By CRM Staff
Toronto, Ontario — February 6, 2018 — Today, Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone), announced a new Global Sustainable Procurement Policy that will help the company to select the most qualified suppliers and promote best practices industry-wide. As Bridgestone is the world’s largest tire and rubber company, the new policy will also be used within the industry as a tool for communication and improvement. According to Bridgestone, the policy represents the company’s commitment to long-term environmental, social and economic progress. The new policy applies to any materials or services that are purchased from all suppliers across the globe.
“Our new policy is a critical step in realizing the Bridgestone Group’s global corporate social responsibility commitment, “Our Way to Serve,” which provides a framework for how we do business, develop products, and interact with customers and communities,” said Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Representative Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation. “We recognize our ability and responsibility to drive change and improvements in the ways that industry interacts with the environment and communities around the world. We expect our suppliers and partners to work with us in pursuit of sustainable supply chains, efforts which are never-ending and which require collaborations with all industry players, including communicating with the various audiences in order to generate broader public awareness.”
The company’s “Our Way to Serve” commitment hopes to see the use of only 100 percent sustainable materials implemented by 2050. This will greatly affect the standards for all rubber materials used within the auto production and repair industries. The new standards could create opportunities for new suppliers and purchasers of said materials. There are guaranteed changes on the horizon for tire repair procedures.
During the development of the final policy, Bridgestone gained insights from external stakeholders, including international consultants, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), materials suppliers, natural rubber farmers and key customers to ensure the policy is thorough, reflects industry standards and best practices, and is supported by an effective implementation and communication plan.
Bridgestone is committed to working with additional external stakeholders, including universities, industry associations and NGOs, to continually review feedback which will be valuable for subsequent enhancements and revisions to the policy.
To learn more about the Global Sustainable Procurement Policy and Bridgestone’s CSR commitments, visit Bridgestone’s Global Sustainable Procurement web page bridgestone.com/responsibilities/procurement/.
