Sustainability Report
2020–2021

About this Report

Contents
Bridgestone at a Glance .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4Bridgestone’s Past and Future .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5–6
Our Way to Serve .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7–8
Global CEO Commitment .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9–12
Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy
with Sustainability as its Core.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13–44
Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution .  .  .  .  .  . 45-50
Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 51–60

This report covers the initiatives of
the Bridgestone Group, which includes
subsidiaries and affiliates aroundthe world.
Throughout this report, Bridgestone or the “Company”
refers to the Bridgestone Corporation, while “theBridgestone Group,” or “the Group” refers to all groupcompanies.
Bridgestone Corporation is the parent company of theBridgestone Group, which includes the following Strategic
Business Units (SBUs).
•

 ridgestone Americas (BSAM) including the United
B
States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and
Liberia;•

Bridgestone China Asia Pacific (BSCAP);• ridgestone Europe, Russia, Middle East, India, andB
Africa (BSEMIA);•

Bridgestone Japan (BSJP) including Japan Tire,
Diversified Products Solutions Business andSports/Cycles Business.

Management Fundamentals for Value Creation .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 61–72
Compliance, Fair Competition.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 63–64
Business Continuity (BCP), Risk Management.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 65–66
Human Rights, Labor Practices.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 67
Safety, Industrial Hygiene .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 68
Procurement.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 69
Topic: Sustainable Procurement of Natural Rubber. .  . 70–71
Quality and Customer Value.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 72
Corporate Governance(Roundtable with Independent Directors).  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 73–78
Stakeholder Engagement .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 79
ESG Data .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 80–82

This report primarily covers the 2020 calendar year,with some additional information from late 2019, early2021 and beyond according to the content of our MidLong Term Business Strategy. In preparing the report, theBridgestone Group referenced the Reporting Principles
and Disclosures of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Standards, as well as the International Integrated
Reporting Framework of the Value Reporting Foundation.
Additional information is available on the sustainability
website.

3 | About this Report

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Bridgestone at a Glance

Bridgestone, founded in 1931,is the world’s leading tire andrubber company.

MANUFACTURING LOCATIONS WITH ISO CERTIFICATION

ISO 9001 Certified1,2

ISO 14001 Certified1,3

100%

98%

Major Products and Operations
Bridgestone Group’s main businesses include:
CORE BUSINESS (TIRE BUSINESS)••

Tires and tubes for passenger cars, trucks, buses,
aircraft, construction and off-road mining vehicles,industrial and agricultural machinery, motorcycles,
scooters and other vehicles;2020 CONSOLIDATED NET SALES1

2,994.5 Billion JPY / 28.93 Billion4 USD
83% Tires
17% Others5

Automotive parts, automotive maintenance and repair
services, raw materials for tires and other products;

GROWTH BUSINESS (SOLUTIONS BUSINESS)•

Tire-centric solutions: Business to provide added value
to products through product and tire related data;•

Mobility solutions: Business to provide new value
through products, tire-related and mobility-related data;

2020 TIRE PRODUCTION VOLUME (TONNAGE OF RUBBER) 1,6

1.45 Million Tonnes
28% Japan
32% The Americas

DIVERSIFIED PRODUCTS BUSINESS•

Chemical and industrial products: Antivibration andnoise-insulating materials, polyurethane foam products,
electro-materials, industrial rubber products, building
materials, belts, hoses and others;•

BSAM Diversified Products: A business underBridgestone Americas, Inc.;•

Sporting goods: Golf balls, golf clubs, golf wear
and others;•

Bicycles: Bicycles, other bicycle goods and others;

19%

Europe, Russia, Middle East, India & Africa

21%

China, Asia Pacific2020 SALES BY MARKET 1,6

More than 150 Countries
24% Japan
45% The Americas
18%

Europe, Russia, Middle East, India & Africa

13%

China, Asia Pacific

21%

Japan

OTHERS•

Finance and others.
EMPLOYEES 1,6

138,036 Total
39% The Americas
16%

Europe, Russia, Middle East, India & Africa

24% China, Asia Pacific

As of December 31, 2020.
		 151 sites are targeted for ISO 9001 certification/151 sites are certified (100%). The Bridgestone Group requires all manufacturing locations in which it has 50% or more share ratio to achieve ISO 9001 certification.
3
		 153 sites are targeted for ISO 14001 certification/150 sites are certified (98%). The Bridgestone Group requires all manufacturing locations with 50 employees or more to achieve ISO 14001 certification.
4
		 Based on the 103.5 JPY to USD$1.00, the approximate year-end rate.
5		 Includes the Company’s Diversified Products, BSAM-diversified products, sporting goods, bicycles and other products.
6		
Approximate percentage.
1

2

4 | Bridgestone at a Glance

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

History

Bridgestone's Past and Future
MISSION

Serving Society with Superior Quality
Bridgestone, founded in 1931, has grown into a global tire andsolutions company. It has done so through ceaseless efforts
and strategic measures, including mergers and acquisitions.

In 1968, the corporate motto (Mission), “Serving Society
with Superior Quality,” was created. In 2011, Bridgestone
redefined the Bridgestone Essence so all employees aroundthe world follow common values. Today, the BridgestoneGroup’s Mission and Foundational Framework (including theBridgestone Essence; Safety, Quality and Environmental
mission statements; and its Global CSR commitment, Our
Way to Serve introduced in 2017), remains unchanged andcontinues to guide the business forward.

1931 –

1988 –

Bridgestone 1.0

Bridgestone 2.0

Foundation

A Global Company

MANAGEMENTMERGER WITH FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY IN US (1988)•

Founder’s charismatic management

CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY•

Bridgestone's DNA

MANAGEMENT•

Global management Team•

Global Executive Committee (Global EXCO) started in 2013

CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY•

1968
Corporate Motto(Mission)

1968
The Deming Prize

Evolved with changing times and business expectations

2011
Refined theBridgestone
Essence2012
Safety Mission
Statement

2015
Quality Mission
Statement

2011
Environmental
MissionStatement

2017

BUSINESS•

Globalization•

Started solutions business in preparation for Bridgestone 3.0

Firestone Brand Logotype (Width =100mm)
Basic type

PANTONE 186C
M100 / Y100

1988
Merger2007
Merger2019
MergerF Shield

5 | History | Bridgestone’s Past and Future

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

2012 Bridgestone Corporation. All rights reserved.

Ver. 1.0 Dec 20, 2012

VISION

Toward 2050, Bridgestone continues toprovide social value and customer value
as a sustainable solutions company

As the Bridgestone Group looks forward to its 100th
anniversary in 2031 as a milestone for its progress, it willcontinue to provide social and customer value through 2050
and beyond. “Serving Society with Superior Quality,” itsMission within the Bridgestone Essence, remains a crucial
foundation in fulfilling the Group’s vision for the future.

2020 –

Bridgestone 3.0

A Sustainable Solutions Company
SUSTAINABILITY•

Introduced Mid-Long Term Business Strategy thatplaces sustainability at the core of management andbusiness (2020)•

Introduced Sustainability Framework (2020)

Sustainability
Business

Build trust to propagate
value co-creation

Management Fundamentals
for value creation

BRIDGESTONE T&DPaaS•

A unique solutions business platform

6 | History | Bridgestone’s Past and Future•

Introduced Mid Term Business Plan (2021)

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Our Compass for Realizing a Sustainable Society
Continue “Serving Society with
Superior Quality”

Through Our Way to Serve, the Bridgestone Group leverages
its strengths and competencies, which include thousands ofteammates worldwide, a global network, industry leadershipand a history of innovation, to improve the way people move,
live, work and play.

In 2017, the Bridgestone Group redefined its global corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) commitment, Our Way to Serve.
This commitment is closely linked to the Group’s missionof “Serving Society with Superior Quality” and reflects therecognition that the best companies not only perform fortheir shareholders, but also contribute to a better world.

To realize its vision and the Mid-Long Term Business Strategy,
the Group continues to prioritize Our Way to Serve in all thatit does. Guided by Our Way to Serve, the Group is integrating
sustainability into its culture, business strategy and operations.
A recent employee survey showed that 97% of those who
responded are aware of Our Way to Serve1.

Our Way to Serve inspires employees of the Bridgestone Groupto continue to do great work by doing good for the world.
It serves as a compass, organizing the Group’s efforts under
the three Priority Areas of Mobility, People and Environment.
Along with these Priority Areas, the Group continues tostrengthen its governance and compliance and exhibits the
behaviors expected of any responsible company through its
Management Fundamentals. The Management Fundamentals
exemplify the Group’s commitment to leadership in the six
major areas of Compliance and Fair Competition, BusinessContinuity (BCP) and Risk Management, Human Rights andLabor Practices, Safety and Industrial Hygiene, Procurement,
and Quality and Customer Value.

Contributing to the SDGs to solve
global challengess

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
outlines a global agenda to tackle the world’s most pressing
social, environmental and economic challenges by 2030
to realize a sustainable society. As society continues totransform itself in pursuit of these common global goals, theGroup will further its contributions to society as a sustainable

a

m

Asp

D
ir a ti o n s &

Eng

1

re

age ment

		 16,675 teammates responded to the online survey. (Respondents are those teammates who have email addresses and most are managers and staff.)

7 | Our Way to Serve | Our Compass for Realizing a Sustainable Society

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

company in line with the SDGs. It will leverage its strengths andcompetencies to help address the challenges facing the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of society
and forced everyone to reconsider almost every aspect of daily
life. It reminds people of the challenges to achieving the SDGs,
and also represents a turning point in the transformation ofsociety to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
Striving toward living well within planetary boundaries, theGroup contributes to the achievement of 13 of the 17 SDGs
through all corporate activities and across its entire value
chain, focusing on the three key areas of Our Way to Serve:
Mobility, People and Environment.

The SDGs identified by the Group are also aligned with
the Tire Sector SDG Roadmap developed by the World
Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD)
Tire Industry Project (TIP). The Roadmap offers a framework
for action that outlines impactful pathways for the entire
sector to contribute to the ambitions of SDGs. It also aims toguide, inform and support decision-making along the value
chain, encourage stakeholder dialogue and inspire actionoriented initiatives among industry peers and beyond. As
co-chair of the TIP Working Group, the Bridgestone Group
was an active contributor to the development of the Roadmap
and participated in the consultation process with a rangeof global stakeholders from industry associations, NGOs andsubject matter experts.

Major contributions of the Bridgestone Group• Offer tire safety checks and education around theworld (3.6)• Support the provision of health services and healthcheck-ups for communities (3.8)• Improve accessibility through the development oftires and curbs that contribute to barrier-free bus
transport (11.2)• Provide a resilient infrastructure through seismic
isolation bearings (11.5)• Provide school facilities to children with limited
educational opportunities and vocational training
programs (4.1, 4.4, 4.5)

• Improve resource productivity and waste reduction
throughout total tire life by increasing the use ofretread tires (12.2, 12.4, 12.5)• Expand and diversify use of renewable materials (12.2)• Disclose sustainability related information (12.6, 12.8)• Promote diversity and inclusion in line with theGroup’s Global Human Rights Policy (5.5)• Expand programs towards carbon neutrality (13.1,
13.2, 13.3)• Support disaster management initiatives ofcommunities against natural disasters (13.1)• Execute water stewardship plan, reducing water
withdrawal per unit at manufacturing facilities (6.4)• Continue drive toward zero-deforestation in supply
chain and forest restoration initiatives (15.2, 15.5)• Strengthen biodiversity conservation efforts (15.1,
15.5)• Enhance renewable electricity ratio (7.2)• Introduce lower rolling resistance tires for better
fuel economy (7.3)• Execute Code of Conduct that covers a broad rangeof ethics and compliance topics, including anticorruption and anti-bribery (16.5)• Improve energy efficiency in manufacturing
processes (7.3)• Increase resource productivity (8.4)• Promote natural rubber sustainability• Promote open innovation to address social issues(17.6)(8.4, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8)

• Explore recycle business, and expand programs
towards a circular economy (9.4)• Provide tire-centric solutions and mobility solutions(9.5)

8 | Our Way to Serve | Our Compass for Realizing a Sustainable Society

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Global CEO Commitment

Creating Social and Customer ValueAs Bridgestone celebrates the 90th
anniversary of its founding in 2021, weare guided by our unchanging mission of“Serving Society with Superior Quality”
and will continue to evolve to achieve
our vision of “Toward 2050, Bridgestone
continues to provide social value andcustomer value as a sustainable solutions
company.” By doing so, we will continue
to support the mobility and movement ofpeople and objects, and contribute to therealization of a sustainable society.
The Group’s Mission is based on founder Shojiro Ishibashi’sbusiness philosophy embodied in his words, “I am convincedthat a simple profit-seeking business will never thrive, but abusiness that contributes to its society and country will be
forever profitable.” This belief and our Mission also are in linewith the current notion of sustainability. Today, our Mission
is becoming more important than ever.
The society around us is in the midst of major changes,
including international relations, the economy andtechnological innovation, and the pace of these changes is
accelerating year by year. Mobility, especially with regard toautomobiles, is undergoing a “once in a century” fundamental
transformation, as is represented by concepts such as
MaaS1 and CASE2. Furthermore, the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, which continues from 2020, not only brings aboutmajor changes in our lives and economies, but also has
shown that the critical challenges the world faces — climate
emergency, loss of nature and growing inequality — areinterconnected. Society as a whole must work toward therealization of a sustainable society so that all people cancontinue living well within planetary boundaries.

sustainable society. The Group also will carry out a wide rangeof social contribution activities around the world beyond ourbusiness domains, to continue fulfilling our responsibility tofuture generations as a global leader in the industry.

Since its establishment in 1931, the Bridgestone Group has
been expanding and evolving its business from Japan to Asiaand globally, from tires to diversified products that support
lives and industries, and now to solutions. The Group has
evolved to meet the changing needs of society and continue
supporting the safe and secure mobility and lifestyles ofindividuals in each era.

In particular, with regard to the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), we have identified 13 of the 17
goals that the Group will focus on, and will actively contributeto the achievement of these SDGs by 2030. We believe that
it is the role and responsibility of our Group to anticipatechanges in society, turn them into opportunities, andcontribute to the realization of a sustainable society throughour business and social contribution activities.

Looking ahead, the Group will continue to evolve to support
society and each individual. Through our business activities,
and the technologies and innovations that support them,
we will provide value to our customers. We also strive tocreate social value to further contribute to the realization of a

Evolution toward a sustainable solutions
company: Bridgestone 3.0 Journey1

In 2020, the Bridgestone Group embarked on a new chapter

		 MaaS (Mobility as a Service)
CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric)2		

9 | Global CEO Commitment | Creating Social and Customer Value

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

in its history with a new vision: “Toward 2050, Bridgestone
continues to provide social value and customer value as asustainable solutions company.”developing our current growth business into a core business,and our exploratory businesses into growth businesses. New
exploratory businesses will also be born.

Following the Group’s founding in 1931, and our “second
foundation” in 1988 with the merger of Bridgestone and theFirestone Tire & Rubber Company, we positioned 2020 as our“Third Foundation” and the first year of Bridgestone 3.0. The
Mid-Long Term Business Strategy was formulated to realize
our new vision. The Mid-Long Term Business Strategy places
sustainability at the core of management and business, andaims to serve society by creating social and customer value
while gaining a competitive advantage, by evolving into asolutions company that leverages the strengths of our tireand rubber business. This February, we announced our Mid
Term Business Plan as a concrete execution plan for 2021 to
2023. In line with this plan, we will drive our Mid-Long TermBusiness Strategy from framework to execution with anaggressive approach and challenging spirit.

In conjunction with our business activities, we are also
accelerating our environmental initiatives and other activities
to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Traditionally,
the Group has continued to contribute to the improvementof resource productivity and the reduction of CO2 emissions
in our “produce and sell” tire business, and our solutions
business, which provides value at the time of product “use.”
Looking ahead, we look to commercialize the recycle business
to “renew” end-of-life tires to rubber and raw materials. By
2030, we aim to construct a circular economy where businessvalue such as revenue and profits are sustainably generated
and circulated, linked with efforts toward resource circulation
and achieving carbon neutrality, across all of our “produce andsell,” ”provide value at use” and “renew” business areas.

The base of our strategy is building a unique business model.
By further strengthening our core tire business and leveraging
its advantages to globally expand our solutions business,
which we call our growth business, we aim to amplify thevalue of these two businesses. Furthermore, to ensure our
evolution into a sustainable solutions company, we haveestablished a new business portfolio. To sustainably growtoward the future, we have added on exploratory business,in addition to our existing core and growth businesses. We
have started with exploring the recycle business and the softrobotics business, both areas where Bridgestone can leverage
its core competencies, such as mastering rubber.
The components of our core, growth, and exploratory
businesses are not fixed. We will evolve our business portfolio
to meet the changing needs of society and our customers,

10 | Global CEO Commitment | Creating Social and Customer Value

The other exploratory business, soft-robotics, is a new
attempt in the Group’s diversified business, designed tosupport mobility and lifestyles that prioritize safety andpeace of mind. The soft-robotics business utilizes soft-robots
that work harmoniously with people to respond to socialand customer issues such as work automation and needfor contactless interactions. By leveraging Bridgestone’s
core competencies such as know-how and technologies inmastering rubber and mastering contact, we will continue
to explore new areas to ensure sustainable growth.
In this way, through the support of the mobility andmovement of people and objects, we aim to realize ourSustainability Business Framework that pursues a win-winwin situation among society, our customers and Bridgestone.
Bridgestone will empathize with society and customers, andcollaborate with various partners for innovation and co-

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Global CEO Commitment

Creating Social and Customer Value
creation of value to empower our journey.
We are redeveloping our Technical Center in Kodaira, Tokyo,
to establish the Bridgestone Innovation Park, a global hub
for innovation and co-creation. In addition to the Bridgestone
Innovation Gallery opened in 2020, which introduces theGroup’s history and innovation initiatives, B-Innovation, an
innovation center, and B-Mobility, a small-scale test course,
are planned to be completed at the end of this year. We also
will enhance coordination among the Group’s innovation
centers around the world to reinforce co-creation andinnovation on a global scale.

Our Way to Serve: Improving the way
people move, live, work and play
To contribute to the realization of a sustainable society,we also are working to solve social issues through various
activities beyond our business activities. Our Way to Serve,
introduced in 2017, guides the Group’s efforts in contributing
to the realization of a sustainable society and embodies ourstrong commitment to fulfill our responsibility for the future.
To improve the way people move, live, work and play, weare promoting various initiatives globally, focusing on threepriority areas: Mobility, People and Environment. Our morethan 140,000 teammates around the world commonly guided
by our Mission and Our Way to Serve are engaged in their
daily work.
In the area of Mobility, we are enhancing mobility throughadvanced technologies and solutions, to make it smarter,
safer and more accessible. We recognize that “tires carrylife” is our fundamental principle and responsibility as a tire

manufacturer. As such, we are engaged in promoting roadsafety by conducting education around the world.
With regard to People, we are promoting various social
contribution activities to support communities and enhance
the way people live, learn and work. In regions around theworld where Bridgestone is located, we are expanding
education and training opportunities to support the learningof the next generation, supporting victims of natural
disasters, working to prevent and lessen the impact of suchdisasters, and implementing health promotion programs andeducational activities to promote healthier communities.
Furthermore, the Group has formulated its Global Human
Rights Policy and is promoting initiatives to address
various issues related to basic human rights, while actively
working on the development and promotion of diversified
talent including the advancement of women. These spirits
of diversity and inclusion, which aim to realize a society
where people from different backgrounds can live and work
together, are rooted in the Group’s culture as one of thefoundations of our corporate philosophy, the Bridgestone
Essence’s “Seijitsu-Kyocho” (Integrity and Teamwork).
As a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, Bridgestone
is proud to support the values associated with the Olympic
and Paralympic Games, such as respect for diversity, global
solidarity, and the creation of an inclusive society. Under
the manifesto, “CHASE YOUR DREAM,” and through various
activities together with local communities, the Group not only
supports the challenges of athletes, but all those around theworld who are chasing their dreams.

Artist rendering of Bridgestone Innovation Park

11 | Global CEO Commitment | Creating Social and Customer Value

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

In 2021, the Bridgestone Group joined The Valuable 500,
an international movement committed to promoting theadvancement of people with disabilities. The Valuable 500
and Bridgestone share the belief that people with different
experiences, skills and perspectives can create new value forbusiness and communities by working together. Taking thisopportunity, we will further promote initiatives for diversity
and inclusion, aiming to realize a society in which all people
can live well with peace of mind.
In the area of Environment, we are accelerating our ambition
to decouple business growth from environmental impact
and resource consumption, based on our “Long-Term
Environmental Vision” for 2050, and the “Milestone 2030”
mid-term environmental targets newly formulated in 2020.
In particular, over the past year, we have updated andclarified our targets for reducing CO2 emissions to work moreaggressively toward becoming carbon neutral. Our goal is to
reduce 50% of our CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2011,
and to become carbon neutral by 2050. We will continue
to work toward the realization of a circular economy andachieving carbon neutrality to ensure a healthy environment
for current and future generations.

and Risk Management, Human Rights and Labor Practices,
Safety and Industrial Hygiene, Procurement, and Quality andCustomer Value. In addition, we will not only ensure thoroughgovernance by keeping our promises and carrying them out,
but also continuously evolve our Group’s governance in linewith our business strategy, just as we evolve our businessin line with the dynamic changes in society. The governancefor co-creation also will become increasingly important,as we connect and actively collaborate with a wide varietyof partners including yourselves. By building trust anddeepening interaction with empathy, we hope to accelerate
further value co-creation in the future.
2021 marks the 90th anniversary of our founding and is
an important milestone toward our 100th anniversary. It
is also the second year of Bridgestone 3.0, a year in which
we must deliver results. Managing our business in line with
our Mid Term Business Plan, we will continue to contributeto the realization of a sustainable society by providing
social and customer value. We would like to invite all of our
stakeholders, including customers, shareholders and business
partners, to join us on this journey, and hope this report will
be a start.

