Conservation through products and services

The technology that goes into our tires is constantly changed and refined, resulting in tires that are safer and better for the environment. Our Ecopia line of tires offers improved rolling resistance, which can mean improved fuel economy and greater savings at the pump.

Bridgestone’s retail operations division, which oversees all the Firestone Complete Auto Care locations and other retail outlets, now makes steel wheel balance weights available to customers, replacing millions of lead wheel weights each year with more ecologically-sensitive steel weights. Lead wheel weights removed from vehicles are collected and properly recycled.

Firestone Racing has also eliminated the use of lead wheel weights in all of its IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights operations. Because of this commitment, Firestone Racing was recognized as a partner in the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. The NPEP program highlights environmental leadership through voluntary reduction of priority and hazardous chemicals such as lead.

Although tires are our main staple, we’re not just concerned with how they function on your car—we also care about how they’re used after they’re no longer road worthy.

Bridgestone Americas reuses materials from approximately 85 percent of all tires sold annually in the U.S. Old tires are incorporated into a number of new uses, such as the track on which you jog, the roads on which your drive or the driveways on which you park.

Bridgestone also researches, creates and manufactures several energy-saving products. Through the Diversified Products division, the company offers insulation and Energy roofs systems that reduce energy consumption.

As part of a new environmental initiative, Firestone’s natural rubber operations in Liberia have begun processing rubber trees that can no longer produce latex into an ecologically sustainable hardwood called Hevea wood. This new business investment will provide even more opportunities for the people of Liberia. And, for each tree that’s harvested, another is replanted in its place.