Introduction
Welcome to the Teammates section of the Bridgestone Americas Environmental report. The purpose of this section is to provide a closer look at some of the activities our teammates do to improve the environment and the communities in which they live. Each year thousands of Bridgestone Americas teammates pitch in to help many great international, national, regional, and local organizations. We are proud of their many good deeds and are pleased to share their story with you.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness, inviting people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need. Habitat has built more than 175,000 houses around the world, providing more than 750,000 people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. HFHI was founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller along with his wife Linda.
The Golden Hammer Award is presented each year to the corporate sponsor and volunteer group that has shown exceptional commitment to helping further the mission of the Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity. In 2006, the Golden Hammer Award was presented to Bridgestone Americas for its sponsorship and partnership in building four homes for families in need in the Nashville community.
Keep America Beautiful (KAB) is a national nonprofit public education organization. Founded in 1953, KAB engages individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their local community environments and is one of the nation’s leading community improvement organizations.
Keep America Beautiful successfully implements an effective, systematic strategy for reducing waste, preventing litter, and beautifying communities nationwide through its network. The Keep America Beautiful national affiliate network involves more than 565 town, city, and county affiliates and 22 statewide programs. This enthusiastic network leads the way in protecting and enhancing local environments in more than 15,000 communities.
Additional information on the Keep America Beautiful organization can be found at the following website: http://www.kab.org/
Now in its 23rd year, the Great American Cleanup is held annually from March 1 through May 31, mobilizing millions of volunteers across the country to take action for a cleaner, greener tomorrow.
In 2007, Cleanup activities are expected to involve more than 2.5 million people, volunteering more than 8 million hours to clean, beautify and improve 15,000 communities during 30,000 events in all 50 states. Activities will include beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter and removing scrap tires, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.
This marks the sixth year BFS Retail & Commercial Operations LLC has supported the Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup efforts. The Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. (Bridgestone Americas) subsidiary's Tires Plus Total Car Care and ExpertTire retail stores:
- Accept scrap tires collected via community cleanup days
- Accept used engine oil and car batteries from the public for proper recycling at no charge
Last year, Bridgestone Americas officials report that the company's partnership with Keep America Beautiful resulted in the collection of 2.5 million scrap tires, more than 288 million pounds of litter and other debris, and 118,000 car batteries.
In addition to participating locally in Great American Cleanup events, we take the initiative to organize our own community cleanups across the country. One example is when Firestone Complete Auto Care teammates helped to clean up a part of hurricane-ravaged Biloxi, Mississippi, also contributing gloves, hats and food for the other event volunteers.
We believe our efforts help make communities across the country cleaner and safer places for our teammates and our families to call home.
Additional information on how to become a volunteer for the Great American Cleanup can be found at the following website: http://www.kab.org/participate.asp
We sell our tires at thousands of retail outlets throughout the U.S. and Canada. Some 22,000 employees in our company-owned retail networks – Firestone Tire & Service Centers, ExpertTire, TiresPlus and GCR Truck Tire Centers – understand the importance of being good neighbors in their communities. Part of this role is providing car and tire maintenance that enables better fuel efficiency, thereby reducing air pollution.
We train our store associates to properly handle used tires, oil, batteries, antifreeze, Freon, and auto parts for beneficial reuse and recycling. We rigorously inspect our stores to assure effective management of all systems, ranging from wastewater and storage tanks to records maintenance. We check all facets of our operations that could affect the community’s environment.
In the Nashville, Tennessee community, our retail centers have been buying "green power" for several years. Green power is produced by renewable, non-fossil fuel sources like wind, solar and biomass energy sources such as the gas given off by landfills. We buy green power in an effort to reduce pollution and help mainstream the market for sustainable energy, because we believe it is the right thing to do.
Additional information on purchasing green power can be found at the following website: http://www.eere.energy.gov/
To find out more about our retail stores, please visit the following website:
http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/
Demonstrating the Difference One Company Can Make
Environmental performance improvement is a constant goal, shared by all Bridgestone Americas teammates. It takes dedication, innovation and perspiration to achieve the continual improvement we strive for. We want all our teammates to know about our environmental successes, so every year we seek out those facilities, project teams and individuals who find ways to make significant reductions in our environmental footprint or bring environmental benefits to our communities, and commemorate their achievements with awards presented by senior management.
Please click here to find out more about our award winners. (PDF Format)
