Bridgestone monitoring suppliers' sustainability

Tokyo – Bridgestone Group is monitoring and rating its suppliers in terms of sustainability as part of its long-term strategy to use “100% sustainable materials” by 2050.

In partnership with rating agency EcoVadis, Bridgestone is assessing its suppliers for environmental, social and ethical performance, the Japanese tire & rubber company announced 12 April.

The move, it said, will help the company identify and evaluate qualified suppliers and promote best practices across the industry.

Bridgestone has stepped up its sustainability efforts since the introduction of its new ‘global sustainable procurement policy’ in February last year.

As of March 2019, some 98% - approximately 1,600 – of the company’s tier 1 tire material suppliers have acknowledged the company’s new policy, Bridgestone stated.

The majority of those suppliers, it added, are completing third-party assessments with EcoVadis

“[We] have reinforced our efforts over the past year to understand how our suppliers are performing,” said Christine Karbowiak, administrative officer, chief risk officer and EVP at Bridgestone Americas Inc.

Bridgestone is also a founding member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), which was launched late last month.

GPSNR is an independent platform that aims to improve the socio-economic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain.