| Invested through |
|
|---|---|
| Asset Classes | Listed equity |
| Impact strategy | Impact Equities and Bonds |
| Bloomberg ticker | 5108 JP |
| ISIN code | JP3830800003 |
| Industry group | Automobiles & Components |
| Aligned with SDGs |
Bridgestone is a Japanese tire producer. Its main activities are the manufacturing of a wide range of tires, such as tires for passenger cars, trucks, buses, construction vehicles and motorcycles. 83% of total sales are derived from production and sales of tires under the brands Bridgestone, Firestone and Dayton. As a secondary activity, it produces and sells a variety of rubber products and other diversified products, such as industrial products (anti-vibration and noise-insulating materials, foam products, electro materials, industrial rubber materials, building and roofing materials, conveyor belts and hoses), sporting goods (golf and tennis goods), bicycles and others. The company sells directly to car manufacturers and into the replacement market and is active in more than 150 countries. Bridgestone was founded in 1931, is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and employs 143,000 people.
Investment rationale
Transportation is responsible for around 25% of global CO2 emissions, with around 60% of that coming from passenger transport.
Almost 90% of the CO2 emissions over the lifecycle of a tire are from the result of driving the vehicles to which they are fitted. The rolling resistance is an important factor to improve fuel efficiency of cars. For internal combustion vehicles this leads to an immediate reduction of CO2 emissions. For electrified vehicles this leads to a longer driving range and smaller batteries reducing the use of chemicals and rare earth metals. Between 2005 and 2020 Bridgestone has reduced the rolling resistance by 25% resulting in a CO2 emission reduction of an estimated 11 million ton per year.
Bridgestone is actively promoting retreading of used tires instead of replacing them with new tires. Retreading tires leads to a 60% to 70% reduction in material use as the core of the tire is re-used. Other initiatives of the company are the development of sustainable and renewable raw materials to replace carbon-based materials, and the development of sustainable end-of-life solutions.