GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — September 27, 2022 — Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) announced its Aiken County Passenger/Light Truck Radial tire plant is the first tire manufacturing facility in America to earn the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS recognition for its transparency and traceability of sustainable raw materials including bio, bio-circular and circular-based material to replace synthetic rubber*, as the company’s continues its drive toward tires made from 100-percent sustainable materials by 2050.
“Step by step, we are working to overcome the technological and market barriers to fully sustainable and renewable tires made with bio-sourced and recycled materials,” said Nizar Trigui, chief technology officer and group president, Bridgestone Americas. “This ISCC PLUS certification for our Aiken County Plant is an important mile marker in our journey to become a leading sustainable solutions company.”
In 2021, Bridgestone announced the manufacturing process at the Aiken County facility would be directly powered by its first ground-based solar array. The facility is powered by approximately 8 acres of solar panels that generate enough electricity to power over 200 homes annually, while also reducing 1,400 metric tons of CO2 emissions each year.
The 2.78 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Graniteville, S.C., employing over 1,740 Bridgestone teammates, began production of passenger and light truck radial tires in 1997. Tires produced at this plant equip standard passenger vehicles and light trucks for original equipment and retail.
Sustainable practices in its manufacturing facilities is a critical element of Bridgestone’s 2050 sustainability commitments, including its aims to achieve carbon neutrality and tires made with 100% sustainable materials. Bridgestone Technical Center Europe SpA in Roma also recently earned an ISCC PLUS certification for Bio-Circular & Circular based materials. Bridgestone also continues to advance its leading initiative to diversify the world’s natural rubber supply by commercializing use of guayule-derived natural rubber in tires by 2030.
The ISSC PLUS certification of the Aiken County Passenger/Light Truck Radial tire plant supports the “Ecology” and “Energy” values of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, which establishes eight values starting with the letter “E” to solidify Bridgestone’s commitment to a more sustainable world.
*The bio- based and recycled content of the synthetic rubber is allocated using the ISCC PLUS mass balance approach. With respect to sustainable materials handled by the certified site, the annex to the ISCC certificate provides additional information and states that it is only applicable for material handled under the scopes: farm/plantation, point of origin, central office, (farm/plantation or point of origin) first gathering point, processing unit (any type) but not for material that is only traded and/or stored). Mass balancing is a chain of custody option in which certified and non-certified materials are mixed physically but kept separate in the bookkeeping. This method is used to document and track biological, circular and renewable materials through complex manufacturing systems. By using mass balance, certified entities can track how much sustainable material has been used in their manufacturing systems and ensure that it corresponds exactly to the amount of certified content in the end products. Specific information about the ISCC certification is available at: All Certificates › ISCC System (iscc-system.org)
Posted: September 27, 2022
Source: Bridgestone Americas Inc.