Creating New Value: Building Trust
As a global company, we are building trust with society
and our stakeholders by continuing to respond to society’s
expectations and fulfilling our social responsibilities throughbusiness activities and social contribution activities. The
Group prioritizes fundamental initiatives for six key themes:
Compliance and Fair Competition, Business Continuity (BCP)

12 | Global CEO Commitment | Creating Social and Customer Value

Shuichi Ishibashi
Member of the Board
Global CEO and Representative Executive Officer

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long TermBusiness Strategy with Sustainability
as its Core
Through realization of its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy thatplaces sustainability at the core of management and business,
the Bridgestone Group aims to evolve into a solutions company
leveraging the strengths of its tire and rubber business. Doing so,
the Group will continue to serve society by creating social andcustomer value, and gain competitive advantage. It will drive its
Mid-Long Term Business Strategy, from framework to execution,in line with its Mid Term Business Plan which details the Group’s
initiatives through 2023 to achieve its goals, with an aggressive
approach and challenging spirit.

Contents
Bridgestone Sustainability Journey. .  .  .  .  .  .  . 15–16
Mid-Long Term Business Strategy .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 17–18
Outline of the Mid Term Business Plan:
Realization of Sustainability Business
Framework .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 19–20
Bridgestone 3.0 Journey toward

Exploratory Business:
Enablers for Start-ups.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 37–38
Recycle Business .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 39
Soft-Robotics Business .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 40
Financial Plan.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 41
Financial Strategy .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 422030 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 21–22
Topic: Strengthening the Financial Strategy
Sustainability Business Model .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 23–24
Core Business:
Rebuilding Earning Power.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 25–28
Growth Business:
Solutions Business Expansion.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 29–30
Retread. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 31–32
Core & Growth Businesses:
Four Categories for Execution. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 33–34
DX & Technology Innovation .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 35–36

Foundation to Support the Mid TermBusiness Plan.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 43
HR and Organizational Strategy .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 44
Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental
Contribution:
Long-Term Environmental Vision
and Milestone 2030. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 45
Contribution to Carbon Neutrality .  .  .  . 46–48
Contribution to a Circular Economy .  .  . 49–50

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Bridgestone Sustainability JourneySocial issues, Customer issues, Change
in external and social environment

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The Bridgestone Group is committed to the global realization of a sustainable society.
By evolving into a sustainable solutions company and through all its corporate activities,
the Group is taking steps to positively impact the journeys of its customers and societyat-large.
Shojiro Ishibashi, founder of the Bridgestone Group,
believed a business that contributes to society will be
forever profitable. This belief directly links to the conceptof sustainability. As the current business environment andsociety’s and customers’ needs rapidly change, this belief
is becoming more important than ever.
Serving society with superior quality. This statement wasformalized as the Bridgestone Group’s mission in 1968
based on the philosophy of its founder, and has remained
unchanged throughout the Group’s history. Introduced in2017, Our Way to Serve is the compass for employees at alllevels of the Bridgestone Group’s worldwide organization,
as they incorporate the Group’s mission into their everyday
responsibilities. The Group’s mission and Our Way to Serve,
together with the Sustainability Framework, articulate
the Group’s approach to sustainability, and are guiding
principles as it strives to achieve sustainable growth withsociety, customers and partners by creating social andcustomer value.
More information is available in this report:- Our Way to Serve: See pages 7–8- Sustainability Framework: See pages 53-54

15 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Bridgestone Sustainability Journey

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Continue to grow with society, customers and partners bycreating, balancing and expanding social and customer value

HOW TO ACCOMPLISH OUR VISIONThe Group marked 2020 as the first year of its third foundation— Bridgestone 3.0 — and is implementing its Mid-Long
Term Business Strategy with sustainability at its core toaccomplish its vision of continuing to provide social andcustomer value as a sustainable solutions company toward2050. By incorporating sustainability into every aspect ofits business, the Group is creating social and customer value
and gaining competitive advantage. At the same time, it
is building trust in collaboration with society, customers
and partners. Concurrently, via its corporate governanceand Management Fundamentals, the Group also is operating
as a responsible business.

Toward 2030 and beyond, the Group aims to realize its
Sustainability Business Model that pursues a win-win-win
situation among society, customers and the Group, while
evolving its business portfolio to meet the changing needsof society and customers
More information is available in this report:- Mid-Long Term Business Strategy: See pages 17–18- Portfolio: See pages 19–22- Sustainability Business Model: See pages 23–24

16 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Bridgestone Sustainability Journey

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Mid-Long Term Business Strategy“Serving Society with Superior Quality” has been and remains the BridgestoneGroup’s mission since its founding. In 2020, the Group embarked on a new chapter,
Bridgestone 3.0 — its third foundation — to provide social and customer value as asustainable solutions company toward 2050. As a first step, the Group announced
its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with sustainability at its core.

In developing its business strategy, the Group carefully assessed the internal and externalbusiness environment — considering social trends, mobility trends and the competitive
landscape — to determine the impact of each on its business. The Group then formulated
a strategy to turn change into opportunity. The changes the Group considered, and its
response to each, include:

17 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Mid-Long Term Business Strategy

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

CHANGES IN THE EXTERNAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT•

Unprecedented changes
system to be more agile.

Change management•

Geopolitical risk•

Climate change Place sustainability at the coreof management.

•

Technology innovation and digital transformation(DX) Co-creation, innovation and promotion of
Bridgestone DX.

Promote “glocal” management.

CHANGES IN MOBILITY•

Acceleration of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) andConnected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric (CASE)
Reinforce Dan-Totsu product strategy, taking into
account sustainability and the evolution of mobility,
expand tire-centric solutions and mobility solutions.

CHANGES IN THE TIRE INDUSTRY•

Profitability of the industry as a whole is deteriorating.

•

Still maintaining high profitability compared toanalogous manufacturing industries.

•

Expansion of the gap among players in the industry.

•

Emerging competitors intensifying price erosion as
more players enter the market.

The Group’s growth strategy with sustainability at its core
is to achieve sustainable growth together with society,customers and partners through its unique solutions
activities. The core of this business strategy comes to life
through Bridgestone Tires and Diversified Products as a
Solution (Bridgestone T&DPaaS), its unique solutions
platform that supports society’s rapidly evolving mobility
needs with Dan-Totsu products, services and networks.

Building a unique business model
The Group’s core tire business is the foundation of all its
business strategies, and it will continue to produce and sellhigh-value-added Dan-Totsu products. As a growth business,
the Group will create new “value” by utilizing tire data andmobility data, evolving it into a solutions business that sells“value.” The Group will strengthen its core tire business, andleverage its advantages to expand its solutions business, sothat the value of each business amplifies and continues to“spiral up.” This is its unique business strategy.

Building a unique business model

18 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Mid-Long Term Business Strategy

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Outline of the Mid Term Business Plan: Realization of Sustainability
Business Framework
Toward becoming a sustainable solutions company: Support the mobility andmovement of people and objects, create social and customer value, and gain acompetitive advantage
Up to now, the Bridgestone Group has been contributing
to the improvement of resource productivity and reductionof CO2 emissions through its tire and rubber business, which
produces and sells products, and its solutions business,
which provides value to customers during use.
To further evolve into a sustainable solutions company, theGroup will build a unique business model for the solutions

business and promote the recycle business that renews
tires to raw materials, thereby realizing resource circulation,
CO2 reduction, a circular economy and carbon neutrality
throughout its businesses.
Realizing this Sustainability Business Framework throughco-creation and innovation, and the Group will thus contributeto the United Nations SDGs and a sustainable society.

2021

2023

2030
19 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Outline of the Mid Term Business Plan

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Milestone in the Mid Term Business Plan (2021-2023) and toward 2030

2021
“Produce and sell” tire business / “value during use” solutions
business: Reinforce & expand“Renew” recycle business: Start exploration
2023“Produce and sell” tire business / “value during use” solutions
business: Establish a unique business model“Renew” recycle business: Commercialize
2030“Produce and sell” tire business / “value during use” solutions
business / “Renew” recycle business: Sustainable reinvestmentof value generated from each business

The Group’s Mid Term Business Plan, which will be
implemented over the three-year period from 2021 to2023, clarifies specific goals and actions to realize theSustainability Business Framework based on its Mid-Long
Term Business Strategy. With a view to 2030, it will drive
toward 2023 with an aggressive approach and a spirit aimed
at challenging the status quo to evolve into a “strong”
Bridgestone capable of adapting to change. At the end of2023, the Group will be well on its way toward becoming asustainable solutions company throughout its value chain.

Promotion of the “produce and sell,”“value during use” and “renew” businesses
Beginning in 2021, the Group is working to amplify andexpand its value through the unique business modelthat links its tire business with its solutions business. In
addition, it has begun the search for recycling technologythat will renew tires used by customers into raw materials.
By 2023, the final year of its current Mid Term Business
Plan, the Group will be prepared to commercialize thisrecycle business.
By 2030, the Group aims to establish a business model forall of its businesses, from produce and sell, value duringuse, and renew, and to link them to its sustainability
activities, such as resource circulation and carbon neutrality,
so that they continue to revolve like a wheel. The Groupis advancing on its “Bridgestone 3.0 Journey” towardachieving this goal.

20 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Outline of the Mid Term Business Plan

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Outline of the Mid Term Business Plan: Bridgestone 3.0 Journey toward 2030
Evolving into a “strong” Bridgestone toward becoming a sustainable solutions company

Under the new Mid Term Business Plan, the Bridgestone Group will enter a stage of“aggressive approach” and set a new business portfolio, rebuild earning power andfull-scale investment in strategic growth.
To realize its Sustainability Business Framework andimplement the Mid Term Business Plan, the Group has
established a new business portfolio. To sustainably growtoward the future, it has added on exploratory businesses,
in addition to its existing core tire business and solutions
business, its growth business. The contents of the core,
growth and exploratory businesses are not fixed. In the
future, the solutions business will become the core business,the exploratory business will become the growth business,
and new exploratory businesses will be created while theGroup steadily grows and meets the changing needs andenvironment of society and customers, as it has done in
the past. By evolving its business portfolio, the Group aims
to become a sustainable solutions company.
In the core business, the Group is rebuilding earning power.
Through expense and cost structure reformation andimplementing its premium business strategy, the Group isfurther strengthening its tire business. In its growth business,
the Group is accelerating global expansion and developmentof solutions so they will evolve into core businesses by2030. In the exploratory business, the Group has started
exploring the recycle business, essential to its Sustainability
Business Framework, as well as the soft-robotics businesswhere Bridgestone can utilize its core competencies, suchas mastering rubber.

To realize the Sustainability Business Framework andimplement the Mid Term Business Plan, the Group is flexibly
reallocating strategic resources generated by the rebuildingof its earning power to strategic growth investment. In 2023,
the Group aims to achieve a revenue level of 3,300 billion
JPY, an adjusted operating profit ratio of 13%, and a return on
invested capital (ROIC) of 10%. Its ambition is to establish a
resilient and highly profitable structure capable of adapting
to changes.
Toward realizing the Sustainability Business Framework, inline with Milestone 2030, its mid-term environmental goal,
the Group will increase its use of recycled and renewablematerials to 40% of its resources. In addition, it will work to
reduce CO2 emissions by 50% (compared to a 2011 baseline)
and contribute to reducing by more than five times theamount of its CO2 emissions across its value chain.
For more details on the Mid Term Business Plan, please see
the following pages.

21 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Outline of the Mid Term Business Plan

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Bridgestone 3.0 Journey toward 2030
New business portfolio
Create social and customer value, and gain competitive advantage

22 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Outline of the Mid Term Business Plan

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Sustainability Business Model

Raw material procurement ~ Production

Produce & Sell

• Global Sustainable Procurement Policy

Produce • Promote circular design
Sustainable Procurement Policy&GlobalSell• Renewableenergy usage
Guayuleresearch, efforts
for practical use

Raw material
procurement~ Production• Guayuleresearch,
efforts for practical use

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Promote circular design• Management of water resources
Renewable energy usage
Reduction of production loss
Management of water• resources
Reduction of production
loss• Promotesmart factory
Promote smart factory

•
•
•
•

Sales (Products)• Respond to accelerating EV shift (OE approach)(products)• Enhance andSales
expandthe use of fuel-efficient tires•
Expandnext-generation
eco-friendly products
Respond to accelerating EV shift (OE approach)
Enhancedurable truck
Enhance• andspread fuel-efficienttires& bus and light truck tires
that also prevent
irregular
wear to allow multiple
Expand next-generation
eco-friendly
products
Enhance durable
truck & bus and light truck tires that also prevent
retreading
irregular wear to allow multiple retreading

U
•
•
•
•
•
•

Recycle

Renew

Renew

Recycle• Waste to wealthTurn waste
to technology
wealth• •Explore
recycleExplorerecycle andtechnology• •“Tire
to Rubber”“Tire to Raw Material” recycling technology that ensures high quality and less energy• •Explore
eco-systems
business models for recycling
commercialization“Tire-to-Rubber
andand“Tire-to-Raw-Material”
technology that ensures high quality and less energy• Explore eco-systems and business models for commercialization

1/40

23 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Sustainability Business Model

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Use
Solutions• Multiple retreading of durable case tires that also
prevent irregular wear
• Promote premium retread• Optimization of customer fleet operations• Wear/endurance prediction• Repair• Subscription

The Bridgestone Group’s vision of
becoming a sustainable solutions
company is articulated in its
Sustainability Business Model. By
contributing to the achievement ofspecific United Nations SDGs, supporting
the safe mobility and movement ofpeople and objects, and creating socialand customer value, the Group will
create competitive advantage and awin-win-win situation among society,customers and Bridgestone.
Already, the Group has realized tire-to-tire recycling,which is based on retreading, where the tread of
the tire is replaced and the casing is reused. This iscontributing to CO2 emissions reduction and resource
circulation. In the future, it will create opportunities
in the recirculation of tire-to-rubber and tire-to-raw
material through its recycle business. In this way, theGroup will contribute to CO2 reduction at all stages of
its value chain, including manufacturing, the customer
use stage, and recycling.
This business model will only be successful throughco-creation and innovation. Particularly in the areaof mobility solutions, the Group will connect withcustomers and co-creation partners through its uniqueplatform. To advance tire-to-rubber and tire-to-raw
material solutions, the Group also will connect witha wide variety of customers, partners and otherstakeholders through an open platform. In this way,while amplifying the value of tires throughout thevalue chain, the Bridgestone Group will evolve intoa sustainable solutions company contributing to therealization of a sustainable society.

24 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Sustainability Business Model

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Core Business: Rebuilding Earning Power
Rebuilding earning power through expense and cost structure reformation,
reinforcing premium business strategy

In its core tire business, the Bridgestone Group is taking
two approaches to rebuild earning power: reforming theexpense and cost structure, and reinforcing its premiumbusiness strategy.
The Group is addressing its cost structure through thoroughexpense management.

To reinforce its premium business strategy, it will enhance its
existing strengths by creating Dan-Totsu products, services
and solutions that match society and customer needs at acompetitive cost. It will then sell these offerings throughpremium channels that provide customers with high-valueadded services.

Expense and cost structure reformation
In terms of cost and expense structure reformation, the Groupwill work to achieve further efficiency and optimization in all
regions and domains globally through cost reformations inprocurement and logistics, strict selection of investment, andthorough expense management. Through these activities,
the Group expects to reduce fixed costs by approximately 53
billion JPY from 2019 to 2023. In 2020, as part of its responseto the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group improved fixed costs
by 25 billion JPY compared to the previous year throughstructural reformation implemented under risk management.

It will maintain this greatly improved fixed-cost structure andcontinue to promote further reformation and improvements.
Variable costs are also projected to be reduced by 9 billion
JPY from 2019 to 2021, and the Group will maintain this morecompetitive variable cost ratio.
As a drastic structural reformation, the Group will also continue
to consider and execute the restructuring of its businessportfolio and manufacturing footprint over the long term.

Reductions made through expense and cost structure reformation

25 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Core Business

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Restructuring business portfolio and manufacturing footprint
The Group is examining the restructuring of its approximately
160 manufacturing sites, including diversified products andmaterial manufacturing sites, keeping in mind the sustainablegrowth of each business.

In addition to the restructuring, the Group will also reinforce
its tire manufacturing sites by maximizing the use of existingproduction capacities through optimization of its global
supply system and manufacturing improvement.

*As of May 2021

Reinforce premium business strategy
With an eye on sustainability and the evolution of mobility,
the Group is focusing on high-value-added premium products
and reinforcing its premium business strategy throughout thevalue chain to improve the quality of its business. The Groupwill promote this approach end-to-end, from product strategy
and development to sales, focusing on delivering its Dan-Totsu
product strategy, making manufacturing improvements andprioritizing premium sales.

To reinforce its Dan-Totsu product strategy, the Group is
working on commonality/modularity and SKU optimization
as a part of simplification and differentiation.
In addition, to prioritize premium sales, the Group isreinforcing sales through premium channels including
e-commerce, which can provide customers with highvalue-added services.

26 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Core Business

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Core Business: Rebuilding Earning Power
Reinforce sales of passenger car high-rim diameter (HRD) tires
To strengthen sales of high value-added products in the tire business, the Group is
steadily promoting passenger car HRD tires, through a premium strategy to ensure
tires for new vehicles generate demand for high value-added replacement tires (REP).
In developed markets, especially the U.S. and Europe, where the shift to higher rim
diameter tires is ahead, the Group is reinforcing sales of 18-inch and larger tires aspremium products. In the emerging markets of Asia-Pacific and Latin America, theGroup is selling 17-inch and larger tires as premium products in anticipation of thetrend toward HRD tires.
In China, HRD tires already account for over 70% of total sales of original equipment
tires. The Group will drive sales of replacement HRD tires to more than 70% by 2023,
compared to approximately 50% in 2019. China is a focus area in the Group’s premium
strategy and the Group will continue to reinforce this market.
ALENZA LX100 launched
in Japan in February 2021

Sales ratio of high-inch tires for passenger cars (unit sales basis)

Reinforce premium product expansion for new mobility and toward sustainability
The mobility industry has entered a period of greattransformation with CASE and MaaS. The shift to electricvehicles (EVs) and electrification is accelerating on a global
scale toward the goal of becoming carbon neutral. In addition,with the expansion of car-sharing services, the utilization
rate per vehicle is increasing and the performance requiredof tires is changing dramatically.
To respond to this evolution in mobility and the need forsustainability, the Group will introduce and expand innovative
next generation eco-friendly products as new premium
products. In the passenger car tire market, the ECOPIA brand
was rolled out in 2010. By 2020, approximately 80% of all
the Group’s passenger car tires were eco-friendly products.

Moreover, the Group will reinforce its revolutionary ENLITEN
technology which achieves both innovative light weight anddriving performance.
The Group will also contribute to CO2 reduction and cost
optimization across the value chain by promoting commonality
and modularity that enable simplification and differentiation.
By aggressively advancing this initiative on a global scale, theGroup aims to expand the module application rate to 17% of
replacement tires by 2023. In light truck and truck and bus tire
applications, which have a high utilization rate, the Group willfurther reinforce its technologies, including retreading, toallow safe and long-lasting use.

27 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Core Business

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

ENLITENTECHNOLOGY THAT ACHIEVES BOTH ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITSAND DRIVING PERFORMANCEENLITEN technology makes it possible to reduce the weight of tires
by approximately 20% and rolling resistance by approximately 30%1
compared to conventional passenger car tires. It achieves thesebenefits by reducing the number of components used in tires,
while maintaining driving performance and tire life. This makes it
possible to reduce CO2 emissions caused by tires by about 30% whendriving gasoline-powered vehicles. It also contributes to reducing
environmental impact and the achievement of sustainable mobility
by extending the driving range of electric vehicles (EVs) on a single
charge. It further contributes to improved resource productivity
by reducing total material weight.
ENLITEN technology is applied on Turanza Eco tires speciallyengineered for Lightyear One, the world’s first long-ranged solar
electric vehicle by Netherlands-based mobility innovator Lightyear².
The Bridgestone Group developed the Turanza Eco Tires bycombining, for the first time, the revolutionary lightweight ENLITEN
and ologic technology, which has larger diameters, high-inflationpressures and slim design. The technologies made it possible toreduce further rolling resistance and increase the driving range ofelectric vehicles. This co-creation between Lightyear and Bridgestone
is a direct result of a shared focus on sustainability and a relationshipbuilt upon the more than eight years of collaboration through the
Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The development of Turanza
Eco tires is a step up to a new stage of this co-creation activity
based on technological innovation.
		 Comparison made using the 225/40R18 tire size.
		 A company developing long-range solar EV (Lightyear One) based in Netherlands, established in 2016.

1

2

28 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Core Business

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Growth Business: Solutions Business Expansion
Continue expansion of the resilient business model

The solutions business, which the Bridgestone Group has
identified as a growth business, provides value to customers
when they use tires. It maximizes the value provided by theGroup through coordination with its core tire business.

By expanding the solutions business, the Group will continue
to accelerate its growth as a resilient business adaptable
to change. In its Mid Term Business Plan, the Group aims toincrease solutions business sales to 20% or more of total
sales by 2023.

Tire-centric solutions and mobility solutions
In terms of tire-centric solutions, the core of the solutions
business, the Group will expand and strengthen its
subscription and retreading services based on its global
Dan-Totsu network.

partnerships and M&A activities in North America andother regions. In doing so, it intends to triple its sales fromapproximately 22 billion to 67 billion JPY. Through suchinitiatives, the Group plans to expand its business fromapproximately 533 billion JPY in 2019 to 650 billion JPY in 2023.

The Group plans to scale up its mobility solutions offerings
through Webfleet Solutions, but also through strategic

Bridgestone 3.0 Journey

Growth business: Expand solutions business - Solutions business-related sales■Continue expansion of the resilient business model

C Mobility Solutions

Group sales• Webfleet Solutions• Other fleet solutions(excluding diversified products business)

2,935
B JPY

2,688
B JPY

3,080

B JPY level

22 B JPY (2019) ⇒ 67 B JPY (2023)

B Tire-centric Solutions• Truck & Bus retread sales (global)

C

Mobility
SolutionsB

Tire-centric
Solutions

533＊

518

18％

19％

B JPY

B JPY

650

B JPY level21％

95 B JPY (2019) ⇒ 110 B JPY (2023)• New business form (not conventional tire sell-out)
Mining solutions, Hose solutions, Aircraft solutions, truck
tire mileage sales, Subscription (mobox), etc.

66 B JPY (2019) ⇒ 103 B JPY (2023)• Services at equity stores

A

Tires

2,402

2,170

82％

81％

B JPY

B JPY

2,430

B JPY level

79％

IFRS based＊2019 sales data has been revised and adjusted to IFRS basis from Mid-Long Term Business Plan Update presentation on August 7th 2020.

20/40

29 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Growth Business(incl. N. America retail financial services revenue)
For passenger cars and commercial fleets

350 B JPY (2019) ⇒ 370 B JPY (2023)

533 B JPY (2019) ⇒ 650 B JPY (2023)
Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Tire-centric solutions: Global expansionof subscription models

Mobility Solutions: Global expansion offleet solutions

Mobox, the core of the Group’s tire-centric solutions, isa subscription service for passenger cars that offers tires
and maintenance for a fixed monthly fee. In addition to tire
recommendation, reassembly and removal by professionaland experienced staff, it also offers various services suchas puncture compensation, periodic safety inspections, andvarious maintenance services. The Group aims to increase
the number of subscription contracts for passenger cars byapproximately 20 times by 2023 (compared to 2019) by rollingout the European mobox model to Japan and the U.S.

Webfleet Solutions, a Bridgestone Company, is a leading
fleet management service provider with more than 20 yearsof experience. Its core Software-as-a-Service platform,
WEBFLEET, supports transportation operations andcontributes to improved safety, efficiency and productivityof drivers and operators by managing various data related tovehicle operations. More than 50,000 companies worldwide
trust WEBFLEET to connect their fleets and get their drivers,
vehicles and businesses where they need to go safely
and efficiently. The Group will continue to roll out its fleet
management services and know-how globally, from aEuropean Center of Excellence. Webfleet Solutions alreadycommands the number one position in Europe. By further
strengthening this foundation, the Group plans to increaseconnected vehicles to more than 1 million by 2023.

The Group also plans to approximately double the numberof contracts for truck and bus fleet subscriptions, which are
already widely used by customers in Japan, Europe and the
U.S., during the same time frame. To this end, the Groupwill optimize services to fit customer needs in each region.

The Group has already begun global expansion aimed at doublingor tripling the number of contracted units, and to establish aleading global position for the Webfleet Solutions business.
In North America, the Group will consider further businessexpansion with strategic partnerships and M&A to scale up its
fleet solutions. These approaches will enable the Group to help
achieve safer, more efficient and more sustainable mobility.

Subscription models reduce the burden on the environmentby ensuring the long and optimal use of tires with safety
and peace of mind.

No. ofNo.
contractsof contracts
for passenger
for passenger
car subscriptions
car subscriptions

No. ofNo.
contractsof contracts
for truckfor truck& bus&subscriptions
bus subscriptions

Japan
Japan

EuropeEuropeU.S. U.S.

ope.

ExpandExpandapprox.
approx.
2x 2x

Japan
Japan
ExpandExpandmoremorethan than
20x 20x⇒2023）⇒2023）（2019（2019us subscriptions⇒2023）⇒2023）（2019（2019EuropeEuropeU.S. U.S.

OthersOthersExpand approx. 2x（2019⇒2023）

Etc.

Y19
ACT
ACT

1/40

Y19
ACT
ACT

Etc.

Y20
ACT
FCST

Y20
ACT
FCST

Y21

Y21

Y22

Y22

Y23

Y23

Y19
ACT
ACT

Y19
ACT
ACT

Y20
ACT
ACT
FCST

Y20
ACT
ACT
FCST

Y21

Y21

Y22

Y22

Y23

Y23

1/40

Global expansion of fleet solutions

Y22

Y23

830K

No.1 position

Utilize European experiences and expertise

Vehicles (2021)

US1,100K

Vehicles (2023)

Webfleet Solutions Global Expansion

Aim for leading position in each market,
plan 2~3x increase in contracted vehicles

ansion with possible strategic

Mexicotire-centric solutions

Chile
South Africa

2/40

Australia

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Growth Business: Retread
Retread solutions as the core of Sustainability Business Framework
The Bridgestone Group is developing a global retread
service in which it collects worn out tires from customers,
replaces the worn tread, and delivers tires that are again
ready for use. By initially developing durable tires that also
prevent unpredictable wear, and by providing appropriate
maintenance, this service makes it possible to retread asingle tire several times. Combining Dan-Totsu products,
retread service, and maintenance as a subscription packagewith a flat monthly fee, customers can use tires more safely,
longer and more cost efficiently.
Furthermore, retreading tires can contribute to improving
resource productivity and reducing CO2 emissions. Based on
the premise that Bridgestone tires are used three times bycustomers, comparing the use of three new tires with theuse of one new fuel-efficient tire retreaded twice, the amountof raw materials used and CO2 emissions during the entire
life cycle, excluding the use phase, can be reduced by about
half. Thus, utilizing multiple retreads based on the Group’s
unique technology can further contribute to environmental
sustainability.
This solution is essential to the Group’s Sustainability Business
Model and tire-centric solutions, which enable maximum
use of tires throughout total tire life and provides socialand customer value in terms of increased safety, a healthierenvironment, cost efficiency and productivity.

Development of retread solution
By combining retread services with digital technologies, suchas tire monitoring allowing visibility of tire data, and mobility
data provided by Webfleet solutions, the Group can provide
Dan-Totsu solutions for customers.
These Dan-Totsu solutions analyze tire and mobility datawith the Group’s unique algorithms to provide tire wear
and durability predictions, and Webfleet Solutions provides
fleet operation support to prevent downtime from tire andvehicle trouble to ensure safe mobility and maintain optimal

operations of customers, thereby reducing the customer’s
total operation cost. In addition, this contributes to the
reduction of CO2 emission at customer’s use phase.
In the future, the Group will use mobility and tire data as
the basis for offering premium retreading that will enable
it to customize the Dan-Totsu products, surface area to be
retreaded, tread shape and appropriate timing for eachvehicle and each tire, according to its usage conditions.

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Image of premium retread

A MESSAGE FROM

Paolo Ferrari
Executive Vice President and Executive Officer of Bridgestone Corporation
Global Chief Business Solutions Officer
BSAM Member of the Board, CEO and President
The global pandemic has challenged us all to adapt toaccelerated shifts in the way people around the world live,
work and move. Bridgestone has met these challenges
and opportunities with a sharp focus on ensuring asustainable and successful Bridgestone that delivers value
to society, customers, employees and shareholders.

CO2 emissions are emitted from new tire production.
In addition, fleet management solutions, such as the
WEBFLEET platform offered by Bridgestone’s Webfleet
Solutions business, will play an increasingly importantrole in driving safety and efficiency improvements forthe transportation industry globally and the realizationof a carbon neutral society.

The steps we are taking today are focused oncontributing to a brighter future and a better planet.
With an eye toward becoming a sustainable solutions
company, we are building on the strength of our corebusiness and expanding our offering beyond tires andservice to develop smart-sensing tire technologies andworld-class mobility solutions. The solutions we offer
are co-created and designed with purpose. Together,
we want to create a world that moves in safer, smarter,
more efficient and more sustainable ways.

These advanced solutions will work hand-in-handwith our world-class Bandag retread business. In 2020
alone, we retreaded more than 6 million commercial
truck tires in North America, extending the useful lifeof these tires while reducing waste and water use, andavoiding more than 5 billion kilowatt hours of energy
consumption. In the future, we believe retreading canbe expanded to include tires in fast-growing segments,
such as last-mile delivery.

Our mobility solutions will enable a circular economy.
Smart-sensing technologies like our IntelliTire1 and iTrack
II tire management platforms2 help maximize each tire’stime in service. Longer tire life means fewer valuable
resources are consumed producing new tires and fewer

At Bridgestone, we believe what’s good for society isgood for business. Our vision for the future will only beachieved through partnership. I am proud of the steps
Bridgestone is taking today to create a better tomorrow,and I am excited to be on this journey with each of you.

		 A tire with a unique QR code that tracks, monitors and measures performance across a tire’s full lifecycle.
		 For more information on iTrack, see page 33.

1

2

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Core & Growth Businesses: Four Categories for Execution
In its core and growth businesses, the Bridgestone Group has
established four categories to serve as the basis for executing
its Mid Term Business Plan. These categories consider thecharacteristics of the business, its position and the maturityof mobility in each region.

mobility and MaaS. In the next phase of the Mid Term Business
Plan starting in 2024, some of today’s MAIN businesses
are expected to face a challenging business environment.
Therefore, the Group expects the next MAIN businesses tohelp it become a sustainable solutions company.

Category 1, MAIN, encompasses the business in North America,
mining, and the tire and solutions business in Japan. These
three businesses account for about half of the Group’s sales.
In this category, the Group will expand its solutions businessand proactively invest resources to further reinforce andaccelerate value amplification of its businesses.

Category 3, STRATEGIC, contains the European tire andsolutions business, and aviation tire and solutions business,
which form an important basis for the Group’s global
strategy. Europe is the starting point for the Group’s global
strategy in terms of sustainability, regulations, MaaS andoriginal equipment manufacturers for passenger cars,
trucks and buses.

Category 2, NEXT, is the tire business in five markets, China
passenger cars, Latin America, India passenger cars, AsiaPacific and the Middle East, where the Group will start
contributing sales and profits to the global market to become
MAIN. Currently, these businesses account for about 20% of
total sales and the Group expects them to grow in the future.
To do so, it will build a profit base and allocate resources instages. In particular, it will reinforce the premium businessstrategy in China and establish a solutions business that
responds to the accelerating transformation toward CASE

Category 4, DEVELOPING, includes the China truck and bus
tire business, India truck and bus tire business, and Russia
and Africa tire businesses. The Group is rebuilding thesebusinesses and constructing a foundation for future profits.
The Group will continue efforts to break away from deficits by
2023 by reinforcing its premium business strategy, as theseare markets with a promising future.

Mining Solutions
CONTRIBUTE TO OPTIMIZATION OF MINING OPERATIONS THROUGHTHE COMBINATION OF “REAL” X “DIGITAL”
The Bridgestone Group is developing mining solutions that contributeto the safety, reduced environmental impact, economic efficiency andproductivity of mine operators. It is doing so by combining the real x
digital worlds to deliver integrated products, services and servicing
networks that utilize tire and mobility data. At mining sites, it isimportant to increase fleet availability and to quickly transport moreminerals per vehicle. BRIDGESTONE MASTERCORE tires are a Dan-Totsu
product with ultra-high durability. They are based on the combinationof the Group’s unique new technologies, including steel cord and othermaterials, and structure and processing engineering that can offer
proposals considering each customers’ operation plan and mine layout.
In addition to providing BRIDGESTONE MASTERCORE tires, the Group
provides comprehensive services to maximize mine performanceby offering tire maintenance, repair, fittings and more. In addition todata such as tire temperature and air pressure that can be collected byold-generation tire monitoring systems, iTrack, the Group’s tire andmining vehicle monitoring system, captures and accumulates vehicle
operation data and other information in real time. The Group analyzes
this data with its unique algorithms to provide solutions such as tire
wear, durability prediction and vehicle operation support. In addition,
by further enhancing foundations for providing this solution through its
Dan-Totsu network, the Group will continue to support safe, economicand efficient mining operations.

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Four categories for execution

Evolution of portfolio
Based on these four categories, theGroup will proceed with its Mid TermBusiness Plan and business portfolio
management. It will reinforce its
MAIN category to create even stronger
businesses by combining the tirebusiness and tire-centric solutions.
It also will advance mobility solutions
and expand the North America andmining businesses through potential
M&A, as well as strategic partnerships.
In the NEXT category, the Group willreinforce its regional tire businesses
to migrate them to the next MAIN
category.
In the STRATEGIC category, theGroup will leverage the expertiseand systems acquired in thesolutions businesses, such as
the European Webfleet Solutions
business and subscription models,
applying these solutions to the MAIN
category businesses to scale up
these offerings in North America.
In the DEVELOPING category, theGroup will rebuild its core tire businessand evolve it to the NEXT category.
From 2021 to 2023, the Group will
implement portfolio management ofthese four categories. Furthermore,
the Diversified Products businesswill aim to return to profitability byfocusing on businesses where corecompetencies can be utilized. In
this way, the Group will turn all its
businesses profitable by 2023.

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

DX & Technology Innovation
Technological innovation supporting the Mid Term Business Plan

To continue to provide social and customer value as a sustainable solutions company
toward 2050, the Bridgestone Group will strengthen its sources of competitive advantage
through technology innovation.
Since its founding in 1931, the Group has been developing
technologies that provide new value. These include suchinnovations as wet performance tires that stop withconfidence even on rainy days, ice performance tires that
reduce slippage on icy surfaces and snowy roads, andthe improved fuel efficiency of tires.

The Group has also succeeded in developing a technologythat achieves both rubber strength and fuel efficiency,
which had been extremely difficult to attain. It has createda rubber material with a double-network structure that isboth flexible and strong.

RUBBER MATERIAL WITH A DOUBLE-NETWORK STRUCTURE

Creating value for new rubber changes
conventional concepts
Rubber material with a double-network structure combines
hard, energy-absorbing properties with soft, supple
properties. It was successfully co-created by the BridgestoneGroup in collaboration with 12 research organizations. Whilemaintaining the fuel efficiency of conventional fuel-efficient
rubber (base rubber), the new material is about five times
stronger, making it possible to produce thinner and lighter
tires that reduce environmental impact.

Technology innovation that supports the Mid Term Business Plan

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Bridgestone’s DX (Digital Transformation)

ReduceReuse
RecycleInnovation through the combination of strong Real X Digital
The Bridgestone Group has the technology to see, analyze,
and manage rubber, which has been cultivated over many
years of product and material development. It also has avast amount of data obtained from these technologies
and knowledge accumulated on the manufacturing floor.
The Bridgestone Group refers to Dan-Totsu products, DanTotsu solutions and Dan-Totsu network as its strong Real.
This real world expertise of rubber mastery is the foundationof the Group’s R&D; it also is its greatest strength. By digitallyconnecting and utilizing technology, data, and Takumi —craftsperson skills — such as its unique simulation algorithm,
the Group is able to develop Dan-Totsu products and DanTotsu solutions faster, easier, and more accurately withgreater data.
The technology innovation driving the Group is the combinationof strong Real X Digital, to generate Dan-Totsu product andsolution innovations that create social and customer value.
ADVANCED DESIGN SIMULATION

By using advanced design simulations that combine theGroup’s accumulated high-quality market data and tire
databases with structural computer-aided engineering(CAE), it is possible to simulate the ground conditions oftires on snowy roads, wet roads, soil and sand. In addition,by combining this data with other models, it also is possible
to perform combined simulations of tires and suspensions,tires and vehicles, etc. The Group’s Dan-Totsu tire for mining,
BRIDGESTONE MASTERCORE, and innovative tire technologythat achieves both environmental benefits and driving
performance, ENLITEN, were developed using strong Real X
advanced-design Digital simulation.

MATERIAL AND COMPOUNDING SIMULATION

The vast amount of laboratory data the Group has abouta wide variety of rubber materials is the core of its strong
Real technology. Advanced material and compounding
simulations become possible by combining this data with
nano-level molecular CAE. Such simulations will accelerate
the development of innovative materials that have advanced
functions beyond those of conventional materials currently
available in the marketplace.
UNIQUE ALGORITHM USED FOR ADVANCED SIMULATIONS

By using advanced simulations to analyze customer driving
data in real time, the Group can accurately ascertain the tirecondition of the vehicle being driven. This is made possibleby the Group’s unique algorithm, which is based on its
knowledge of the world’s roads and its ability to obtainhighly accurate data from customers worldwide. Goingforward, the Group will further strengthen the developmentof such algorithms to accelerate the development of DanTotsu solutions and provide new social and customer value.

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Exploratory Business: Enablers for Start-ups
Starting a new journey toward a sustainable solutions company

The Bridgestone Group, which aims to become a sustainable solutions company,
has added the “exploratory business” to its business portfolio to achieve sustainablegrowth for the future.

Based on its mission of “Serving Society with Superior Quality,”
the Group is exploring new business areas leveraging its corecompetencies, creating potential synergies with its existing
businesses, contributing to the achievement of SDGs, andensuring synergy with its Sustainability Business Model.

At present, the Group has set up a specialized organization to
explore the commercialization of recycling and soft-robotics
and is examining these areas in collaboration with global
partners. To interact with a broader range of partners, theGroup has introduced a corporate venture capital fund called
the Bridgestone Sustainability Fund and also will utilize M&A
and other means to speed up the commercialization process.

A global hub to create new value:Interaction with empathy, Co-ideation, Co-R&D, Co-creation

Co-creation and innovation are essential for the Group to advance its growth andexploratory business. The Group is constructing the Bridgestone Innovation Park as
a base for this co-creation with various partners.
The Group believes that four steps are necessary to create
new value: interaction with empathy, co-ideation, co-R&D
and co-creation. Last year, the Bridgestone Innovation
Gallery opened as a place to engage with a wide variety
of stakeholders. The Gallery introduces the Group’s history
as well as innovation initiatives to generate empathy.
At the B-Innovation center and the B-Mobility mini-test
course scheduled for completion at the end of 2021, theGroup will accelerate the process of co-ideation, co-R&D
and co-creation.

37 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Exploratory Business

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A MESSAGE FROM

Masato Banno
Senior Vice President and Executive Officer
Global Chief Technology Officer
Responsible for Technology, Quality Management
Bridgestone aims to achieve its Mid-Long Term Business
Strategy and Sustainability Business Framework withtechnological innovation that supports its vision — toward
2050, Bridgestone continues to provide social value andcustomer value as a sustainable solutions company.
Bridgestone will continue to provide social and customer
value by combining its strength in the Real world (suchas its overwhelming experience and abundant market
data gained through its mastery of rubber, grounding
and hysteresis as a long-standing industry leader) withthe evolution of its own style of digital transformation
to create innovation and the Dan-Totsu products andsolutions that result. This is Bridgestone’s approach totechnological innovation.

In addition, the Group is developing innovation sites in eachof its global regions. With the Bridgestone Innovation Parkin Kodaira, Japan, at the core, the Group will strengthen
collaboration and accelerate co-creation and innovation

The Bridgestone Innovation Park, a place to accelerate thistechnological innovation, is scheduled to be completed
at the end of 2021. Bridgestone also is embarking on
work style reform by combining a simple organizational
structure with an agile employee development system.
In addition, through its Park operations, Bridgestone
will collaborate globally with other innovation hubs andhave touch points with various partners to explore new
business opportunities.
Bridgestone will interact with society, customers andpartners, and then deepen these relationships tofoster co-ideation, co-R&D and co-creation. This, inturn, will accelerate technological innovation and enable
Bridgestone to provide social and customer value.

with Digital Garage in Rome, Mobility Lab in Akron, USA,and KTC, a diversified business technology center in
Yokohama, Japan.

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Exploratory Business: Recycle BusinessRealization of a circular economy
To deliver its sustainability business model, the BridgestoneGroup is promoting initiatives to build a new business toadvance tire recycling technology. Since there are manytechnical challenges involved in returning tires to rubber
or raw materials, the Group will promote open innovation,
including various partnerships.

The Group recognizes that using resources more wisely
and sustainably is an opportunity to address this important
issue. For this reason, the Group believes it will be necessary
to establish a material-recycling system that returns endof-life tires, which are currently used mainly as fuel, to tire
raw materials.

The shift from a linear economy, in which natural resources
are extracted, made into products and disposed of in large
quantities without being reused, is an issue being facedby society as a whole. The transformation into a circular
economy, in which resources are reused and recycled, is an
opportunity closely aligned to the Group’s business activities.

The Group is accelerating its initiatives to realize a circular
economy by recovering tire materials and introducing various
recycling technologies, with the aim of achieving bothresource recycling, in which customers return used tires
to recycled raw materials, and CO2 reduction.

As resource consumption increases due to economic
growth, the supply-demand balance of resources likely
becomes tighter. A depletion of natural resources, and theresulting sharp rise in raw material prices, is expected tohave a significant impact on production activities.

To realize the tire recycle business, the Group considers end-oflife tires as a resource and is exploring technologies to returntires as economical and high-quality raw materials and rubber.
The Group aims to achieve both resource circulation and CO2
reduction, and continues to work toward the realization of acircular economy and achieving carbon neutrality.

