Bridgestone says it has switched all the electricity sourced from external providers to renewable energy sources such as hydro, geothermal, solar and wind at four of its tire plants in Japan: Hikone, Tosu, Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu.
Beginning on June 1, 2021, the Hikone plant was the first facility to make the change, with the other three switching on July 1. Bridgestone predicts that the move to using renewable energy sources will reduce CO2 emissions produced by the four domestic tire plants by around 11 points annually.
Through a series of initiatives, Bridgestone says it has reduced its total CO2 emissions by an estimated 30% compared with 2011. The tire manufacturer expects that the amount of renewable electricity used by the tire plants will increase to around 42%.
Bridgestone states that to further reduce its impact on the environment and cut future CO2 emissions, it will continue to expand the use of renewable energy solutions, alongside improving the energy efficiency of its tire production. In 2030, the company plans to install solar power generation systems at all its domestic tire factories.
