs on leaf fall tapping, rain guarding, normal tapping, and controlled upward tapping)
• Crop processing, collection of latex, and different parameters for the production of quality grade sheets

#2: Natural Rubber Conclave 2025

• The Natural Rubber Conclave 2025 was organized to discuss and share knowledge on the challenges and prospects of rubber farming, the scope of intercropping and multi-cropping activities on rubber farms, and alternative livelihood options
• More than 150 stakeholders, including over 125 rubber farmers, participated in the conclave, highlighting best practices and challenges

#3: Promoting ancillary income and crop diversity through intercropping

Bridgestone promotes intercropping as an activity to generate additional income for farmers and to diversify crops to build economic resiliency.
As part of this activity, Bridgestone provided 236 farmers with 27,200 intercrop saplings for cocoa and coffee across Kottayam and Idukki districts, covering a total area of 54 hectares.

The aim of intercropping is to enhance soil health and increase crop diversity, significantly contributing to biodiversity conservation by integrating perennial crops into rubber farms.

#4: Introducing beekeeping to a women’s rubber farmer group

This activity exemplifies the leadership of Bridgestone India (BSID) in supporting the establishment of beekeeping groups and providing technical guidance to women rubber farmers. A total of 41 women farmers (21 in Idukki and 20 in Kottayam) were trained under this initiative. They received comprehensive support, including guidance on establishing beekeeping groups, setting up honeybee colonies, and accessing essential equipment such as hives, tools, and protective gear. Beekeeping (apiculture) offers numerous benefits for farmers in Kerala, providing a sustainable, low-cost farming option with high returns.

#5: Strengthening farmers’ entrepreneurship through agroforestry and better use of land

A key focus of this project is helping farmers utilize unused areas of rubber farms to enhance their income and adopt sustainable farming practices. The project supports farmer entrepreneurs engaged in activities like honey processing, livestock rearing, and poultry farming.

Bridgestone selected 17 entrepreneurs from Kottayam and Idukki districts for these activities. The initiatives aim to empower rubber farmers by diversifying their income sources, improving product quality, and promoting sustainable farming practices.

#6: Establishing demo plots for regenerative agricultural practices

To showcase regenerative agricultural practices for rubber farmers, Bridgestone established a total of 14 (10 in 2024-2025 and 4 in 2026) demonstration plots to showcase intercropping with coffee and cocoa, new rubber planting, newly opened tapping, controlled upward tapping, and cover cropping, among other practices.

In Southeast Asia, where over 90% of the world’s rubber tree farms are concentrated, white root rot disease (WRD) is growing more acute, killing trees by infecting and rotting their roots. The disease can be difficult to detect, especially in the early stages when treatment is more successful. Bridgestone has developed techniques to diagnose the disease early using drone photography and AI image analysis. Bridgestone has initiated research with Kyushu University and Indonesia's BRIN^* to contribute to improving productivity at natural rubber farms. The goal of the research project is to develop technology to prevent WRD in Para rubber trees and contribute to greater productivity at natural rubber farms.

*National Research and Innovation Agency (Indonesian: Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, BRIN) of Indonesia. For more information, see “Enhancing contribution.”

Bridgestone believes it is fundamental to work with trusted partners as a team throughout the value chain and co-create value towards society. Especially in the natural rubber industry, which tends to be exposed to the risks of deforestation and child and forced labor, a grievance mechanism is an effective tool that allows Bridgestone to collect feedback from stakeholders around its operations; to engage with suppliers; and to understand where its potential risks and opportunities are, to improve sustainability practices across the value-chain. Bridgestone, therefore, set up a grievance mechanism for the natural rubber supply chain in 2022, which covers human rights issues and environmental issues and guarantees the confidentiality and anonymity of people reporting as needed. It is available and accessible to all internal and external stakeholders in Bridgestone’s natural rubber supply chain and aids in resolving issues through cooperation with direct suppliers and other third parties, in accordance with the Global Sustainable Procurement Policy. As necessary, Bridgestone will coordinate with the grievance mechanism of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). To ensure transparency, Bridgestone is disclosing standard operating procedures, grievance consultation desks, and the status of each grievance report on the Group global website below.