Building the recycle business
TIRE-TO-RAW MATERIAL

The Bridgestone Group has been searching for technologies
to convert tires back into raw materials. In partnershipwith Delta-Energy Group LLC, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is
producing tires that use recovered carbon black (rCB). This
material is recovered from end-of-life tires through pyrolysis,or thermal decomposition, as a replacement for virgin carbon
black, a raw material used in tires. Using rCB reduces CO2
emissions from carbon black production by 81% compared tovirgin materials, while offering similar product performance.
In 2020, Bridgestone purchased over 1,200 metric tons of rCB,
the equivalent of approximately 380,000 end-of-life tires,
resulting in the reduction of approximately 1,900 metric tonsof CO2 emissions. Annually, the company targets to increase
the use of rCB to 6,800 metric tons and reduce the equivalentof over 10,800 metric tons of CO2 emissions. The Group isalso investigating ways to convert recycled oil to virgincarbon black by upgrading the pyrolysis process. In addition,
the Group has verified that the recycled oil can be used as a
substitute for naphtha through a low-energy and precisely
controlled pyrolysis process, and the Group aims to obtainbutadiene and isoprene, which are raw materials for synthetic
rubber used in tires.
TIRE-TO-RUBBER

In general, when tires are converted back into rubber, they
are downsized and used as ground rubber or reclaimed rubbermaterial by adding further processing to the ground rubber.

However, the use of these conventional products is limited tosmall amounts because it is difficult to obtain the same level offracture resistance as that of new rubber when large quantitiesof these products are used in rubber compounding.
The Group is conducting multifaceted research into innovativetechnologies that will enable the reprocessing of rubber fromtires by applying heat and other methods, so that this recycledmaterial can be widely used as a material for new tires. In
the future, these technologies will make it possible to utilize
end-of-life tires as raw materials for new tires, and the Group
expects to significantly enhance material circularity1.
BRIDGESTONE’S CIRCULAR DESIGN

Along with the development of individual technologies forthe recycle business, the Group also will promote the circular
design of tires. In addition to developing materials and designs
that make tires more recyclable, the Group is aiming for adesign that enables efficiency and optimization throughout
the entire value chain, including procurement, production,
logistics, sales, service and collection. The Group will continue
to turn waste to wealth to create social and customer value.
Its accumulated tire and rubber research development
expertise and innovation is very important for these activities.
Equally essential is the knowledge and leadership of various
partners, which is why co-creation for social and customer
value will be a priority as the recycle business evolves.

		 A concept that indicates the circularity of raw materials. The Bridgestone Group uses the percentage of raw materials used that are recycled or derived
from renewable resources as an indicator.

1

39 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Exploratory Business

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Exploratory Business: Soft-Robotics BusinessSupporting safe mobility and movement of people and objects
The soft-robotics business is a new attempt in the BridgestoneGroup’s diversified products business to support safe andsecure mobility and movement of people and objects by
utilizing soft-robots that can collaborate with humans. In
particular, the Group is exploring the development of various
soft-robots, such as lightweight and high output robot arms.
Societies in developed countries are experiencing workforce
reductions due to declining birthrates and aging populations.
There also is an increasing need for contact-less technology
from COVID-19 pandemic impacts and work automation.

To address such social and customer issues, the Group is
utilizing its expertise and technology in mastering rubber tofurther develop a soft-robotics business. Since this businessalso has a high-level of synergy with the Group’s existing
businesses, it can utilize current production facilities for
manufacturing. It also can utilize the expertise of core andgrowth businesses to further develop its business model. In
doing so, the Group will accelerate the commercialization ofthis new business.

Soft-robot hand
COMBINING FLEXIBILITY AND HIGH OUTPUT TO ACHIEVE
THE RIGHT GRIP STRENGTH WITH A SINGLE HAND

The Bridgestone Group’s rubber actuator is a polymer
composite consisting of a rubber tube and a fiber-braided
sleeve that applies its tire and hydraulic hose technologies.
These rubber actuators are flexible, impact resistant,lightweight and high output. As one of its applications,
the Group is developing a robot hand that can correctly
grip everything from soft to hard objects of various sizes
and weights, ranging from items like strawberries totires. The soft-robot hand is expected to be used in a wide
variety of applications. This is another example of how
the Group is co-creating social and customer value withnumerous stakeholders.

sleeve (fiber)

40 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Exploratory Businessrubber hose

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Financial Plan
Transforming into a “strong” Bridgestone by rebuilding earning power
The Bridgestone Group’s financial plan is supported byrebuilding earning power through expense and cost structurereformation, reinforcement of its premium business strategy,
and expansion of its solutions business. As a result of these
efforts, the Group’s gross profit margin is expected to growto the 40% level by 2023, exceeding that of 2015, and revenue
is expected to reach the 3,300 billion JPY level. These figuresreflect an improvement of business quality and a new businessportfolio as shown below and indicate a transformation to a
resilient and highly profitable structure in all businesses.
These results are being achieved by:•

Increasing the sales ratio of premium products in thetire business.

•

Increasing the sales ratio of the solutions business(tire-centric solutions and mobility solutions) to 20%
of total sales.

•

Reorganizing diversified businesses and focusing on
businesses where core competencies can be leveraged.

The Group aims to keep its operating expenses ratio below
the 2019 level through steady structural reforms. As a result,it plans to achieve an adjusted operating margin of 13%, on parwith 2015, and an adjusted operating profit of 450 billion JPY by
2023. The resources generated by narrowing down operational
resources will be reinvested as strategic resources for growth.
As a result of the above outlined actions, profit from continuing
operations in 2023 is expected to be approximately 290
billion JPY, exceeding the 2015 level. The Bridgestone Group
has adopted return on invested capital (ROIC) as a new coremanagement indicator and aims to achieve a ROIC of 10% in
2023 and return on equity (ROE) of around 12%.

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Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

Financial Strategy
Strategic resource deployment
In its Mid Term Business Plan, the Bridgestone Group is working
to evolve into a “strong” Bridgestone with an aggressive
approach and challenging spirit. To do so, it plans to invest 700
billion JPY in strategic resources by 2023 that will be generated
by thoroughly narrowing down its operational resources. This
includes 350 billion JPY for strategic investments and expenses
and 350 billion JPY for co-creation activities such M&A, theCorporate Venture Capital Fund and strategic partnerships. The
Group plans to identify business opportunities and invest withthe aim of further strengthening its core business and skillfullybalancing strategic investments to expand its growth business.
STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS AND EXPENSES

Strategic resources account for 30% of total investments and
5% of expenses. The Group will invest resources to restructure
its business portfolio and manufacturing footprint, transformthe structure of its Japanese business, as well as to expand
its growth business. Resources will be allocated as strategic
growth investments toward the premium business strategy
in the tire business and in tire-centric solutions and mobility
solutions to support the solutions business.
M&A, CORPORATE VENTURE CAPITAL, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPIn the solutions and the exploratory businesses, which aim
to commercialize recycling and soft-robotics, it is essential toexpand and establish the business through co-creation withpartners. Through M&A and strategic partnerships with various
stakeholders including government and academia, the Groupwill strategically accelerate the realization and expansionof its business. Furthermore, the Group will introduce theBridgestone Sustainability Fund, a corporate venture capitalfund, to secure its touch points with potential partners,
including start-ups.
LINKING CREDIT TO SUSTAINABILITY

Linking credit to sustainability performance is an innovative
approach that drives continued environmental, social andgovernance (ESG) improvements. BSAM is one of the firstcompanies in the U.S. tire manufacturing industry to create a
1.1 billion USD sustainability-linked committed credit facility.
As its ESG ratings improve, its committed credit facility fee
and borrowing costs will be reduced. BSEMIA has created asustainability-linked loan. It also rewards its suppliers withfinancial incentives for obtaining ESG ratings from EcoVadis.

Strengthening Investment Management by
Project and Implementing Carbon Pricing
In investing strategic resources, it is important to have aprocess to correctly assess opportunities and investment
targets. For this reason, the Bridgestone Group continues tostrengthen its corporate finance function. In January 2021, theGroup established a new global controller function to manage
individual investment projects on a global basis, and put inplace a structure that enables it to properly evaluate the returnof each project. In addition, it has established an M&A Steering
Committee, led by the Global CEO and with senior executives
from each business and region as members, which discusses,
evaluates and carefully selects deals on a target-by-target
basis, thus enabling speedy decision-making. A committee ledby the Global COO also has been established to carefully selectcapital investments. For the allocation of strategic resources,
Bridgestone conducts comprehensive assessments using
new management indexes such as ROIC (Return on Invested
Capital), and sets hurdle rates in factoring in capital costs andrisks by business and region. In addition, Bridgestone has
introduced internal carbon pricing since 2011, incorporating
sustainability factors into its investment decisions, forexample, by taking into account CO2 emission costs andreduction benefits in its assessments.
With sustainability at the core of its business, the Groupwill implement PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycles even more
rigorously from strategic and financial perspectives to correctly
assess opportunities and investment targets for the allocationof strategic resources.

42 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | Financial Strategy

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Topic: Strengthening Financial Strategy Foundation to Support the Mid Term Business Plan

Realizing Portfolio Management Using ROIC as a Key Management Index
The Bridgestone Group is rebuilding its financial strategy
foundation to realize portfolio management. To progress withan “aggressive approach” and “challenge” spirit, it is essential
to build a framework to support strategic decision-making,including divestments and financial evaluation, by portfolio.
For this reason, in the Mid Term Business Plan (2021-2023), in
addition to adjusted operating profit ratio and return on equity(ROE), which have been used as management indices, ROIC,
has been newly designated as a key management index.

indicators (KPIs) in operations, such as at each regional
production/sales entity level, and to quickly take action.

Using the ROIC tree to drive improvement
activities:
The ROIC tree is a diagram that breaks down and visualizes
ROIC into KPIs from the operational perspective, andconnects “the Group’s goal” and “operational level goals” in
an integrated manner. Through the ROIC tree, operationaland corporate functions of each portfolio can work together
to improve ROIC in an end-to-end manner for the entire
value chain, rather than through individual or departmental
optimization.

In line with the portfolio set in the Mid Term Business Plan,
the Group uses ROIC to evaluate profitability by businessand region, accelerating the “rebuilding of earning power.”
Furthermore by introducing ROIC, the Group emphasizes
Using the ROIC tree to drive improvement activities:
management that is even more conscious of the cost of capital.

Drive capital improvement efforts based on the
ROIC tree

Promotion of Portfolio Management
ROIC by portfolio (by business and region) supports strategic
decision-making in line with the Mid Term Business Plan,
including evaluation of progress in initiatives to rebuild
earning power, optimal allocation of management resources,
and reasonable decisions for “strategic growth investment.”

Drive capital improvement efforts based on the ROIC tree
ROIC

Investment capitalturnoverIn addition, for each portfolio, the Group promotes portfolio
management by clarifying do’s and don’ts including
management of divestments, such as formulating andfollowing up on recovery plans if established criteria are
not met in each business, and considering discontinuation
if the business does not recover.

ROIC is an index that shows how much profit is generated
in relation to the capital invested in business activities.
In other words, it evaluates return on investment andDefinitionof TheROIC
the Group
capitalefficiency.
basicincalculation
formula used by
the Group follows.

=

Cash conversion cycle*
Fixed asset turnover
Investment management by
item

•
•
•

Add new management KPIs based on ROIC tree
Strengthen management at eachproduction/sales entity level
Manage investment of operational/ strategic
items separately

2/39

Adjusted operating profit (after tax)
Working capital + Noncurrent assets(Invested capital)

Adjusted operating profit (after tax): Fixed tax rate of 30%
Working capital: Notes and accounts receivable and other assets + Inventories– Notes and accounts payable and other liabilities (FY-end balance)
Noncurrent assets: Noncurrent assets excluding deferred tax assets (FY-end balance)

The advantage of placing ROIC at the core of management
indicators is that it can strengthen both profitability
management by portfolio and the improvement cycle. Byvisualizing returns (capital efficiency) by business and region,
it is possible to correctly evaluate each business and region
with different attributes. In addition, the ROIC tree makes it
easier to incorporate improvements and key performance

Driving activities to promote thedissemination of ROIC
To disseminate the ROIC concept and implement improvement
activities in the Group, the financial strategy department
at the Global Headquarters oversees global activities andhas appointed ROIC ambassadors for each business andregion. The ambassadors are responsible for explaining
the ROIC concept (dissemination activities) and supportingand monitoring KPI setting at each business site, as well as
following up on operational improvements and ensuring
there is alignment between the Mid Term Business Plan andactions in each operation. Bridgestone is strengthening suchactivities so that, in the future, each site will be able torealize improvement activities by themselves.
Through such activities, the Group is accelerating portfolio
management to achieve ROIC at the 10% level in 2023 as set
in the Mid Term Business Plan.

43 | Topic: Strengthening Financial Strategy Foundation to Support the Mid Term Business Plan

1/35

Gross margin
Operating expense ratio*Cash conversion cycle =Days of inventory outstanding + days of sales outstanding– days of payables outstanding

Definition of ROIC in the GroupROIC

Adjusted operating
profit (after tax)

Confidential S1

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core

HR and Organizational Strategy
Human Resource Transformation (HRX) to enable the Mid-Long Term Business Strategy
and the Mid Term Business Plan
Human resources (HR) are the foundation for executing theBridgestone Group’s Mid-Long Term Business Strategy and
its Sustainability Business Model.
The Bridgestone Group will promote its own HRX to maximize
its organizational capability (organization x talent) andpromote the development of diverse talent and nextgeneration global management. To this end, the Group willbuild strategic talent programs and organizational structuresthat match the characteristics of each of its core, growth,and exploratory businesses.
In the core business, the Group is working to fundamentallychange its culture while leveraging its unique strengths,
optimizing its global operations from a strategic perspective,and evolving into glocal management.
These initiatives will help it create resources to achieve its

goals and flexibly reallocate them to growth and exploratory
businesses.
In the growth business, the Group aims to create a new
culture, structures and work styles for the solutions business,
including the development of digital talent. The Group also is
promoting the exchange of talents among global bases andbusinesses to strengthen the foundation of its expanding
solutions business.
In the exploratory business, the Group is building a new
structure based on challenging the status quo. It will
promote diversity and inclusion, global talent exchange,
and the establishment of internal and external networks
for co-creation. In particular, since the exploratory businessinvolves creating a new business from the ground up, it will
establish an organizational structure that emphasizes anentrepreneurial spirit.

Bridgestone HRX
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Promoting diversity and inclusion is an important elementof the Bridgestone Group’s Global Human Rights Policy thatit implemented throughout the organization. In addition, as
the Group expands its solutions and exploratory businesses
in the future, it will be essential to have a multifaceted
perspective, so it will focus more than ever on developing
and promoting diverse talent. In addition, to empower female
participation and representation, the Group will strengthen
the appointment of female managers and reinforce external
hiring. It also is establishing support systems such as thementoring program.
GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT

To achieve its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy, it is essential
for the Group to develop human resources with a global
perspective. To this end, the BRIDGESTONE NEXT 100 talentdevelopment program was launched in 2020. The Group isselecting and developing 100 candidates who will become
next-generation management. Also, in January 2021, theGroup revamped its human resource system to clarify andoptimize the allocation of its human resource portfolio andpromote new talent-development initiatives to reinforce
its management structure.

develop “data scientists” who are responsible for digital data
analysis and system development at three levels: beginner,intermediate and advanced. The Group also is promoting
collaboration with teammates in Webfleet Solutions and iTrack
Digital Solutions businesses, who have newly joined the Groupthrough M&A.
In addition, the Group is strengthening its partnerships
with external organizations to train and recruit high-level
digital talents, especially experts in artificial intelligence (AI)and algorithms, who are essential for implementing digitalsolutions and DX. For example, the Group has established
Bridgestone Endowed Chairs at universities where students
can practice and conduct research with Bridgestone
dispatched employees based on case studies.
As a result, the Group is planning to increase the number ofadvanced digital talent from the current 900 to approximately
1,200 by 2023. The Group will continue to accelerate thedevelopment of talent who can realize its DX.

Program to develop digital talents (Japan)

DIGITAL TALENT

To expand its solutions business, it is essential to create newvalue using digital technology and know-how, so the Groupis focusing on the development of digital talents to carry out
this task. The Group has established a training program to

44 | Realization of Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with Sustainability as its Core | HR and Organizational Strategy

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution

Long-Term Environmental Vision and Milestone 2030
The Bridgestone Group has placed sustainability at the coreof its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy. It is taking on thechallenge of realizing a sustainable business model thatcreates social and customer value, while also achieving
competitive advantage.
For some time, the Bridgestone Group has been addressing environmental issues
to realize a sustainable society, based on its unchanging desire to “To help ensurea healthy environment for current and future generations ...”, as stated in its
Environmental Mission Statement. Its 2050 and beyond long-term environmental
goals to achieve this mission include reducing CO2 emissions to become carbon
neutral. To best value natural resources, the Group also set a goal toward utilizing
100% sustainable materials1 in manufacturing activities, contributing to the realizationof a circular economy.
The Bridgestone Group achieved its Milestone 2020 goals set in 2012 ahead ofschedule and formulated a new Milestone 2030.

Toward a sustainable society
To achieve Milestone 2030, the Bridgestone Group accelerated
its ambition to decouple business growth from environmental
impact and increased resource consumption. It is doing so byintensifying efforts toward carbon neutrality, increasing its
contribution to a circular economy and reducing absolute CO2
emissions by 50%2. The Bridgestone Group also aims to contributeto the reduction of CO2 emissions throughout its entire value
chain, while at the same time creating customer value.

In 2020, the first year of Milestone 2030, the Group introduced
new initiatives for achieving its long-term targets of operating inharmony with nature, valuing natural resources, and reducing CO2
emissions.
Details of Milestone 2030 are available online.

		 The Bridgestone Group defines sustainable materials as those that 1) come from resources with a continual supply, 2) can be used as part of its business over the long term, and 3) have a low
environmental and social impact over their lifecycle from procurement to disposal.
2
		 Baseline year: 2011.
1

45 | Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution | Long-Term Environmental Vision and Milestone 2030

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution

Contribution to Carbon Neutrality
Reducing CO2 emissions

The Bridgestone Group believes the demands of society and customers to reduce CO2
emissions will continue to increase in the future, given the need to respond to climatechange. Toward its goal of carbon neutrality for 2050 and beyond, the Group is working
to both enhance its contribution to CO2 reduction and to minimize CO2 emissions.
Milestone 2030 sets targets for CO2 emission reductions
throughout the life cycle and value chain of the BridgestoneGroup’s products and services. To achieve these goals, itwill not only reduce CO2 emissions in production, but also
contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions in the processesof customer use, raw-material procurement, distribution,
reuse and recycling. Much of this work will be achievedby providing Dan-Totsu products and services that deliver
increasing customer value. It also will strive to differentiate
its business and strengthen its competitiveness by helping
customers reduce their CO2 emissions to become carbon
neutral. Through these initiatives, the Group will contributeto the reduction of CO2 emissions in society as a whole and aim
to create social value together with customers and partners.

The Bridgestone Group has set a goal to contribute to global
CO2 emissions reductions across the lifecycle and value chainof its products and services that exceed by five times the CO2
emissions from its operations by 2030¹. Across the entire life
cycle of tires, emissions during product use account for about
90% of total CO2 emissions². Therefore, the Group also will
expand the range of products and services it provides that
contribute to the reduction of CO2 emitted during customer
use. Some examples of this effort are its ECOPIA fuel-efficienttires; fuel-efficient tires equipped with ENLITEN, a new tire
weight reduction technology; and transportation solutions,such as Webfleet Solutions business, a fleet management
service that contributes to improved fuel efficiency and reduced
CO2 emissions by helping to streamline fleet operations.

Overall, the Group set an absolute reduction target for its own
CO2 emissions to become carbon neutral by 2050, in line with
the Paris Agreement and other societal commitments.

Contribute towards carbon neutral

Contribution by
PS/LT,MaaS Solution

Contribution
by OR,
MiningSolution

Enhance
Contribution to
CO2 Reduction

Maximize energy
efficiency

Contribution
by TB, Fleet
SolutionContribution by
AC, Aircraft
Solution

Minimize CO2Emissions
Increase useof renewableenergyPromotemanufacturing
andengineering
innovation

		 Baseline year: 2020.
		 Source: “Tyre LCCO 2 Calculation Guidelines Ver. 2.0”, Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association, Inc.

1

2

46 | Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution | Contribution to Carbon Neutrality

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution

Contribution to Carbon Neutrality

CO2 emission (Scope 1, 2) reduction target in manufacturing
5,000

Base
year

THOUSAND TONNES

4,000

-31 %

-50 %

3,000
2,000

CarbonNeutral

1,000
0

100%

FocusedTarget0%2011 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

In addition to innovating new products
and services, the Bridgestone Group is
finding other ways to achieve its Milestone
2030 goals by reducing absolute CO2
emissions by 50%³.
One of these approaches is strengthening efforts tointroduce renewable energy across the operation. As
a result, in 2020, CO2 emissions were reduced by 31%,
compared to 2011, due in large part to the impact ofthe decrease in production volume caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the production volume is expected to increasein the Mid Term Business Plan, the Group will further
accelerate its global efforts while minimizing the impactof the recovery of production volume on CO2 emissions
by setting the target of reducing CO2 emissions in 2023
by 30% or more compared to 2011.

