Bridgestone’s Chakan plant has been verified as carbon neutral (scopes 1 and 2). The plant in Pune, India, was audited in May and June 2023 and subsequently verified according to PAS 2060 for 2022 by assurance partner LRQA.
Bridgestone’s Pune manufacturing facility produces more than four million tires per year. Over the years, the site has reduced its total carbon footprint by 94%, through a number of measures. These include solar panels at the plant and a carbon neutral biomass-based boiler plant which uses carbon neutral biomass briquettes made from agricultural waste.
A total of 2,974tons of CO2 emissions at the site are offset by 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 realization of a carbon neutral mobility society and we in India are focused on this goal,” said Stefano Sanchini, managing director, Bridgestone India. “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.”
“This verification ensures that Bridgestone’s reported data and information are reliable and supported by efficient management systems,” said Olga Rivas, ESG product cluster manager at LRQA. “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.”
