Bridgestone Continues Advancing Sustainability and Transparency Across Global Tire and Rubber Supply Chain

Bridgestone Continues Advancing Sustainability and Transparency Across Global Tire and Rubber Supply Chain

Policy, training, supplier acknowledgements and third-party assessments underscore company’s commitment and progress toward sustainable procurement practices

Bridgestone Group, the world’s largest tire and rubber company, today announced steady progress in implementing its Global Sustainable Procurement Policy – which aims to create thriving and sustainable supply chains – and ultimately ensure alignment with the company’s use of “100 percent sustainable materials*” by 2050 and beyond. Through a 2018 partnership with EcoVadis, a leading provider of sustainability, risk and performance ratings for global supply chains, Bridgestone is assessing suppliers’ current sustainability practices, as well as the possible support needed to improve performance.

Together with EcoVadis, the company is monitoring and rating the environmental, social and ethical performance of Bridgestone’s suppliers to help identify and evaluate qualified suppliers, promote best practices, and serve as a communication and improvement tool for the industry overall.

“We stand behind our commitment to sustainable procurement practices and have reinforced our efforts over the past year to understand how our suppliers are performing against our expectations for ethical, environmental, social and quality standards,” said Christine Karbowiak, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Executive Vice President, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation. “Real improvements in sustainability come when we work with collaborative partners across the supply chain. In addition to our work with EcoVadis, another great example is our participation as a founding member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) – an independent platform that will lead improvements in the socio-economic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain”

Intensive new efforts by Bridgestone have been underway in all regions globally since the release of the Company’s policy in February 2018. As of March 2019, acknowledgement of the policy has been completed by 98 percent (~1,600) of the company’s Tier 1 tire material suppliers and the majority are in the process of completing third-party assessments with EcoVadis. Additionally, the company has trained hundreds of procurement, legal, technical and customer-facing teammates, among others across the enterprise.

“Bridgestone is a great example of an organization that is leading in sustainability by increasing their focus on responsible procurement practices,” said Pierre-Francois Thaler, Co-CEO of EcoVadis. “Proactive collaboration with suppliers is the best way to improve performance across all corporate social responsibility indicators and drive positive change in the communities from which they source. This partnership will help Bridgestone build on their existing efforts and make a real, lasting impact.”

Bridgestone’s Global Sustainable Procurement Policy reflects the Company’s commitment to creating a thriving and sustainable supply chain, including natural rubber. Guided by the Group's global commitment to corporate social responsibility, Our Way to Serve, the policy sets expectations for business partners and suppliers to operate with Respect of Human Rights, Environmental Standards and Product Quality while including additional requirements for Land Conservation and Rights, Point of Origin Traceability and Resilience.

In 2019, Bridgestone is focusing on reviewing assessment findings, addressing immediate concerns and developing the go-forward strategy toward industry best practices for supply chain sustainability and transparency.

* The Bridgestone Group defines sustainable materials as materials "1) that come from resources with a guaranteed continual supply, 2) that can be used as part of our business over the long-term, and 3) that have a low environmental and social impact over the lifecycle from procurement to disposal."

Media information: Liesbeth Denys, Director PR and Corporate Communications, Bridgestone in EMEA: +32 478 78 26 22

About Bridgestone in Europe, Middle East and Africa

We're the EMEA business of the world’s largest tyre and rubber company. For almost 90 years, we've been providing the confidence to get people and goods where they need to go as conveniently as possible, without interruption. That’s as true today as ever and means we’re trusted where it matters most: where the vehicle meets the road. We’re brilliant chemists, engineers and data scientists with some of Europe’s most advanced factories and world-beating technology. We’re uncompromisingly focused on providing real solutions to the real problems that drivers face on the road every day. We keep them going, no matter what.

We’re present in 38 countries in EMEA, employing more than 18,300 people. We have 15 tyre plants in the region, a major R&D centre, and a proving ground. We’re proud to be the largest R&D spender in our industry, investing around €800 million in 2018.

For more information about Bridgestone in EMEA, please visit www.bridgestone-emea.com and www.bridgestonenewsroom.eu. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About EcoVadis:

EcoVadis is the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, intelligence and collaborative performance improvement tools for global supply chains. Backed by a powerful technology platform and a global team of domain experts, EcoVadis’ easy-to-use and actionable sustainability scorecards provide detailed insight into environmental, social and ethical risks across 190 purchasing categories and 150 countries. Industry leaders such as Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Nestlé, Schneider Electric, Michelin and BASF are among the more than 50,000 businesses on the EcoVadis network, all working with a single methodology to evaluate, collaborate and improve sustainability performance in order to protect their brands, foster transparency and innovation, and accelerate growth. Learn more on ecovadis.com, Twitter or LinkedIn.