2030

2050

Additionally, the Group has implemented energysaving measures such as visualization of energy usage,
identification of energy losses, introduced high-efficiency
equipment, and undertaken other measures to reduceenergy loss. Milestone 2030 sets a standard of 0.5%energy-efficiency improvement per year. The Groupwill continue to promote activities to achieve this goal.

Expanded use of renewable energy
This use of renewable energy as part of the BridgestoneGroup’s initiatives to become carbon neutral has been inplace for several years. The Group is now using renewableenergy in the U.S., launching a new 2 megawatt (MW)large-scale solar power generation system at the passenger
and light truck tire plant in Aiken, South Carolina in 2020.
Through these efforts, the Bridgestone Group’s renewableenergy ratio (electricity) reached 11% in 2020. It willcontinue to expand the use of renewable energy andaddresses its aim to increase this ratio to more than 50%
by 2023 in the Mid Term Business Plan.

Energy efficiency improvement
The Bridgestone Group also has been working to reduce
CO2 emissions from product lifecycle stages other thanuse. It has continued to reduce the amount of raw
materials used per product through weight reductions
and minimizing production losses. In 2020, the Group
reduced those CO2 emissions per unit of sales by 37%
compared to its 2005 level.
Aiken County, South Carolina passenger/light truck tire plant
		 Baseline year: 2011.

3

47 | Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution | Contribution to Carbon Neutrality

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

In particular, measures to introduce renewable energy inEurope have taken significant steps forward. In 2018, BSEMIA
switched 100% of its electricity to renewable energy at four
plants in Spain. In 2020, five more plants in Poland, Hungary,
Belgium and the U.K. switched to renewable energy, as well
as a plant in Italy in 2021. This completes the transition ofelectricity use to 100% renewable energy at all tire plants
producing new tires in Europe.

In addition, BSEMIA is promoting the attainment of ISO
50001 certification and focusing on enhancing energy
management by achieving certification for all its tire plants
in Europe by 2020.

A MESSAGE FROM

Laurent Dartoux
Vice President and Senior Officer of Bridgestone Corporation
BSEMIA Management Board Chair, CEO and President
Working to achieve a carbon neutral state by 2050 is oneof our long-term sustainability ambitions, but it’s not our
only goal within CO2 reduction.
In fact, what’s key to achieving a macro aim like this istargeting short- and mid-term goals on the road to 2050
— like we have done internally with Milestones 2020 and
2030 — and aligning ourselves with external objectives,
such as the Paris Agreement and the sustainability
ambitions of our customers and original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) partners.
We have adopted a holistic, end-to-end approach in
our efforts to cut carbon emissions across our entire
value chain, which begins with the sourcing of our raw
material and our manufacturing and production. We’re
proud to say in 2021 that 100% of the electricity weconsume in our European locations is from renewableenergy sources and all of our European tyre plants are
ISO 50001 certified.
We’re very aware that delivering against our ambitions
requires constant investment and improvement: set
for completion in 2022, our Burgos plant in Spain isconstructing one of the country’s biggest photovoltaic
solar panel roof installations.

made on our way to carbon neutrality. But we’ve also
pioneered best-in-class, fuel-efficient tyres, tyrecentric solutions and mobility solutions, innovating newmaterials and technologies that are specifically designed
to cut carbon emissions. Tyres made with our ENLITENTechnology, for example, decrease fuel consumption andCO2 emissions; our digital fleet management solution,
WEBFLEET, reduces fuel consumption and associated CO2
emissions by up to 25%; co-developed with ARLANXEO
and Solvay, our TECHSYN tyre technology platform
creates tyres with a rolling resistance reduced by up to 6%.
Partnership is key if we’re to successfully shape a futureof sustainable mobility; no single person or company
can answer the huge challenges we collectively face.
We must unite forces and bring our assets together toaccelerate the pace of change. TECHSYN would not havebeen possible without ARLANXEO and Solvay, just likethe electric future won’t be possible without establishedleading OEMs, and innovative newcomers such as
Lightyear solar.
For us, constant improvement means rethinking how
we’ve traditionally done things with a strong sense ofurgency and the end goal front of mind: carbon neutrality
across the value chain and product life cycle no later
than 2050.

These are two concrete examples of decisions already48 | Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution | Contribution to Carbon Neutrality

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution

Contribution to a Circular Economy

As part of Milestone 2030, the Bridgestone Group will
work toward contributing to a circular economy.
A circular economy not only helps mitigate pressures on the environment, it also provides
an opportunity to transform the Group’s business model to increase the business valueof tires and gain competitive advantage by using resources more wisely and sustainably.
To this end, the Group is integrating circular economy concepts into its Sustainability
Business Model. It also is making comprehensive efforts to contribute to the attainmentof the identified four social and customer values of safety, environment, economy andproductivity (see pages 23–24).

Bridgestone Group’s approach to contributing to the circular economy

Long Life /Resource-Saving
DesignCascade Recycling /Energy Recovery

Product
Development
Minimize disposal

Utilization of
Renewable Resources

Recycled
Material

Recycle / Upcycle

Procurement

Disposal

Material
Circularity

Reproduct

Repair / Reuse
Recovery

Product
Circularity

Manufacturing
Sharing

Use

49 | Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution | Contribution to a Circular Economy

Sales

Products
as a Service

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

To contribute to a circular economy, the Bridgestone Groupis working on three approaches to realize its Sustainability
Business Model.
••

Enhancement of resource productivity: Create opportunities
by introducing new business models. These include DanTotsu products with long-life and resource-saving designs
epitomized by the new tire weight reduction technology,
ENLITEN, as well as services and subscriptions.
Enhancement of material circularity1: Further strengthen
the competitiveness of Dan-Totsu products by utilizing
recycled and renewable resources. Currently, the Group

Para rubber tree diseasediagnosis technology

is expanding the use of recycled raw materials, such as
recycled rubber and recovered carbon black, to improve
the productivity of natural rubber and develop bio-derived
raw materials. For example, in 2020, it developed a highly
precise disease-diagnosis technology for Hevea Brasiliense
rubber trees, using artificial intelligence and big data tohelp improve the productivity of natural rubber.
•

Enhancement of product circularity2: Expand businessmodels that create value throughout the product lifecycle,
such as the retread business and aircraft solutions, and also
consider new value creation in the recycle business (seepage 39).

Natural rubber plantation
management technology

New source of
natural rubber(Yield improvement through Big Data)(Guayule)

Reinforcement material derived
from renewable resources(Rice husk silica)

Big Data

Reversible Crosslink Rubber

Weight saving technology
Weight reduction technology“ENLITEN”

Recycling technology
for used tires
Retreading
technology

TIRE RETREADING CONTRIBUTES TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Retreading, which reuses tire casings by replacing the treads of worn tires,
reduces the amount of newly added raw materials used to less than onethird that of new tires. It also reduces the amount of scrap tires since othertire components can be reused as well. This growth business opportunity
is an example of how the Bridgestone Group is investing in new businessmodels that balance environmental sustainability with customer safety,
economy and productivity.

		 A concept that indicates the circularity of raw materials. The Bridgestone Group uses the percentage of raw materials used that are recycled or derived from renewable resources as an indicator.
		 A concept that indicates the circularity of used products. The Bridgestone Group uses the ratio of used tires from its retail shops that go to beneficial next use as the indicator.

1

2

50 | Topic: Mid-Long Term Environmental Contribution | Contribution to a Circular Economy

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Build Trust to Propagate
Value Co-creation
The Bridgestone Group is engaged in a variety of sustainability
initiatives to ensure it is a preferred partner for stakeholders now
and in the future. The wider and deeper it is trusted by partners,
the greater the opportunities for the Sustainability Business thatprovides social and customer value.

Contents
Global COO Message .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 52

In Harmony with Communities. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 56–58

Sustainability Framework.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 53–54

Build Higher Trust .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 59–60

In Harmony with Nature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation

Global COO Message

A MESSAGE FROM

Masahiro Higashi
Member of the Board
Global COO and
Representative
Executive Officer

As described in this Sustainability Report, Bridgestone is implementing
its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy with sustainability at the core. In doingso, it will realize its Mid-Long Term vision of “Toward 2050, Bridgestone
continues to provide social value and customer value as a sustainable
solutions company.” Implementing Bridgestone’s Mid-Long Term Business
Strategy is the very essence of becoming a sustainable business. By achieving
sustainable growth together with society, customers and partners, it will
create social and customer value and gain a competitive advantage.
The co-creation of value with customers and partners is essential to
Bridgestone’s vision, and a strong and trusting relationship with thosestakeholders is necessary for the co-creation of value. Bridgestone believes
the depth of its sustainability efforts contributes greatly to fostering trustin the company, and is actively involved in social contributions and otheractivities that help foster that trust with local communities. Bridgestone
intends to continue to build trust, maintaining its position as a company
preferred by society, customers, and partners, thereby gaining a competitive
advantage and expanding its sustainability business.
Bridgestone believes that part of creating social and customer value
as a responsible company is having solid foundational initiatives thatproactively anticipate social demands and turn risks into opportunities.
Six key Management Fundamentals — including human rights, labor
practices, and safety throughout the value chain — are addressed as
foundational areas. In addition to the Code of Conduct, Global Sustainable
Procurement Policy, and Global Human Rights Policy (all established in2018), Bridgestone also launched its Global Anti-Bribery Policy in 2020.
It is confident that by acting in accordance with these policies, it willcontinue to earn the trust of its customers and local communities and,
together, create new value.

52 | Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation | Global COO Message

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation

Sustainability Framework
How the Bridgestone Group createssocial value and customer value
Although its mission — “Serving Society with Superior
Quality” — remains unchanged since the Group’s founding,
how it will achieve this mission in response to today’s
business and societal needs continues to evolve. In 2020, theGroup identified a new vision of “Toward 2050, Bridgestone
continues to provide social value and customer value as asustainable solutions company.” As a result, the Group’s MidLong Term Business Strategy places sustainability at its core.
However, sustainability is not a new concept for Bridgestone.
In 2017, the Group introduced Our Way to Serve, the compass
for its sustainability journey. Our Way to Serve guides how theGroup contributes to realize a sustainable society. It clearly
defines the areas where the Group will concentrate on cocreating value by leveraging its strengths and competencies.
To understand where it can impact society and customers
through its business and value co-creation with partners, theGroup introduced its Sustainability Framework that explains
how it will become a sustainable solutions company. The
Sustainability Framework identifies the main themes andactivities of focus over the coming years. To develop the
Framework, the Group conducted a materiality assessment
in 2020, gathering input from internal and external
stakeholders via surveys and interviews that informed its
comprehensive look at material topics.

About the Sustainability Framework
The area in the red arrow extending to the left, Sustainability
Business, indicates the Group’s intention to promote andexpand its business models to develop the competitive
advantage detailed in its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy.
This includes continued efforts to advance the tire and rubber,solutions and recycle businesses, and to contribute to acircular economy and carbon neutrality across the Group.
In doing so, the Group will create social and customer value.
The second layer, Build trust to propagate value co-creation,
represents the importance of fostering trust with customers
and partners. These relationships establish the Group as apreferred partner to co-create innovations that will contributeto its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy. The wider and deeper
this trust, the greater the opportunities for the Sustainability
Business that provides social and customer value.
Finally, the third layer, Management Fundamentals for value
creation, reminds the Bridgestone Group of the indispensablefoundation of corporate governance and Management
Fundamentals as it accelerates its sustainability journey.
These efforts go beyond risk avoidance to finding innovative
ways to transform risk to opportunity.

The result of the materiality assessment is available online.

Sustainability Framework

Sustainability Business• Create both social and customer value

Sustainability
Business• Develop competitive advantage• Expand potential sustainability business areas of opportunity

Build trust to propagate value co-creation• Build trust in harmony with community and future partners
for value co-creation

Build trust to propagate
value co-creation

Management Fundamentals
for value creation

53 | Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation | Sustainability Framework• Higher trust leads Bridgestone to be a preferred partner

Management Fundamentals for value creation• Provide the foundation for value creation• Proactive focus on transforming risk to opportunity

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Sustainability Framework in action
Below are the items the Bridgestone Group will pursue
to deliver its Sustainability Framework. The three icons in
the table represent the connection with its three Priority
Areas of Mobility, People and Environment outlined in
Our Way to Serve.

Of course, as a dynamic document, this sustainability
approach will continue to evolve while the Sustainability
Framework remains constant.

• Tire, Tire-Centric Solutions• Mobility Solutions• Road Safety and Consumer Education

Sustainability Business• Contribution to a Circular Economy(Resource Productivity, Material/Product Circularity)• Contribution to Realize Carbon Neutrality• Exploratory Areas (Recycle, Soft-robotics)

Build trust to propagate
value co-creation

Management Fundamentals
for value creation• In Harmony with Nature: Water stewardship, Biodiversity• Community Development• Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner• Corporate Governance, Ethics & Compliance• Business Resilience (incl. Climate Change), Cybersecurity and Data Privacy• Social Supply Chain & HR (HR Due Diligence)• Sustainable Sourcing incl. NR• Diversity & Inclusion, Talent• Product & Solution Safety, Quality and Reliability• Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness• Air Quality, Waste & Hazardous SubstanceIntegrating sustainability across the Bridgestone Group

The Bridgestone Group continues to integrate sustainability culturally, strategically andoperationally across the organization as part of its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy.
•

Culturally, the Group incorporates its Sustainability
Framework and Our Way to Serve into its business,values and brand every day to ensure that it becomes anintegral part of teammates’ lives, in all that they do.

•

Strategically, with sustainability as its core, theGroup is working toward its Mid-Long Term Business
Strategy and Mid Term Business Plan, aligned with
its Sustainability Framework.

54 | Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation | Sustainability Framework•

Operationally, the Global Sustainability Committeethat reports to the Global Executive Committee, is
responsible for holistically leading the BridgestoneGroup’s Sustainability Framework. The Committee
includes working groups of cross-functional, crossregional leaders from throughout the Group.

More information on the Bridgestone Group’s Sustainability
Framework and Our Way to Serve is available online.

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation

In Harmony with Nature
Contributing to water stewardship

The Bridgestone Group is collaborating with stakeholders throughout its products’ lifecycles
and value chains to maximize its contribution to water stewardship. In particular, in Milestone
2030, the Group set a target to execute water stewardship plans at manufacturing facilities
in water stress areas1 by 2030. In doing so, it is helping to ensure that water is available on asocially equitable basis and the water cycle is preserved.
The Group has been making continuous efforts to improvethe efficiency of water use at every production facility
globally. For example, the Buenos Aires plant in Argentina,
located in a water stress area, achieved a 65% reduction ofwater withdrawal in 2020 (compared to a 2005 baseline)

Concept of Bridgestone’s Water Stewardshipand the Izmit plant in Turkey reduced its water withdrawal by
35%, (compared to a 2005 baseline). The Buenos Aires plant also
provided another company with its water discharge treated byreverse osmosis, thereby contributing to the reduction of water
withdrawal in the entire community.

Bridgestone Water Stewardship Policy

Protecting biodiversity
The Bridgestone Group launched “In Harmony with Nature– Promoting Biodiversity Program” in 2019 to evaluate thecontribution to biodiversity at its manufacturing facilities
globally. In 2020, 138 manufacturing sites participated in the
program. P.T. Bridgestone Sumatra Rubber Estate (BSRE), which
operates a rubber plantation in Indonesia, received the highest
internal rating of Gold Class. BSRE employees joined local NGOsand elementary school children in environmental conservation
and awareness-raising events, such as planting native trees,
releasing fish and other activities to protect the environment
around a spring-fed water area.

		 Manufacturing facilities in water stress area: Manufacturing facilities that have water-related risks due to the locations with the risk of deterioration of quantity and quality of freshwater resources.

1

55 | Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation | In Harmony with Nature

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation

In Harmony with Communities
As a global organization with operations inmore than 150 countries, the BridgestoneGroup is uniquely positioned to co-create
long-term social and customer value incommunities around the world.
It does so by working collaboratively with customers,
employees and partners to develop sustainable community
solutions that positively impact a wide variety of cultures
facing unique challenges. Although this work tends tobe longer-term, when urgent support is essential — forexample, in times of disaster — the Group also steps up
to immediately support its communities.

•

More than 1,000 pedestrians and bicycle riders in Poznan,
Poland received reflective bands from the Bridgestone Test
Dummy to help them be more protected at night. Because
the program took place during the COVID-19 pandemic,
residents also received face masks and hand sanitizer.

Helping professional drivers operate safely also is a priority of
the Bridgestone Group. In 2020, a one-month Bridgestone-led“Eyes on the Road” campaign helped truck drivers in Egypt andthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia understand the importance ofphysical fitness and eye health to safely performing their jobs.

Supporting communities is part of the Group’s Sustainability
Framework as it builds trust to propagate value co-creation.
The efforts are intended to enhance the well-being ofpeople in communities where the Group operates and are
instrumental to realizing its goal of societies where all
people can live Active and Healthy Lifestyles. To achieve
this aim, the Group focuses its strengths and competencies
on building safer, healthier communities and making
education more accessible and inclusive for current andfuture generations.

Road safety education
Given its foundation as a tire company, the BridgestoneGroup understands that road safety is essential to mobility
systems and resilient communities. In 2020, the Group cocreated social value around the world with a numberof partners.
•

In Vietnam, where motorbikes are the most prevalent
form of personal transportation, Bridgestone and local
dealer Xuan Tung donated 900 safety helmets toschool children.

•

In Australia and New Zealand, BSCAP continued its
sponsorship of a highly engaging one-day road safety
workshop with RYDA at two high schools. Since
beginning this partnership, more than 1,650 students
have learned how to stay safe on the road, as bothdrivers and passengers.

•

In Madrid, more than 200 students studying to bemechanics learned to better understand the challenges
facing pedestrians who are vision-impaired or haveother disabilities during driving simulations cosponsored by BSEMIA and Fundtrafic.

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Contributing to a safer society
The Bridgestone Group is making community safety moresustainable with its services, products and initiatives. For
example, during Vietnam’s rainy seasons, many of thecountry’s worn-out wooden bridges pose significant safety
challenges for people commuting to work and school. To help,
the Bridge to Knowledge campaign, led by Bridgestone Tire
Manufacturing Vietnam LLC, pledged to build 20 bridges acrossflood-prone Vietnam by 2030, and to maintain the bridges
for 10 years. In 2020, the Group built three new bridges thatprovide safe access to educational facilities for students fromover 1,000 households.

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Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation

In Harmony with Communities
BSEMIA is helping people incarcerated at the Featherstone
prison in Staffordshire, U.K. prepare for a successful career astire technicians when they are released. About 30 inmates aretraining to receive Institute of the Motor Industry accreditation
credentials, leveraging Bridgestone’s well-regarded REACT
Roadside Tyre Technician Training.

In 1983, the Bridgestone Group developed high-quality,
highly-functioning seismic isolation bearings by applying
tire manufacturing technologies. Today, as the leading
manufacturer of seismic isolation bearings for buildings inJapan, these products are utilized in a wide range of public
and private buildings, including logistics facilities that arebecoming increasingly important as e-commerce increases
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, more than 73,000
people (as of the end of 2020) have learned about the keyrole of seismic isolation technology in disaster prevention
via experiential information vehicles that visit educational
institutions and local community events.
The Bridgestone Group also helps keep people safe byproviding immediate assistance when disaster strikes. In
early 2020, Indonesia experienced heavy rains and flooding.
Later in the year, Vietnam faced floods and typhoons. To help
people impacted by these natural disasters, the BridgestoneGroup donated groceries, medicine, jackets, electric kettles,
rice cookers and other essential supplies. The BridgestoneGroup also supported U.S. communities when tornados andstorms struck in 2020.

Accessible and inclusive education

In Japan, Bridgestone Corporation held online a Global
Communication Class for junior high school students.
Employees shared their experiences helping the Group expand
its business globally. This gave participants an opportunity tounderstand the importance and challenges of communicating
effectively with a wide variety of people. The Corporation also
has been holding environmental programs since 2004 and hasreached 29,000 students to date. It plans to continue these
efforts in 2021 and beyond.
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, schools around theworld moved to remote learning. Many families lacked thebasic technology needed for children to keep pace with theirstudies, so the Bridgestone Group stepped in to help.
•

In Mexico, BSAM donated tablets and school supplies tochildren at Mexico City’s Amelia B de Casas Kindergarten
to help them continue their studies. BSAM also donatedlaptops to the Bandera Blanca Foundation in Costa Rica
for children in vulnerable situations. Digital workshops
also were offered to parents and grandparents of thesechildren to help them learn to use the technology.

•

In partnership with the CompSharing charity project,
BSEMIA donated computers to the Russian Red Cross forfamilies in need of computer access during the pandemic.

•

In the U.S., BSAM has long partnered with the Boys andGirls Clubs of America (BGCA). In 2020, customers donated
3.6 million USD to the Bridgestone Driving Great Futures
partnership that supports BGCA. Among other uses,
these funds provided technology grants to help BGCA
participants adapt to remote learning.

Education is essential for developing life and career skills,
which is why the Bridgestone Group supports accessible andinclusive education in the communities in which it operates.
The Group is training the next generation of automotive
service professionals. In Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., BSAM
sponsors the Maplewood High School Automotive Training
Center, and in Akron, Ohio, U.S., it sponsors the Bridgestone
Academy of Applied Engineering & Technology at East
Community Learning Center. Both schools host a near-replica
Firestone Complete Auto Care store and training curriculum.
Since 2015, 39 students have been hired by the BridgestoneGroup from the Nashville program and 90 students are
currently studying in the Akron program. Increasingly,
women are pursuing the automotive service profession andreceiving great training at these BSAM-sponsored programs.

