Bridgestone Announces Its First Carbon Neutral Tyre Manufacturing Site

Bridgestone, a global leader in tyres and solutions, has announced its first tyre manufacturing site to be verified as carbon neutral (scopes 1 and 2). The plant at Chakan in Pune, India, was audited in May and June 2023, and was subsequently verified according to the international PAS 2060 standard[1] for the year 2022 by leading global assurance partner, LRQA.

The certification marks an important milestone in Bridgestone’s efforts to decarbonise its manufacturing capacity, towards the global target of carbon neutrality (Scope 1 and 2) by 2050 and a 50% reduction of CO2 emissions from its operations by 2030 versus the 2011 benchmark.

Bridgestone’s Pune manufacturing facility produces more than 4 million tyres per year. Over the years, the site has reduced its total carbon footprint by 94%, through a number of measures. These include for instance solar panels at the plant and a carbon neutral biomass-based boiler plant which uses carbon neutral biomass briquettes made from agricultural waste.

2,974t CO2 emissions at the site are offset via Bridgestone India’s purchase of Verified Carbon Standard credits from a bundled solar photovoltaic project by Acme, India. The project is designed to generate energy from solar panels that will be exported to the regional power grids in the Telangana, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan states in India.

As part of the PAS 2060 verification, the site has committed to a further CO2 reduction plan for the next three years.

“Bridgestone is globally committed to the realisation of a carbon neutral mobility society and we in India are focused on this goal. Other than the solar power plant and the carbon neutral boiler, we have undertaken various measures at the shop-floor level too. We are continuing to replace diesel-based forklifts with electric powered ones and using electric power to replace LPG. Our future plans include further increasing the use of green energy, reducing carbon emissions in our overall operations and tracking scope 3 emissions.” said Stefano Sanchini, Managing Director Bridgestone India.

“This verification ensures that Bridgestone's reported data and information are reliable and supported by efficient management systems. After reviewing Bridgestone's information, we confirm its commitment with a decarbonization strategy and we have been able to provide the verification statement PAS 2060 for Carbon Neutrality, Scope 1 and 2 for the Pune Plant. We are delighted to be part of Bridgestone's decarbonization project, as our focus at LRQA is on supporting clients to ensure the trustworthiness of their sustainability strategies and climate change claims”, said Olga Rivas, ESG Product Cluster Manager at LRQA.

Bridgestone sustainability efforts are a major part of Bridgestone’s vision to continue to provide social and customer value as a sustainable solutions company toward 2050. They are also the embodiment of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment – a set of eight areas (Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease, Empowerment) which provide a compass and guide Bridgestone to do business in a sustainable way.

“Globally Bridgestone is guided by a deep-rooted mission of “Serving Society with Superior Quality,” and to provide social and customer value as a sustainable solutions company. Towards this end the Company is committed towards the realization of a carbon neutral mobility society. The carbon neutral certification of one of our two tyre plants in India is a historic landmark in the Company’s commitment towards sustainability more so as Bridgestone has set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050, in line with the Paris climate agreement” said Koji Takagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Bridgestone EMIA.

[1] PAS 2060:2014 Specification for the Demonstration of Carbon Neutrality

Media information: Liesbeth Denys, Director Public Affairs and Communications EMIA: +32 478 78 26 22 

About Bridgestone in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa

Bridgestone in Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa (Bridgestone EMIA) is the regional Strategic Business Unit of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tyres and sustainable mobility solutions.

Headquartered in Zaventem (Belgium), Bridgestone EMIA employs more than 20,000 people and conducts business in 40 countries across the region.

Bridgestone offers a diverse portfolio of premium tyres, tyre technologies and advanced mobility solutions. The company’s vision is to provide social and customer value as a sustainable solutions company. The Bridgestone E8 Commitment is a broad, global corporate commitment that clearly defines the value the company is promising to deliver to society, our customers and future generations in eight focus areas; Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease and Empowerment. These provide a compass to guide strategic priorities, decision making and actions throughout every area of the business.

For more information about Bridgestone in EMIA, please visit www.bridgestone-emia.com and press.bridgestone-emia.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About LRQA

LRQA is a leading global assurance partner, bringing together decades of unrivalled expertise in assessment, advisory, inspection and cybersecurity services – underpinned by data-driven insights – to help its clients navigate a new era of risk.

Operating in more than 160 countries with a team of more than 6,000 people, LRQA’s award-winning compliance, supply chain, cybersecurity and ESG specialists help more than 61,000 clients across almost every sector to anticipate, mitigate and manage risk wherever they operate.

Find out more at www.lrqa.com

About the certification

The plant was certified by LRQA in the months of May and June 2023 according to the PAS 2060:2014 Specification for the Demonstration of Carbon Neutrality for the year 2022.

As part of the audit LRQA the following tasks were undertaken as part of the evidence gathering process : reviewing processes related to the management of GHG emissions data and records for direct GHG emissions and, energy indirect GHG emissions;  reviewing reduction programs and reductions action implemented and of the offsetting made;  interviewing relevant personnel of the organization responsible for compiling and consolidating GHG emissions data and  verifying historical GHG emissions data and records at an aggregated level for the calendar year 2022.

The audit report was prepared considering the principles of the PAS 2060:2014 Specification for the Demonstration of Carbon Neutrality standard and that the actions implemented for neutrality and data related to GHG emissions included in the Report, were materially correct, considering the following: Scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions have been verified according to ISO 14064 and totaled 2 974 tCO2e. GHG emissions have been offset in projects in the Voluntary Emissions Reduction Market for a total amount of 2 974 tCO2e.