Bridgestone received a grievance against one of its suppliers in 2023, consisting of multiple complaints about their group operation across several African states as well as in Southeast Asia. With the support of an international NGO, Earthworm Foundation, Bridgestone engaged with the supplier that was the subject of the grievance to confirm status and review the results of an investigation by a third party and the action plan for improvement. Based on this dialogue, Bridgestone published the grievance on the list on its website in June 2023 and has been updating the list quarterly. It will continue to monitor improvement of human rights as well as environmental management and practice. By operating in an appropriate and transparent manner, Bridgestone can encourage its business partners to correct and mitigate risk and support victims. Having a supply chain with low human rights risk will, in turn, lead to a stable supply for Bridgestone.

For more operational information, please see Grievance mechanism.

Bridgestone is proud of its progress in sustainability, but improvements at scale will only be achieved through industry-wide collaboration. This is why Bridgestone and other global tire companies launched the GPSNR, to transform the natural rubber value chain for the better.

Through GPSNR, tire companies, including Bridgestone and other stakeholders, are harmonizing standards to improve respect for human rights, prevent land-grabbing and deforestation, protect biodiversity and water resources, improve yields, and increase supply chain transparency and traceability.

To make impactful and far-reaching contributions toward the enhancement of natural rubber sustainability, Bridgestone has strengthened its participation in all of the main initiatives of and discussions within GPSNR. For example, after GPSNR approved a Policy Framework in 2021, Bridgestone played a central role in developing Reporting Requirements for member companies to report on their progress in implementing the Policy Framework. At the June 2022 General Assembly, GPSNR approved the above-mentioned Reporting Requirements, Implementation Guidance, which supports members in their implementation of the Policy Framework, and the Shared Responsibility Framework, which aims to build a balanced structure for sharing the responsibility for enhancing sustainability of natural rubber appropriately among all the players in the supply chain. From the latter half of 2022 through much of 2023, Bridgestone played a leading role in building the GPSNR Assurance System, which aims to establish an industry-wide assurance scheme to serve members that publicly report their sustainability level to society.

Bridgestone has represented tire companies on the GPSNR Executive Committee since GPSNR’s launch and currently chairs this committee.

Bridgestone will continue working with GPSNR, NGOs, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders to increase transparency and traceability in the natural rubber supply chain.

GPSNR launched the Shared Investment Mechanism (SIM) in 2025, which enables members to implement collaborative, large‑scale investments in smallholder capacity‑building programs designed to improve productivity, traceability, and sustainability outcomes at the farm level. Bridgestone contributed directly to the formulation of this mechanism and secured approval for two smallholder projects under the 2025 SIM cycle, followed by three additional projects for the 2026 cycle.

Commitment to the GPSNR Assurance System to drive sustainable transformation

The GPSNR Assurance System is a holistic and transparent framework based on the principle of continuous improvement, which allows companies to make progress toward the sustainability of the natural rubber industry and make credible claims on the progress of their sustainability journey.

To follow the journey of the assurance system, a company must:
- Commit to the GPSNR Policy framework and self-report based on a reporting framework
- Identify risks and implement commitments using GPSNR’s Implementation Guidance, other tools, and schemes such as the Shared Investment Mechanism
- Obtain third-party assessment, using the standards, checklist, and procedures available to members to realize continuous improvements
- Make public disclosure and credible claims

As a founding member of GPSNR, Bridgestone played a leading role in establishing the Assurance System, which was voted on in 2025, and will enter into its first cycle in 2027.

To confirm its activity and initiatives from an independent third-party perspective, Bridgestone participated in a voluntary and early assessment in line with GPSNR Assurance System requirements in late 2025. The assessment confirmed that Bridgestone is fully compliant with the GPSNR requirements and recognized the robustness of its supply chain mapping, risk assessment, and due diligence systems. As an early adopter of the system, Bridgestone continues to move forward with preparations for the full mandatory implementation of the Assurance System starting in 2027.