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Promoting healthier communities
Helping people live healthier lives is another of the many
ways the Bridgestone Group makes its communities andsociety more resilient.
For example, BSEMIA helped neighbors near its India
operations by organizing a health camp that offered
regular check-ups and hemoglobin, diabetes, bloodpressure and calcium tests. The Health Camp also
provided medicine free of charge to those in need.
As a worldwide partner of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games Tokyo 2020, and in anticipation of the games being
held in its headquarters’ city of Tokyo, BSEMIA’s B-Olympic
platform promoted employee’s Active and Healthy Lifestyles
through regular athletic challenges, articles, workouts andother information. When employees collectively reacheda specific kilometer target by walking, running, cycling,etc., BSEMIA donated to 14 local cancer charities. In 2020,
employees moved for 1.2 million kilometers, resulting ina donation of 124,000 EUR.

To spread enthusiasm for Active and Healthy Lifestyles
via Olympic and Paralympic sports in Australia, BSCAP hosted
surfing, swimming and wheelchair tennis lessons for young
athletes. Forty surfers, 100 swimmers and 12 wheelchairtennis enthusiasts enjoyed lessons with well-known
athletes and Team Bridgestone members, surfer Connor
O’Leary, Olympic-hopeful swimmer Ariarne Titmus andParalympic wheelchair tennis medalist Heath Davidson.

58 | Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation | In Harmony with Communities

Also in 2020, a great deal of the Group’s efforts focused on
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In countries all acrossEurope, Asia, and North and South America, the BridgestoneGroup provided personal protective equipment (PPE) topeople and organizations. In Latin America, the U.S. andJapan, the Group also manufactured face shields and donatedthem to hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Overall, theBridgestone Group raised or donated 1.29 million USD for
global COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.
In May 2021, the Group committed to send 56 ventilators,
120 oxygen concentrators and 10,000 N-95 masks to India
through its global network in Japan, United States and Europe.
The Group and its employees helped in numerous otherways as well:•

Offering free, 24-hour emergency tire repair for healthcare
workers in Spain and France, crucial services for delivery
vehicles in South Africa, and sanitization of front line
workers’ vehicles in Ireland and all customers’ vehicles
in Thailand.

•

Providing NGO and fleet partners in India with food andother essentials for truck drivers stranded on highways.

•

Donating two cars, 100 blankets and bags for patients’belongings to a field hospital in Spain.

•

Supplying tires for emergency vehicles in Hungary, Mexico,
Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

•Collecting necessities for families in need in Costa Rica,
France, Germany, Italy and Mexico.

•

Partnering with Food Bank Singapore to host a food
donation campaign for those in need and providing newtires for the organization’s fleet of vehicles in Singapore.

•Sponsoring “Be Heroes Together” blood drives in Thailand
and Taiwan to boost supplies to fight the COVID-19
pandemic. More than 490 employees donated over
200,000 cc of blood.

•

Supporting seven hospitals, one school and Facultyof Medicine COVID-19 vaccination research efforts at
Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.

More information on ways the Bridgestone Group iscontributing to a safer society, supporting accessible andinclusive education and promoting healthier communities
is available online.

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Build Trust to Propagate Value Co-creation

Build Higher Trust
Build higher trust to make Bridgestone a preferred partner

The Bridgestone Group is engaged in a variety of sustainability initiatives to ensure
it is a partner of choice for its stakeholders now and in the future, including measures
to promote diversity and inclusion. Since its founding, the Group has been working torealize a symbiotic society in which diverse people respect and help each other, while
each individual lives well and healthy, utilizes his or her individuality, and achieves
self-fulfillment. In particular, in recent years, the Group has been working to solve
social issues facing the elderly and disabled through co-creation with local communities
and various partners.
MEMBERSHIP IN THE VALUABLE 500

The Bridgestone Group has joined The Valuable 500, a global
initiative launched at the World Economic Forum’s annual
meeting in Davos in January 2019. The Valuable 500 aims
to help business leaders transform their businesses andunlock the social and economic value of people living withdisabilities around the world. It gained the endorsementof the CEOs of 500 companies worldwide. The concept of
The Valuable 500, which respects diversity and promotes
inclusion, has much in common with the Group’s corporate
philosophy and is in line with the intended direction of its
Global Human Rights Policy and Our Way to Serve. The Groupwill continue to focus on creating work environments where
diversity is embraced and employees with disabilities caneasily demonstrate their abilities.

In addition, through its support of “Challenge for Tomorrow,”
an on-site class organized by the Nippon Foundation
Paralympic Support Center that invites para-athletes toschools to help teach about a symbiotic society, the Groupwill continue to encourage children’s learning by helping themunderstand respect for diversity and a symbiotic society.

SUPPORT FOR THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMESAs a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, theBridgestone Group promotes the spirit at the core of these
global movements, which seek to realize a better world
through sport and their commitment to diversity, inclusion,and equality. For example, the Group supports the Paralympic
Games by providing innovative equipment and solutions toaddress the challenges faced by para-athletes. Applying its
tire surface pattern development technology, the Group
worked with para-triathlete Yukako Hata to develop a rubbersole for a prosthetic running blade that is long-lasting andcan run on various surfaces with a stable grip.
Photo courtesy of the Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Center

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A MESSAGE FROM

Yoshikazu Shida
Vice President and Senior Officer
Seconded to Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
BSCAP Member of the Board, CEO
Chairman of Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
2020 was a year like no other and our hearts go out toall colleagues and members of the community affectedby the pandemic.
However, while the global pandemic captured headlines,
it was not the only crisis on hand. As part of Bridgestone’s
global CSR commitment, Our Way to Serve — specificallyin the People Priority Area — we rallied to support
our local communities suffering from other crises that
included natural disasters.
Our teammates have gone above and beyond indelivering social value to the best of their abilities. Last
year, we conducted blood donation drives in Thailand
and Taiwan, distributed food and soap packages tovillages in Indonesia that were facing supply shortages,
assisted firefighters in combatting the wildfire crises

in Australia and Thailand, built bridges in typhoon andflood-stricken areas in Vietnam, and supported ourown teammates who were impacted by the floods inIndonesia. We also conducted a food donation campaign
in Singapore, for distribution to needy families affectedby the pandemic. In total, Bridgestone contributed
over 1 million USD for COVID-19-related support, disaster
relief and community-related initiatives in the China andAsia Pacific region. For the former, we supplied medical
equipment and direct support to healthcare front-line
workers, and partnered with governments and NGOsin their efforts against the pandemic.
To contribute towards a better future, Bridgestone
will continue to constantly be in harmony with ourcommunities while we strive toward becoming asustainable solutions company.

EXTERNAL EVALUATION IN THE SUSTAINABILITY FIELD

The Bridgestone Group’s sustainability efforts have been highly evaluated externally.
•

Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index: Selected as a component of the Dow Jones
Sustainability Asia Pacific Index for the 11th consecutive year.

•

FTSE4Good Index Series: Selected as a constituent stock of the FTSE4Good Index Series forthe third consecutive year. The Group received full scores in all environmental areas (climatechange, pollution and resources, supply chain, and water security) for the first time.

•

STOXX Global ESG Leaders Index: Included in the STOXX Global ESG Leaders Index for thesecond consecutive year.

•

CDP: Selected for the “Climate Change A-List” for its outstanding efforts to address climatechange by proactively self-reporting environmental information.
- CDP Climate Change: A- CDP Water Security: A- CDP Supplier Engagement: A•

ISS ESG Corporate Rating: Designated as “Prime” for its advancements in ESG initiatives andinformation disclosure.

The Bridgestone Group will continue to take on the challenge of transforming social systems
through all of its corporate activities to contribute to the realization of a society in which all
people can live well within planetary boundaries.

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Management Fundamentals for
Value Creation
The Bridgestone Group believes that foundational initiatives are
essential to creating social and customer value. As a responsible
company, the Group is fulfilling its social responsibility byproactively responding to society’s expectations. Underpinningthese efforts are six Management Fundamentals and governancepractices that articulate the high expectations it has for operating
as a responsible business. The following pages detail the Group’s
work within each Management Fundamental.

Contents
Compliance, Fair Competition. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 63–64

Procurement .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 69

Business Continuity (BCP),
Risk Management .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 65–66

Topic: Sustainable Procurement of
Natural Rubber .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 70–71

Human Rights, Labor Practices .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 67

Quality and Customer Value .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 72

Safety, Industrial Hygiene. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 68

Management Fundamentals for Value Creation

Compliance, Fair Competition
MISSION

Ensure excellence through compliance and integrity
We build trust with all stakeholders by ensuring that ethical decision-making guides
responsible business practices across our operations.
As the Bridgestone Group works around the world to fulfill its
vision of “continuing to provide social and customer value as asustainable solutions company toward 2050,” it is imperativethat it does so with the integrity expected of a leading global
business. That is why the Group is working toward its longterm goal of achieving a best-in-class compliance program.
One important aspect of compliance is the global Code of
Conduct that provides guidance to employees, suppliersand contractors for handling ethical issues such as anticorruption, competition/antitrust, conflicts of interest,
political contributions and charitable donations. The Group
strives to communicate with all employees around theworld and provide training (including in-person, virtual ande-learning formats) on a regular basis about the importanceof the global Code of Conduct and how it relates to each
employee’s role.

Global Anti-Bribery Program
To further clarify its expectations of all employees andthird-parties acting on its behalf, the Bridgestone Group
introduced its Global Anti-Bribery Policy in 2020. The policy
reinforces the Bridgestone Group’s longstanding policy
against bribery and corruption and represents anothersignificant milestone in its global compliance program.
The Global Anti-Bribery Policy was launched via live andonline trainings in each region. The policy provides that
“Bridgestone strictly prohibits all forms of bribery” andapplies to employees of the Bridgestone Group companies
across the globe, including joint ventures that it controls,
and third parties acting on the Group’s behalf. Where theGroup participates in but does not control a joint-venture
relationship, it encourages partners to adopt similar
requirements and abide by the principles of this Policy intheir own operations.
The Bridgestone Group also recognizes the bribery risks thatexist in working with third parties and conducts due diligenceon third parties it engages. In 2020, the Bridgestone Groupbolstered its compliance due diligence program with theintroduction of a new, third-party management system tohelp identify bribery and trade-compliance risks presented
by third parties with which the Group works. This supports

63 | Management Fundamentals for Value Creation | Compliance, Fair Competition

the rollout of the Global Anti-Bribery Policy, and the tool andpolicy together help to significantly strengthen the Group’s
global anti-bribery program.

Ensuring compliance is prioritized
The Bridgestone Group’s compliance program is built upon
five key elements:
1.	 Leadership, including engaging leaders, managers andsupervisors on compliance to ensure employees act
with integrity in everything they do.
2.	 Risk assessment, including taking a risk-based approachin designing the ethics and compliance program.
3.	 Standards and controls, including the Code of Conduct,
Global Anti-Bribery Policy and other global and regional
standards and controls.
4.	 Training and communication, including e-learning,in-person and other trainings that are risk-based anddesigned for targeted audiences.
5.	 Monitoring and responding, including providing multiple
channels for employees and others to report allegationsof misconduct or wrongdoing.
Across the enterprise and with all employees, the BridgestoneGroup is simultaneously pursuing multiple channels to ensurecompliance. For example:•

It hosted Regional Ethics and Compliance Advisory Panels
featuring leaders from different parts of the business
who encouraged employees to regularly address theimportance of ethics and compliance with their teams.

•

The Group’s operation in Japan conducted a surveyof more than 10,000 employees to measure overall
knowledge and secure feedback on the Complianceprogram, the Code of Conduct, the Global Anti-Bribery
Policy and the different resources available for sharing
concerns.

•

In Europe, Middle East, India and Africa, the Grouplaunched its first-ever Integrity Day in November 2020
with 37 compliance-related events involving more than
3,000 employees.

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

••In the China Asia Pacific region, the Group launched aregional conflicts of interest policy via multiple training
events and held a variety of Integrity Day events.
The Group’s Americas operation was named an honoree
for Convercent’s Compliance Innovation Award for its
sixth annual Ethics and Compliance Week. Activities
included a leadership discussion on compliance attended
by 1,100 participants, Leading with Integrity Awards
and the Bridgestone Compliance Battle Royale
gamification training.

Reporting concerns
As set forth in its Code of Conduct, the compliance programprovides multiple channels for employees and others toreport allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing, including
through an employee’s supervisor, Human Resources, theregional Chief Compliance Officer, the Law Department,Internal Audit, and the BridgeLine ethics hotline.
The BridgeLine is a web-based reporting system andphone hotline operated by third-party specialists that allow
employees and others to confidentially and anonymously
report suspected violations of the Bridgestone Code of
Conduct or other ethical concerns and questions. The
BridgeLine is available in multiple languages in all
Bridgestone Group companies. Each report is thoroughly
investigated, and information is regularly provided to
the Boards of Directors of Bridgestone Corporation andeach of its significant subsidiaries around the world.
More information on the Bridgestone Group’s global ethics
and compliance program is available online.

Our Approach to Tax
The taxes the Bridgestone Group pays are an
important part of its broader economic and social
impact and play a key role in the development of
the communities in which it operates. The Group
regards taxes as a cornerstone of its commitment
to grow in a sustainable, socially responsible
way. The Group introduced a Global Tax Policy toemployees responsible for corporate taxes with
the intent to improve penetration throughout theorganization. The Tax Policy will be used as a guideas it strengthens its governance to align withsociety’s expectations of responsible companies.

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Management Fundamentals for Value Creation

Business Continuity (BCP), Risk Management
MISSION

Prevent and mitigate operational risks
We anticipate, prevent and mitigate risk, and when crises arise, we protect our people,
property and profits.
To achieve its vision of providing social and customer value,
the continuity of business operations and safety and securityof employees are top priorities of the Bridgestone Group.
By anticipating, mitigating and appropriately managing
potential risks, the Group positively impacts business successwhile also protecting employees. To advance this knowledgeorganization-wide, the Group conducts regular trainings andfrequently reviews risk management and business continuity
plans and controls.

The Group also regularly reviews and updates its global risk
identification process to more effectively and efficiently
identify and mitigate global risks. This information, alongwith best practices, is shared with all SBUs around the world
to further improve processes. Information also is sharedwith employees, so they understand how their actions best
contribute to preventing and mitigating operational risks.

Managing risk across the enterprise

In 2020, the Group leveraged the unified, global crisis
management and business continuity approach it previously
developed to ensure it effectively responded to the COVID-19
pandemic. This approach included sharing best practices
that helped drive consistent responses to challenges theorganization faced in locations around the world.

The Bridgestone Group divides risks into two broad
categories: business strategic risk directly related to therealization of the Mid-Long Term Business Strategy, andoperational risks related to daily operations. These risks are
guided by ISO 31000:2018, the international standard for risk
management, and fall into the following four main areas:•

Occupational safety•

Environmental protection•

Sustainable operations and supplies•

Ethics and complianceMore information on each of these categories is available
in the Group’s Annual Report.
The Bridgestone Group initiates an annual, Group-wide
process to identify potential business risks facing each
Strategic Business Unit (SBU) and the overall organization.
Once risks are identified, the Group names individuals
responsible for driving risk mitigation and management
activities at the department and SBU levels. These people
focus on advancing the concept of autonomous andcontinuous improvement, and ensure effectivenessby establishing and promoting a risk-audit system.

Global risk identification

To identify its cybersecurity risk, the Group conducted thefirst assessment on its IT digital maturity in 2020. The
Group also continued to strengthen IT security organizationwide with e-learning programs for employees that addressed
email and other technologies. To raise awareness of IT
security among employees, the Group also regularly
conducts internal audits.
Moving forward, the Bridgestone Group will focus on
instituting a management system for addressing climatechange risks, as part of its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy.
It also will continue to address ongoing cybersecurity andcrisis management, as well as BCP framework improvements.

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Sustainability Report 2020–2021

BCP/Crisis management systembusiness operations and can transfer decision-making
and execution of event response and operations to a nonimpacted team, as necessary.

A prompt initial response is essential for business continuity.
In preparing for this response, the Bridgestone Group gives
top priority to ensuring life and safety, minimizing businesslosses, and anticipating business-impacting events that may
occur in the supply chain.

In 2020, a crisis management committee comprised of the
Global CEO, Global COO and key management was established
to review emerging information on various changes associatedwith the COVID-19 pandemic and make swift decisions toprotect employees’ health and safety and minimize businesslosses. This approach included sharing best practices
that helped drive consistent responses to challenges theorganization faced in locations around the world.

To achieve an early crisis recovery, it has established atiered response system based on the specific crisis situation,
and a system of countermeasures and protocols to addresseach situation. The Group’s approach enables prompt initial
response in the event of an emergency and immediate steps
toward early recovering and business continuity. Instrumental
to the Group’s success is a commitment to understanding
past experiences for continuous improvement in futurefocused plans.

Going forward, the Bridgestone Group will continue improving
its operational framework to strengthen risk management,
crisis management and BCP.
More information on the Bridgestone Group’s approach toBusiness Continuity and Risk Management is available online.

In addition, even in the event of a large-scale natural disasteror industrial accident, the Group is prepared to maintain

Climate Change Risk Management and Response to TCFD

The Bridgestone Group supports the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosure (TCFD) and its recommendations, and is working to address and disclose
climate change risks and opportunities identified in line with the TCFD framework.
The Group formulated a medium- to long-term strategy
towards carbon neutral in light of the climate-related risks
and opportunities. For strategy, the Group is working to
reduce transition risks (see pages 45-48) through climatechange mitigation actions, such as reducing greenhousegas emissions, while at the same time working to
reduce physical risks through adaptive measures, suchas diversifying natural rubber supply sources.

PHYSICAL RISKS

TRANSITION RISKS•

The risks include stronger typhoons and increased
frequency of flooding and drought, which pose
the risk of interrupting business activities••

The risks related to the procurement of raw
materials as a result of changing rainfall patterns
leading to poor harvesting of natural rubber•

The risk of lowering demand for winter tires
due to snowfall reduction

The risk of adverse effects on the Companies’
operating results and financial position, such as
limitations on business activities and increased
costs, in the event that the R&D expenses required
to meet the changing needs of clients and customers
do not produce sufficient results when systems
and regulations related to carbon taxes, reduction
obligations for CO2 emissions, emissions trading,and fuel-efficient tires, etc. are introduced.

The disclosure information recommended by TCFD is available online: TCFD Index / Annual Report66 | Management Fundamentals for Value Creation | Business Continuity (BCP), Risk Management

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Management Fundamentals for Value Creation

Human Rights, Labor Practices
MISSION

Advancing fundamental human rights and responsible
labor practices
We will foster an inclusive culture in which all Bridgestone entities and locations
adopt and apply ethical labor practices, build trust with our teammates, and model
our respect for diversity and fundamental human rights.
As part of its commitment to be a true global leader, theBridgestone Group is committed to advancing fundamental
human rights and responsible labor practices throughout its
worldwide operations. In addition to being the right thing
to do, this commitment enhances job satisfaction and pridefor employees, which is critical to the long-term, sustainablesuccess of its business.
The Bridgestone Group’s Global Human Rights Policy guides
the organization as it strives to uphold fundamental humanrights principles through interactions with employees,
consumers, customers, suppliers, contractors and community
members wherever the Group conducts business.
The Policy respects international norms including thosereflected in the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the United Nations Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights, various International Labor
Organization conventions and other globally recognized
standards.
The Bridgestone Group’s Global Human Rights Policy also
closely aligns with its global Code of Conduct and Global
Sustainable Procurement Policy. Since the policies wereintroduced in 2018, the group has trained more than 84,000
employees, 92.9% of its target audience, on these important
guiding principles.
The Bridgestone Group’s cross-regional Human Rights andLabor Practices Working Group is collaborating with the
Sustainable Procurement Working Group and the global
sustainability team to develop human rights-specific content
as part of a holistic global due-diligence and risk-assessment
process. The process is being designed to help build
awareness of specific contexts and causes of human rights
concerns, to understand the relationship between businessactivities and human rights implications, and to forge a
deeper understanding of the importance of human rights
across the value chain.

67 | Management Fundamentals for Value Creation | Human Rights, Labor Practices

In 2020, as part of its exploration of a comprehensive duediligence program, the Bridgestone Group conducted an
exploratory human rights assessment at the P.T. Bridgestone
Sumatra Rubber Estate in Indonesia with Caux Round Table,
an independent third-party organization, to evaluate
potential assessment methodologies. These pilot learnings
are informing and accelerating efforts to develop optimal
human rights content to be included in the Group’s holistic
due-diligence approach.

Ensuring the safety and promoting thedevelopment of employees
In 2020, the Bridgestone Group and its strategic business
units (SBUs) quickly deployed policies and practices toprotect the safety and security of employees around theworld as the business environment shifted rapidly during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
On an ongoing basis, the Group also conducts education
programs to help develop key talent with the ability to
guide and support the global organization. The BridgestoneGroup has invested significantly in programs to develop
next-generation business leaders to ensure that it has thebest talent available to guide the business in the future.
More information on the Bridgestone Group’s Human Rights
and Labor Practices is available online.

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Management Fundamentals for Value Creation

Safety, Industrial Hygiene
MISSION

Safety First, Always
At Bridgestone, we make safety a business value. Creating a safe working place for all
is everyone’s responsibility. We promote safety activities throughout the value chain.
The Bridgestone Safety Mission Statement applies not only
to employees, but also to contractors and visitors. In every
Bridgestone Group operation around the world, the Safety
Mission Statement is prominently displayed for employees,
contractors and visitors to see. Through leadership, training
and other educational approaches, the Group strives tocontinue to grow and ensure all employees embody the
Safety Mission Statement.

