Bridgestone radial tire plant earns ISCC Plus recognition

Bridgestone Americas, Nashville, Tennessee, has announced that its Aiken County, South Carolina, passenger/light truck radial tire manufacturing plant has received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus recognition for its transparency and traceability of sustainable raw materials in its products. 

The plant uses bio, bio-circular and circular-based material in its tires to replace synthetic rubber, in line with the company’s goal to produce tires made from 100 percent sustainable materials by 2050. 

According to Bridgestone, the ISCC Plus certification of the Aiken County facility supports the “Ecology” and “Energy” values of the company’s E8 Commitment, which establishes eight values starting with the letter “E” to show its commitment to sustainability. 

“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,” Chief Technology Officer and Group President Nizar Trigui says. “This ISCC Plus certification for our Aiken County plant is an important mile marker in our journey to become a leading sustainable solutions company.” 

Certification is determined using the ISCC Plus mass balance approach, where certified and noncertified materials are mixed physically but kept separate in the bookkeeping. The method is used to keep track of biological, circular and renewable materials through complex manufacturing systems and allows the certified entity to ensure that the amount of sustainable material manufactured matches the amount of certified content in the end products.   

The plant spans 2.78 million square feet, employs 1,740 people and began producing passenger and light truck radial tires in 1997. The tires equip standard passenger vehicles and light trucks for original equipment and retail. 

In 2021, Bridgestone announced the facility would be powered by its first ground-based solar array, consisting of eight acres of solar panels that it says generate enough electricity to power more than 200 homes while reducing 1,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.