As part of its safety mission, the Group is deploying
innovations to best assess and visualize enterprise safety
maturity in all regions. Doing so will help it accelerate
safety maturity across the organization. A key part of thisworkstream is the development of a digital platform thatallows employees to evaluate the implementation status
and activity results of safety-related projects at any time.

The Bridgestone Group aims to mitigate and control all workrelated injury risks. In an effort to achieve this goal, the Grouphas established an internal global safety management system
in reference to ISO 45001 and national standards/regulations.
It also created global standards on occupational health andsafety, as well as disaster prevention. In 2020, it developed
the nine standards mentioned below. Today, the Group has
28 global standards being introduced at all sites across theorganization.

Safety Performance

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Management of change
Communication
Emergency preparation and response
Safety training
Near miss, hidden danger report system
Handling large tires
Motor vehicle safety
Chemicals
Ergonomics

In 2020, across the Bridgestone Group, there were 12
serious injuries¹ and no fatalities among employees at its
4,691 production and logistics sites and retail shops.
Global lost-time injury frequency rates² were 2.57 for
employees. The rate for contractors, which the Groupalso works hard to protect, was 2.31.
The Bridgestone Group’s safety-related data is verified by
Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, a third-party organization,
to ensure the accuracy and transparency of this information.
More information on the Bridgestone Group’s global Safety
and Industrial Hygiene initiatives is available online.

Foundation for all areas of the business
As the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the Bridgestone Groupdeveloped a risk assessment method regarding COVID-19
and deployed it globally. In this way, the Group carried out
safe business operations and provided a stable productsupply to customers.
Also in 2020, the Group began developing common global
requirements that each department should implement toensure safety, prevent disasters and protect the environment.
The Group also is in the process of expanding safety-risk
assessments beyond equipment to include work performed
in production, sales and warehouse locations. Future efforts
will include new technology to improve worker safety, suchas human detection in hazardous areas.
		 The Bridgestone Group defines serious injuries as amputation (except some first joints of finger or toe), complete loss of vision, fracture (excluding finger, toe, foot, hand or infracture) or
hospitalization of more than one month.
Lost-time injury frequency rate = (number of lost-time injuries/total working hours) x 1,000,000.

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Management Fundamentals for Value Creation

Procurement
MISSION

Create value to society through sustainable procurement practices
We are committed to creating value and continually working towards a sustainable
society to realize long-term environmental, social and economic benefits by incorporating
the following into the supply chain:
1.	Transparency

3.	Quality, cost, delivery (QCD) and innovation

2.	Compliance

4.	Sustainable procurement practices

The Bridgestone Group’s sustainable procurement initiatives
create long-term environmental, social and economic benefits
for stakeholders across its supply chain. This work is guided
by its Global Sustainable Procurement Policy that aligns with
the Group’s goal of using 100% sustainable materials1 by
2050 and beyond. The policy helps identify and evaluate
qualified suppliers, promote best practices and serves as acommunication and improvement tool for the industry.

The Bridgestone Group’s goal is to increase EcoVadis
assessments from 89% as of April 2021 to 95% or more ofits spend basis for the Group’s Tire 1 tire-direct material
suppliers by 2023.

To align with stakeholder expectations, including the Global
Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) Policy
Components that were approved in September 2020, theGroup will revise its Global Sustainable Procurement Policy
within 2021. One of the main revisions is the expectationthat suppliers promote a carbon-neutral supply chain. This
expectation mirrors the Group’s December 2020 update to its
long-term environmental target of achieving a carbon-neutral
state by 2050 and beyond, along with its target of reducing
total CO2 emissions by 50%2 by 2030. The Group also includes
new requirements for the enhancement of environmentally
responsible procurement and respect for human rights.

Ensuring compliance
To monitor compliance with its Global Sustainable
Procurement Policy, the Bridgestone Group works with
EcoVadis to conduct enhanced ESG risk assessments of new
and existing major Tier 1 suppliers to its tire business. As of
April 2021, 60% the Group’s Tire 1 tire-direct material suppliers
completed the third-party assessment with EcoVadis. Of
suppliers who were reviewed, 64% scored an overall averageof 45 or higher, which indicates a commitment to Sustainable
Procurement Practices.

The Bridgestone Group also conducts sustainableprocurement seminars in all business regions to help
suppliers improve their ESG activities, based on the resultsof the EcoVadis ESG risk assessment. In 2019, 65 suppliers
attended the seminars in Japan.

Tracing conflict minerals
The Bridgestone Group’s Sustainable Procurement Policy
covers all materials, including conflict minerals (tin, tungsten,tantalum and gold) and cobalt extracted in conflict areas suchas the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and adjoining
countries. The Group conducts risk assessments across its
supply chain using the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template(CMRT) and the Cobalt Reporting Template (CRT) compiled by
the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) alliance consisting ofover 380 global corporations and organizations. BridgestoneGroup suppliers whose products potentially contain conflictminerals are required to complete and submit the CMRT and
CRT annually.
Additionally, the Group has traced 100% of the smeltersfrom which it sources tire-product materials globally. All arecompliant with the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process(RMAP), which is certified by RMI.
More information on the Group’s procurement practices isavailable online.

		 The Bridgestone Group defines sustainable materials as materials "1) that come from resources with a 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."
		 Baseline year: 2011.

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Topic: Sustainable Procurement of Natural Rubber

As a leading company in the tire and rubber industry, the Bridgestone Group is
focused on continually meeting the increasing global demand for natural rubber,while also addressing the environmental and social risks arising from this expansion.
This is why it is focusing on the sustainable procurementof natural rubber. In doing so, the Group is addressing
environmental stewardship practices, respect for humanrights, support of fair labor practices and increasedtransparency, all of which are outlined in its Global
Sustainable Procurement Policy.

Worldwide, it has donated 5.6 million budded stumps valued at
2 million USD. In addition, the Bridgestone Group uses genome
data to improve breeding technologies and growing methods
to make rubber trees more resilient and productive.

To prevent deforestation by all practicable means, theGroup’s sourcing and production activities protect andrestore primary forests, as well as High Conservation Value(HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) areas that are criticalto addressing climate change and preserving wildlife.

In Southeast Asia, where over 90% of the world’s rubber
tree plantations are concentrated, white root rot disease isworsening, killing trees by infecting and rotting their roots.
It can be difficult to detect, especially in the early stages whentreatment is more successful. The Bridgestone Group has
developed techniques to diagnose the disease early using
satellite imaging and DNA testing, and by examining leaf
colors and temperatures.

Natural rubber is a renewable resource that provides
livelihood opportunities for millions of people aroundthe world. The natural rubber economy is massive but
fragmented, consisting of many complicated layers of
raw material dealers, processing plants, rubber productmanufacturers and smallholder farmers. While a key
ingredient in many products, 70% of the world’s natural
rubber consumption is used in tire production. Most of
this is grown by farmers in Southeast Asia, where rubber
trees are planted on small farms and large plantations.
Globally, farming of rubber trees provides employment
for more than 6 million people.
To improve traceability and sustainability along thecomplex natural rubber supply chain, the BridgestoneGroup introduced new KPIs on natural rubber traceability.
The Group is committed to collecting 100% of its natural
rubber sourcing information from direct suppliersby 2023.
SEEDING SUCCESS TO SMALLHOLDERS

Nearly all of the world’s natural rubber is derived from Hevea
brasiliensis, a type of rubber tree found primarily in the rain
forests of West Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.
These forests risk depletion, so to offset its footprint in theseregions, the Bridgestone Group provides Hevea rubber trees
to smallholders. The Group also provides these smallholders
with technical training and productivity-improvement
techniques developed on its own rubber farms. Since 2005,
the Group has provided more than 370,000 saplings tofarmers in Indonesia alone.

70 | Topic: Sustainable Procurement of Natural Rubber

FIGHTING AGAINST RUBBER TREE DISEASESUPPORTING RUBBER GROWING COMMUNITIES

Being respectful of local rubber farmers and smallholders is
critical to the Bridgestone Group’s commitment to protecting
the environment while creating value for the communities
where it operates. These efforts help protect the people andplaces the Group relies on.
On its farms, the Bridgestone Group ensures access to safe
and clean water; provides free medical care; operates 26
free schools from kindergarten to 12th grade and employs
more than 350 teachers; and has introduced renewableenergy sources for sustainable and affordable access tolighting and energy.
To help independent smallholder farmers, the BridgestoneGroup hosts Seeding Success to Smallholders workshops inSoutheast Asia, providing technical training and productivityimprovement techniques developed on its own farms. In 2018and 2019, hundreds of smallholders participated in sessions
to learn techniques such as how to grow quality rubber trees,
replanting trees, preventing disease and best practices fortapping trees.

CO-CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

The Bridgestone Group is proud of its sustainability progress
but improvements at scale will be achieved through industrywide collaboration. That’s why the Group and other global

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Topic: Sustainable Procurement of Natural Rubber

tire companies launched the Global Platform for Sustainable
Natural Rubber (GPSNR), to transform the industry for the
better. As a member of the GPSNR Executive Committee,
the Bridgestone Group actively drives discussions amongrubber suppliers, automakers, NGOs, smallholder farmers
and tire companies. GPSNR members are working together
to improve respect for human rights, prevent land-grabbing
and deforestation, protect biodiversity and water resources,
improve yields, and increase supply chain transparency andtraceability.
More information on the Bridgestone Group’s commitment
to sustainable natural rubber is available on its Bridgestone
Sustainability Journey microsite.

A MESSAGE FROM

Sadayoshi Tobai
Chief Executive Officer, WWF Japan
Establishing GPSNR in 2018 as a place for discussion
among various stakeholders was a major step forward
towards sustainability of natural rubber, and WWF
has been involved in many of the discussions eversince. Yet, ensuring supply chain transparency andsustainability, and the equitable sharing of thecosts for sustainability throughout the supply chain,remain today’s big challenges.
It is urgently important for GPSNR and its members
to deliver positive impact on producing areas.
Thus, WWF is pleased to start a joint effort with
Bridgestone on the development of a due diligenceprocess to uphold human rights and safeguard
the environment, in addition to supporting thesmallholders who account for the majority of rubber
production. As multi-stakeholder discussions at the
global level and best practices at the production levelare equally essential, WWF expects Bridgestone toshow the leadership in both areas.

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Management Fundamentals for Value Creation

Quality and Customer ValueMISSION

Creating customer value and trust
We are leveraging on a global framework in collaboration with all related Bridgestone entities
and stakeholders to proactively identify, prioritize and address customer quality issues in
keeping with the intentions of our founder to “Serve Society with Superior Quality.”
Quality is essential for the safety and satisfaction ofcustomers. The Bridgestone Group established the Quality
Mission Statement to engage every employee in contributing
to building quality products, services and solutions thatexceed customers’ expectations through innovation and
Kaizen (continuous improvement).
The Quality Mission Statement enables the future directionof the Bridgestone Group and its leadership, based on thespirit of founder Shojiro Ishibashi, by advancing the Group’s
proud heritage of quality and commitment to continuous
improvements.
Through employee engagement with continuous
improvement and innovation, the Bridgestone Group strives
to apply the principles of excellence to achieve superior
quality across all businesses globally and throughout
the entire value chain. To further pursue this aim, in 2017,
the Bridgestone Group established the Global Quality
Management Committee to strengthen global governanceto enhance the consistent deployment of the Quality Mission
Statement across all SBUs.

Quality Assurance Under the COVID-19
Pandemic
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect business,
special attention was paid to addressing quality assurance,
given the necessity to adapt operations and apply preventive
measures to protect teammates and prevent the spreadof infection.

and growth for over 50 years. Employees from all over
the world, who have passed rigorous regional qualifiers,
have gathered at a global TQM conference for sharing bestpractices every year since 2010.
However, in 2020 during the pandemic, the Group shifted
to using a variety of technologies such as remote work andweb conferencing to share details on various TQM activities
as it continued to increase employees’ awareness of theimportance of quality.

Construction development and operationof the Solution Business Management
Guideline to realize Bridgestone T&DPaaS
In 2020, the Bridgestone Group developed the Solution
Business Management Guideline to enable Bridgestone
T&DPaaS and support the Group’s journey to become asustainable solutions company. The guideline will lead to theestablishment of strong quality management systems in eachbusiness unit at the global level to enhance value creation
along the development and operation process for the solution
business model. Through the Guideline, the BridgestoneGroup aims to continuously enhance value to customers andsociety in alignment with its strategy.
More information on the Bridgestone Group’s Quality andCustomer Value activities is available online.

Keeping in mind the Bridgestone Group’s priority to deliversafe and high-value products, services and solutions tocustomers, a global initiative was launched to ensure thathigh-quality standards were maintained. The Group also
adjusted production volumes and resources to adapt tothe variable market demand.

Bridgestone’s DNA, TQM activity
The Bridgestone Group’s long-standing TQM (Total Quality
Management) activities are essential to support its unique,core solutions platform, “Bridgestone T&DPaaS.” TQM
activities have been incorporated into the Group’s culture

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Corporate Governance (Roundtable with Independent Directors)

Building Trust for Value Co-Creation: Achieving Further Objectivity and Transparency

PARTICIPANTS (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT)

Kenichi Masuda Independent Director, Chairperson of the Nominating Committee, Chairperson of the Compliance Committee
Yuri Okina, Ph.D. Independent Director, Chairperson of the Compensation Committee
Kenzo Yamamoto Independent Director, Chairperson of the Audit Committee
Scott Trevor Davis, Ph.D. Independent Director, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Chairperson of the Governance Committee

1. Transformation of Bridgestone’s
governance
Dr. Scott Davis: It has been five years since Bridgestonetransitioned to the “Company with a Nominating Committee,etc.” model of corporate governance in March 2016. I’d liketo take this opportunity to discuss the transformation of theBridgestone Group’s corporate governance by taking anotherlook at how its governance has changed over the years, what
it has been aiming for, why it has been important, and what
efforts have been made to achieve such changes.
In my view, one of the most significant changes since
becoming a company with a Nominating Committee is thatthe Board of Corporate Auditors became the Audit Committee.
Mr. Yamamoto, what are your impressions looking back on thepast five years?

Scott Trevor Davis, Ph.D.
Independent Director, Chairperson of the Board of
Directors, Chairperson of the Governance Committee

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1.1 Audit Committee: Strengthening
checks and balances functions

Kenzo Yamamoto
Independent Director, Chairpersonof the Audit Committee

Kenzo Yamamoto: It has been three years since I was
appointed Chairperson of the Audit Committee. First of all,I recognize that Bridgestone has raised its own bar throughongoing organizational reform since adopting the Company
with a Nominating Committee, etc. model in 2016. One of
the themes of the Audit Committee was to further improvethe conventional audits that mainly focused on complianceand risk, and to further strengthen the management audit
perspective. In particular, how are the control functions
away from the work floor, such as quality control, safetyand disaster prevention, environment, human resources
and labor management, controlling the entire organization
in a cross-sectional fashion? In other words, we havebeen strengthening audits from the perspective of how
to formulate a common global, foundational policy, how
this is implemented on the front lines, and how the control
functions monitor it.
The second point I would like to highlight is the global
coordination of auditing. This is being strengthened throughthe processes of the operating divisions in charge of businessexecution globalizing their organizations so that Bridgestone
becomes an even more global company. We also haveenhanced connections with the audit committees of BSAM,
BSEMIA, and BSCAP as part of the Audit Committee’s own
global transformation. Furthermore, our accounting auditors
also are expanding their activities globally, and as a result,
we in Japan have been able to forge stronger links to themthrough global meetings with accounting auditors in eachregional location.
As for our future policies, I would like to emphasize how
the new structure will function in the process of further
organizational reforms within the Group, in line with the
Mid Term Business Plan.
I think there are still many issues to be addressed. For
example, sustainability in some areas requires technologicaldevelopment, and enhancing disclosure is required in others.
Bridgestone’s journey is continuing, and I would like to follow
along each step of it from an auditing perspective.

74 | Corporate Governance (Roundtable with Independent Directors)

Davis: Before the transition to a Company with a Nominating
Committee, etc., your position was to oversee Bridgestone
as an auditor who participated in board meetings, but did nothave the voting rights of a director. After the transition, youbecame a member of the Audit Committee as a member ofthe Board of Directors, which was a big change. How has thischanged the capabilities or perspectives of the audit function?
Yamamoto: Information is now being gathered from boththe Board of Directors and the Audit departments. At theboard meetings, we receive input from operating divisions,while at the Audit Committee meetings, we hear from the
Audit Department. This approach has deepened our overall
understanding. In a sense, I also am a member of the Audit
Committee as a director. I feel that a healthy tension between
execution and management and between execution andindependent directors has been fortified, such that it is now
possible to oversee from multiple perspectives and in a more
holistic manner.

1.2 Compensation Committee: Exploring
compensation to drive the creation ofsocial value
Davis: Dr. Okina, as the Chairperson of the Compensation
Committee, you are asked to meet with people in key
positions in Japan and around the world to lead discussions
with management on how to plan and implement incentives.
Looking back over the past five years, what have been the
biggest changes you have seen?
Dr. Yuri Okina: Now that Bridgestone is a Company witha Nominating Committee, etc., I feel that the roles of theNominating Committee, Compensation Committee and othercommittees are becoming very important. Discussions in theCompensation Committee have naturally focused on how todesign incentives. Such discussions are a constant work inprogress, but in the initial stages we introduced a numberof innovations, such as successfully changing the weightingsin variable compensation, transitioning the stock option
system to a Performance Share Unit system, and rewarding
behavior that is linked to long-term corporate value growth.
We will persistently continue with such discussions as
we face unprecedented challenges precipitated by the
COVID-19 pandemic.

Yuri Okina, Ph.D.
Independent Director, Chairpersonof the Compensation Committee

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Corporate Governance (Roundtable with Independent Directors)

Building Trust for Value Co-Creation: Achieving Further Objectivity and Transparency
Davis: Do you mean that when you think about theoverall compensation package, in addition to reflecting
quantitative performance in the incentives, you also
consider behaviors that are difficult to quantify but are very
valuable in terms of contributions to society and response
to environmental issues?
Okina: Yes, that’s correct. The Bridgestone Group, led
by Global CEO Shu Ishibashi, is undergoing a corporatetransformation amid the challenges brought on by the
COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of managing the company
to address major social issues. Bridgestone also is highly
regarded for explaining its initiatives to investors and otherexternal stakeholders in an easy-to-understand manner.
As such, sustainability is a major consideration in theCompensation Committee’s discussions.
In my opinion, environment (E) and social (S), especiallydiversity, are very important within ESG. The environmental
agenda has been addressed to a great extent, but there are
growing expectations for circular business models, a shift
to renewable energy in production, and support for electricvehicles. As for the social aspect, I think we need to work on
both fronts: what kind of value we can provide to society
and how we can ensure diversity within the Group.
In the face of widening inequity, we need to challenge
ourselves first to think about what kind of contribution
we can make to society as a global company. To make themost of its diverse talents, I hope Bridgestone will become
a company where young people can play an increasingly
active role, regardless of their backgrounds or genders.

1.3 Nominating Committee:
Continuing to select Board membersthat we can be proud of and trust
Davis: The Group operates globally, and we have people
with different skills in different places. While it is importantto respond to the different objectives and considerationsof each region individually, I think it also is vital to createsynergies across the entire Group. What has been doneby the Nominating Committee in terms of appointing thetalent to key positions to move this process forward?

75 | Corporate Governance (Roundtable with Independent Directors)

Kenichi Masuda
Independent Director,
Chairperson of the Nominating
Committee, Chairperson of theCompliance Committee

Kenichi Masuda: In the early days of the transition to a
Company with a Nominating Committee, etc., I think thatboth corporate and independent directors conceptually
understood what a company with committees was, but
not in actual practice. When Bridgestone was a company
with a Board of Corporate Auditors, I felt that the Boardof Directors, as the highest decision-making body forbusiness execution, was focused on issuing messages
to the executive officers and employees at the time, andI think that was only natural. However, when it becamea Company with a Nominating Committee, etc., theBoard of Directors took a major step forward as a socalled monitoring model. Yet at first, I do not think wenecessarily shed our old habits. However, now it has
become quite common for everyone who participatesin the board meetings, both inside and outside thecompany, to cooperate and share their opinions, and forindependent or non-executive directors to monitor thebusiness operations through interviews or Q&A sessions.
Going forward, the Nominating Committee will continue
to select suitable members for the Board of Directors. And
I think it is important that these members be perceived as
appropriate by shareholders, investors and others outside
the company. I also would like to promote the selectionof board members who Bridgestone employees can beproud of and trust.
Davis: It seems that you have been thinking about theideal form of governance and management quality for
the Group as a whole, while working to promote everstronger governance going forward in accordance with
the Bridgestone way.
Masuda: Of course, some initiatives were driven by
regulatory requirements, but I think we have been able
to bring those into a good form of governance in the
Bridgestone style over the past five years, and I personallyhave been working to contribute to that.

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

2. A year after the Third Founding
Davis: Last year, Global CEO Shu Ishibashi delivered a very
compelling and powerful message about the Bridgestone
3.0 journey. He discussed evolving through transformation,
retaining what was good about the past while nothesitating to make changes and introduce new ideas where
necessary. I think the first year was a very meaningful start
to this journey. How would you evaluate this last year?
Yamamoto: Bridgestone 3.0 has been a hugetransformation, and I think it is very meaningful that thecompany has come to view sustainability and the circular
economy as its own issues and has clearly formulated its
own policies to address these issues. To me, a sustainable
society is one that balances the activities of nature withthe degree to which we can control the risks we create.
While many companies tend to separate business andCO2 reduction and think of them as separate things to beachieved, I think it is excellent that the Group is thinking
about the circular economy in the context of its business,and that all employees are moving forward with a clear
understanding of the issues. Now that Bridgestone
is actively balancing social value and customer value
as an integral part of its framework, it is much easierfor employees to work toward these goals and for its
stakeholders to understand.
Okina: That’s exactly right. I also would like to mention
Bridgestone’s success in formulating a policy of taking
firm measures to deal with various issues in its businessportfolio. It is very important to analyze the overall pictureof the business portfolio and link it to future policies andstrategies. And, as an independent director, I would like tosupport the company in addressing these issues.

76 | Corporate Governance (Roundtable with Independent Directors)

Davis: The management team’s discussions of the group’sbusiness portfolio places due emphasis on enhancing“earning power,” while at the same time includes a story ofmobility as the next growth business, as a pillar for a better
society created through mobility solutions, and a dimension
where the environment and the economy can do more thancoexist but also create synergies. Could you share yourthoughts on this?
Okina: It’s clear how to become a “sustainable solutions
company” will be a major topic of discussion for the
Bridgestone Group. Due partly to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic, I think it is becoming more important
than ever for companies to consider what kind of social
value they can provide as social entities. The Global CEO
himself is addressing this timely topic, and I trust that he isthinking of a new business model that includes the values of
how to become a company that can contribute to society. I
strongly support such efforts.
Masuda: I also think Bridgestone 3.0 is a great visionbecause it has very clear goals and messages that
Bridgestone is going to create both social and customer
value. The Bridgestone 3.0 journey has been a challenging
one when looked at as a business during a single fiscal year.
Yet, I think it was a good start for the Global CEO and all
employees to work together, heading in the same direction.
I’m excited to see these efforts continue

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Corporate Governance (Roundtable with Independent Directors)

Building Trust for Value Co-Creation: Achieving Further Objectivity and Transparency
3. Bridgestone’s true colors under the
COVID-19 pandemic
Davis: It is said that it is better to observe how people
perform during times of crisis rather than to evaluate
them during good times when everything is runningsmoothly. In this sense, the COVID-19 pandemic obviously
qualifies as a crisis. As it has worked to prevent the spreadof the pandemic and mitigate its effects, what sort of anorganization do you think Bridgestone has shown itself to
be given the myriad knock-on effects it has encounteredduring this crisis?
Okina: I believe that people’s mindsets have definitelychanged with the COVID-19 pandemic. As their senseof values and what they look for in a company change
drastically through stay-at-home and remote working, itappears that the transition to what’s called “stakeholder
capitalism” is underway. I feel the Global CEO and otherexecutives are closely monitoring this trend and are acting
accordingly. I think this is reflected in the transformations
seen in work styles and human resources management.
Masuda: As the nature of mobility in our society itself isbeing reevaluated, I expect the way cars are made and what
is required of them to also change. This will, in turn, require a
new way of looking at tires. I am confident that the company
is formulating its management strategy while accurately
grasping these social changes. Bridgestone will stay keenly
attuned to such trends as it develops its business.

Davis: As well as being a crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic also
serves as a catalyst for making the downside of the socioenvironmental system, in other words the near-term issues,
far more visible than they were previously. It also serves asa lens to help us focus on what we need to solve now for
the sake of future generations. I believe the Global CEO’s
vision of Bridgestone 3.0 also is based on this perspectiveof forward-looking investments.

4. Appointing the board chair fromoutside Bridgestone: Striving for furthertransformation
Davis: One of the most obvious changes to the Boardof Directors in fiscal 2020 was the appointment of achairperson from outside Bridgestone. This change meansthat independent directors elected at the General Meetingof Shareholders will be able to act in the interest ofshareholders and deliberate the direction and managementof the company with greater objectivity and transparency.
What do you think about this, Mr. Yamamoto?
Yamamoto: In a Company with a Nominating Committee,etc., the execution of business is entrusted to the executive
arm, and the independent directors supervise execution
and think about medium- and long-term strategies
together with that arm. Therefore, I think it is naturalthat each of the three committees will be chaired by anindependent director, and the chairperson of the Board of

Visiting the Welfare Hall at KTC, Chemical & Industrial Products Technical Center

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Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Directors also be an independent director. Independent
directors are in a difficult position. We are not in a position
to think together about business execution, and we are notconsultants. We are not always in a position to confront theexecutive arm, although we do challenge them. Keeping
this in mind, we listen to the details from the executive side
and judge whether the business operations are alignedwith company’s goals. I think this means that we now havea structure in place for the chair to act as a highly effective
catalyst for these discussions.
Okina: The Bridgestone Group has undergone a series ofgovernance reforms over many years. It became a Company
with a Nominating Committee, etc., increased the numberof independent directors, devised various governanceevaluation frameworks, and has been making gradual,
incremental improvements while diligently conducting
these evaluations. I expect governance to be even betternow that Dr. Davis has become the chair of this journey. In
my opinion, the quality, not the quantity of independent
directors, should be scrutinized. In other words, what kindof people are included as independent directors, what kindof person is the chair, and what kind of discussions are held?
I personally look forward to contributing to this process.
Masuda: The nomination of directors and remunerationof directors and executive officers are now completely
entrusted to outside parties, which is quite dramatic andlike a breath of fresh air to me. Put differently, Bridgestone
is now truly a company with committees. That made it
possible to appoint an independent chair of the Board of
Directors. We always have had an atmosphere of open
discussion at our board meetings, where it was easy
to speak out and questions were answered diligently.
I anticipate Dr. Davis’ appointment as chair will further
promote that atmosphere.

I believe this is because Bridgestone is never satisfied withthe status quo and has a history of constant improvement
and evolution. As it expanded overseas from making tires
suited to the Japanese market, Bridgestone progressedfrom being the “best in Japan” to pursuing the goal of being“best in each region.” Currently, it shares best practices
globally, and has been working over many years to createsynergies on a global scale by taking advantage of the bestof all worlds. In my opinion, Bridgestone’s evolution froma multinational company to a truly global company is acredit to the former CEO Mr. Masaaki Tsuya, who establishedthe Global Executive Committee. The foundation for thisevolution is, of course, communication, and I feel that theBridgestone Group excels in terms of both structure andmindset regarding its ability to communicate from a global
perspective.
Another noteworthy aspect is the promotion of its missionof “Serving Society with Superior Quality.” It is clear that
all the employees in the Bridgestone Group are focusedon this mission and act accordingly. When it formulated
its global CSR commitment, Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone
formed a team of global members, mainly next-generation
employees, and spent a lot of time discussing it. Our Way toServe is designed to give shape to the mission of “Serving
Society with Superior Quality.” Bridgestone’s execution of
Our Way to Serve means that solving social issues enables
them to be approached as strategic issues at the coreof business itself. Put another way, solving social issues
through solutions will lead to the creation of business
opportunities. Bridgestone’s original mission of “Serving
Society with Superior Quality” will be further enhancedby the Our Way to Serve policy and enable it to become asustainable solutions company. In line with this mission,
the Bridgestone Group is striving to achieve safe, secureand sustainable mobility and I am sure we are all looking
forward to working toward making this a reality.

5. “Serving Society with Superior Quality”
around the world: Aiming to be a company
that develops with the next generation
Davis: I think this structure works in the Bridgestone Groupbecause there is close and frank communication among
the independent directors. We have different contexts anddifferent expertise, but we spend a lot of time talking witheach other, deliberating within both board and committee
meetings. We also invest a lot of time communicating withthe leadership team, executives both within Japan andoverseas. I think one of the characteristics of Bridgestone
is its commitment to investing ample time for such highquality communication.

78 | Corporate Governance (Roundtable with Independent Directors)

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Stakeholder Engagement
The Bridgestone Group prioritizes engagement withstakeholders as it strives to understand their perspectives
and to share its point-of-view as well. For example, inJanuary and December 2020, the Group held meetings on

StakeholderGroupenvironmental, social and governance topics with investors.
Learnings from stakeholders help inform the Group’s businessactivities as it continues to sustainably grow its business.

The Bridgestone Group
Responsibilities

Communication Channels• Developing appealing products/services• Providing timely response and support• Providing appropriate information• Effectively managing customer information• Responses to Customer Communication Center inquiries• Analysis, database compilation and internal utilization of customer input• Bridgestone Innovation Gallery dedicated to Bridgestone history andinnovation initiatives• Websites and social media• Daily sales and service activities (retail stores, dealer channels, online commerce)• Customer satisfaction survey• Auto shows and exhibitions

Shareholders
And Investors• Providing appropriate and timely
information• Maximizing corporate value• Annual Shareholders’ Meeting• Corporate Governance Code Report• Corporate Governance Report• Financial results review meetings• Mid-Long Term Business Strategy, Mid Term Business Plan and progress updates• Investor relations website• Reports based on International Integrated Reporting Framework• Individual meetings with investors• Communications at sustainability-related events• Discussed the Group’s sustainability journey with investors at a January 2020
ESG conference and at a December 2020 ESG conference featuring the global CEO.
Also held individual meetings on ESG topics

Business
Partners• Ensuring fair and impartial transactions• Communicating Sustainable
Procurement Policy• Daily procurement activities• Procurement policy explanatory forums/Sustainability seminars• Global Sustainable Procurement Policy rollout• Supplier awards• Discussions with management (distributor meetings)

Employees• Respecting human rights• Promoting diversity and inclusion,
including diverse working styles• Developing and utilizing human resources• Promoting occupational health and safety,
and health and productivity management• Facilitating mutual understanding
between management and labor• Bridgestone Code of Conduct, Global Human Rights Policy and Global
Anti-Bribery Policy• Employee engagement survey• Personnel evaluation systems and career development consultation• Talent matching system (job-based employment, open-posting system
and job-matching system)• Participation in The Valuable 500, promote appointment and recruitment offemale managers• Meetings between labor and management• In-house newsletters and intranet• Town hall meetings• Bridgestone Group Awards and other reward systems• Internal events related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Local
Communities,
NGOs• Contributing to local communities• Preserving local environments• Supporting activities in locations with
the Bridgestone Group operating sites• Donations and social contributions• Facility tours• Environmental and safety education activities• Sponsorship and aid for local events• Local community events related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games• Disaster relief support• Dialogue and collaborations with NGOs

• Contributing to the development of asafe and reliable mobile society• Supporting education activities• Participating in industry economic impact
studies and supply chain assessments• Trade association memberships, committees and conferences• Dialogue and collaborations with economic and industry organizations• Engagement with government officials• Participation in global initiatives on sustainability and environment suchas the Tire Industry Project operated under the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development, the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber,
Ellen Macharthur Foundation, Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures, and Business for Nature• Interaction and exchanges of opinion with municipal government agencies• Communication, coordination and support of industry-government-academia
partnerships

Customers

Government
Agencies,
Industry
Organizations
And Education
Institutions

79 | Stakeholder Engagement

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

ESG Data
See the Bridgestone Group’s ESG data online for complete information.
All of the Bridgestone Group’s environmental data and a portion of its social data in FY2020 are
verified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), a third-party institution, to ensure theaccuracy and transparency of this information. The Group has also received gap analysis forpart of its social data by LRQA to improve data calculation method and aggregation method.
LEGEND FY2020 data items in bold are those for which assurance is provided by LRQA.

		

FY2020 data items in italic are those reviewed through the verification processes by LRQA.

Environment-related Data1
Data item

FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020

GRI

Materials
5,047 thousand tonnes

5,229 thousand tonnes

5,048 thousand tonnes

4,147 thousand tonnes

Resource productivity 2

JPY 723 thousand/tonnes(USD 6.40 thousand/tonnes)

JPY 698 thousand/tonnes(USD 6.29 thousand/tonnes)

JPY 698 thousand/tonnes(USD 6.37 thousand/tonnes)

JPY 722 thousand/tonnes(USD 6.98 thousand/tonnes)

Ratio of recycled andrenewable material3

-

-

-

37%

301-1

(Ratio of renewable material)3

-

-

-

26%

301-1

(Ratio of recycled material)3

-

-

-

11%

301-2

Amount of raw materials used

301-1
-

EnergyTotal energy consumption4

45,838 thousand GJ

46,014 thousand GJ

45,002 thousand GJ

38,297 thousand GJ

302-1

Energy consumption (fuel)26,932 thousand GJ

26,881 thousand GJ

26,192 thousand GJ

22,032 thousand GJ

302-1

Energy consumption(purchased electricity)

4,802 thousand MWh

4,929 thousand MWh

4,852 thousand MWh

4,188 thousand MWh

302-1

Energy consumption(purchased steam)

1,630 thousand GJ

1,429 thousand GJ

1,382 thousand GJ

1,191 thousand GJ

302-1

1,258 GJ/JPY 100 million(1,422 GJ/USD million)

1,261 GJ/JPY100 million(1,412 GJ/USD million)

1,276 GJ/JPY100 million(1,398 GJ/USD million)

1,279 GJ/JPY100 million(1,324 GJ/USD million)

302-3

4.3%

4.7%

11.0%

5

Energy consumption per unitof salesRenewable energy ratio(electricity)6--

Total energy consumption(renewable)-

885 thousand GJ

953 thousand GJ

1,752 thousand GJ

302-1

Total energy consumption(non-renewable)-

45,130 thousand GJ

44,049 thousand GJ

36,545 thousand GJ

302-1

Water and Effluents
Total water withdrawal7

68,685 thousand m3

71,303 thousand m3

68,303 thousand m3

63,743 thousand m3

303-3

Water withdrawal (surface water)

3

3,258 thousand m

3

2,926 thousand m

3

3,131 thousand m

3

2,856 thousand m

303-3

Water withdrawal (groundwater)

10,192 thousand m3

10,312 thousand m3

9,708 thousand m3

8,480 thousand m3

303-3

Water withdrawal(water supply, industrial water)

18,810 thousand m3

18,384 thousand m3

17,294 thousand m3

16,136 thousand m3

303-3

Water withdrawal (seawater)

36,426 thousand m3

39,681 thousand m3

37,844 thousand m3

36,271 thousand m3

303-3

Total water withdrawal by
manufacturing facilities inwater stress areas8

3,450 thousand m3

3,495 thousand m3

3,208 thousand m3

2,875 thousand m3

303-3

		 Data represents all Bridgestone Group facilities for the period of January 1 – December 31 for each year referenced. Part of the data includes estimated figures.
		 Sales per raw material used.
		 Within total material weight for tire products including tire casing for retreading.
4		 Calculated by “fuel consumption + purchased electricity + purchased steam + solar power generation, etc. - electricity sold”.
5
Includes fuels used for in-house power generation.
6
		 Calculated by “(purchased electricity from renewable sources + self-generated renewable electricity)/(purchased electricity + self-generated renewable electricity - electricity sold)”.
7
		 The water withdrawal does not include the recycled water from third party and the rainwater.
8
		 Manufacturing facilities that have water-related risks due to the locations with the risk of deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity and quality.
1

2

3

80 | ESG Data

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

ESG Data
Environment-related Data1
Data item

FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020GRI

EmissionsGreenhouse gas emissions(CO2 Scope 1)

1,871 thousand t-CO2

1,868 thousand t-CO2

1,807 thousand t-CO2

1,504 thousand t-CO2

305-1

Greenhouse gas emissions(CO2 Scope 2, market-based)

2,327 thousand t-CO2

2,263 thousand t-CO2

2,139 thousand t-CO2

1,659 thousand t-CO2

305-2

Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2,
Scope 1 + Scope 2, market-based)

4,197 thousand t-CO2

4,131 thousand t-CO2

3,946 thousand t-CO2

3,162 thousand t-CO2-

Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3)9128,884 thousand t-CO2

135,669 thousand t-CO2

121,566 thousand t-CO2

109,131 thousand t-CO2

305-3

NOx emissions10

2,055 tonnes

2,041 tonnes

1,969 tonnes

1,629 tonnes

305-7

SOx emissions10

1,141 tonnes

937 tonnes

850 tonnes

603 tonnes

305-7

Volume of waste generated11

303 thousand tonnes

352 thousand tonnes

360 thousand tonnes

289 thousand tonnes

306-3

Volume of recycled waste

274 thousand tonnes

311 thousand tonnes

308 thousand tonnes

259 thousand tonnes

306-4

90%

88%

86%

90%

306-4

30 thousand tonnes

41 thousand tonnes

52 thousand tonnes

30 thousand tonnes

306-5

20 thousand tonnes

21 thousand tonnes

19 thousand tonnes

306-3

98.7%

98.1%

98.0%

Waste

Recycling waste rate
Volume of waste to landfill
Volume of regulated hazardous
waste generated12-

Environmental Management
98.7%

Sites with ISO 14001 certification13-

Category 8 ,13 and 15 are excluded from the 15 categories in Scope 3 of the GHG protocol.
Emissions from combustion of fossil fuels estimated based on fuel consumption data and corresponding emission factors.
		 Total volume of waste including non-hazardous waste and regulated hazardous waste.
12
Calculated based on laws of each country (Scope of some data is from April 2020 to March 2021).
13
Within 153 sites that are targeted for ISO 14001 certification (As of December 31, 2020).
9

10
11

Social- and Governance-related Data
Data item

Number of employees

Global Executive Committee members

FY2017

Product safety

FY2019FY2020GRI

Total

142,669

143,509

143,589

138,036Japan

28,37528,79329,54429,701

Americas59,75058,99857,05453,204

Europe, Russia, Middle East, India and Africa

17,51017,63718,501

21,935China, Asia Pacific

37,03438,081

38,49033,196

Total

16

9

14

11

Number of foreign members

8

5

7

6

50.0%

55.6%

50.0%

54.5%

Total

52

52

60

51

Number of foreign members

12

10

11

9

Percentage of foreign members

23.1%

19.2%

18.3%

17.6%

Sites with ISO 9001 certification

99.0%

99.3%

99.4%

100.0%

Percentage of foreign members

Executive Officers, Vice Presidents andOfficers1

FY2018

2

102-7

405-1

405-1

416-1

Data as of December 31 for each year referenced.
1
		 Including officers of Bridgestone subsidiaries.
2
151 sites are targeted for ISO 9001 certification/151 sites are certified (100.0%). Bridgestone requires all manufacturing locations in which it has 50% or more share ratio to achieve
ISO 9001 certification.

81 | ESG Data

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Social- and Governance-related Data
Data item

Region

Total

Japan

Mgmt.
positions 5

Junior Mgmt.
positions 6

Total Mgmt.
positionsOtherstaff and
positions

11.5%

0.0%

1.8%

3.3%

2.4%

13.7%

9.0%

0.0%

1.6%

2.8%

2.2%

10.0%

Americas

12.0%

26.1%

22.6%

8.8%

12.7%

12.1%

Europe, Russia, Middle East, India
and Africa

12.0%

10.7%

13.1%

17.6%

15.8%

11.1%

China, Asia Pacific

9.6%

9.3%

13.4%

15.2%

14.9%

9.1%

Bridgestone Corporation
Female Ratio3

Top Mgmt.
positions 4

Data item

2021

Total

Number of directors in Bridgestone
Corporation (as of April 1, 2021)

GRI

405-1

GRI
12

Men

10

Women

2
102-22

Independent external directors

8

Men

6

Women

2

Data item

2020

GRI

All directors

Total fees

JPY 299 million/USD 2.794 million

Independent external directors

Total fees

JPY 138 million/USD 1.290 million

Executive officers

Total fees

JPY 204 million/USD 1.907million

102-35

		 Data as of December 31, 2020 from 121,276 employers and employees (87.9 percent of total workforce). The Bridgestone Group’s female ratio is verified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance,a third-party institution, to ensure the accuracy and transparency of this information.
		 Management positions with a reporting line no more than two levels below the CEO in each company.
5
		 All managerial position excluding “Top management positions” and “Junior management positions.”
6
		 First-line managers, junior managers and the lowest level of management within a company’s management hierarchy.
7
		 Data on fees for January 1 – December 31, 2020. The figures above include remuneration paid to four Executive Officers who resigned during the current period.
3

4

Data item
Industrial
SafetyData

FY2017FY2018Lost-time injuries frequency rate of employees-

Lost-time injuries frequency rate of contractors-

FY2019FY2020

GRI

-

1

2.86

2.57

403-9

-

1.861,2

2.31

403-9

Number of fatalities of employees

1

0

1

0

403-9

Number of fatalities of contractors

2

1

0

2

403-9

		 Updated due to revise the scope of data
		 The data is for six months from July to December 2019.

1

2

Management-related Data
Data item
Bridgestone Group sales
Rubber production volume
Number of manufacturing facilities

1

1

FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020GRI

JPY 3,643.4 billion/
USD 32.242 billion

JPY 3,650.1 billion/
USD 32.883 billion

JPY 3,525.6 billion/
USD 32.180 billion

JPY 2,994.5 billion/
USD 28.932 billion

102-7

1,880,000 tonnes

1,860,000 tonnes

1,840,000 tonnes

1,450,000 tonnes

102-7

164

163

163

165

102-7

		 Number of facilities as of April 1 each year. All other data reported as of December 31 each year.

82 | ESG Data

Sustainability Report 2020–2021

Sustainability Report
2020–2021

Bridgestone Corporation
owtsnetnews.hq.bsj@bridgestone.com
Corporate Sustainability Department
1-1, Kyobashi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8340, Japanwww.bridgestone.com

June 2021