Thai Bridgestone Co., Ltd., (TBSC) announced that it has installed solar rooftop panels to directly power the tire production process in its Nong Khae plant, in Saraburi province. The largest solar rooftop panel among the Bridgestone Group with a total capacity of 9.95 MWp, is expected to generate a 97,500 tons reduction in total CO2 emissions over the next 15 years.
This project aligns with the commitments of “Energy: Committed to the realization of a carbon-neutral mobility society”, “Ecology: Committed to advancing sustainable tire technologies and solutions that preserve the environment for future generations” and “Economy: Committed to maximizing the economic value of mobility and business operations” described in a corporate commitment, the “Bridgestone E8 Commitment.”
The solar rooftop panels installation will inspire carbon neutrality across the business and is an inspirational step in us reaching Bridgestone’s vision as a sustainable solutions company by 2050 and reinforces the importance of a tire production base in Thailand.
At the solar rooftop panels opening ceremony, executives from Bridgestone Group, led by Mr. Masahiro Higashi, Joint Global COO, of Bridgestone Corporation, and Mr. Yasuhiro Morita, COO, of Bridgestone China, and Asia Pacific, joined and witnessed the success of the project held on December 16, 2022. This will mark the continual leveraging of sustainable business operations. In 2021, Bridgestone Group began using solar power rooftop systems in Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. for the first time in Thailand.
“Guided by Bridgestone’s mission “Serving Society with Superior Quality” and always focusing on global environmental issues, Bridgestone Group has been expanding and evolving our business to provide social and customer value through the global sustainability business framework to realize a carbon-neutral economy. This aims to achieve the Group’s medium-term environmental targets including a 50% reduction in absolute CO2 emissions and contribute to reducing more than five times our CO2 emissions across the lifecycle through products and services both by 2030” said Yoshikazu Shida, CEO, of Bridgestone China, and Asia Pacific.
“With Bridgestone’s environmental mission as well as to contribute to sustainable development in Thailand, Bridgestone Thailand has adopted environmental initiatives and projects to use renewable energy, especially in our tire production. This year, TBSC has marked a significant milestone by collaborating with Impact Solar Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd., to install a large-scale 9.95 MWp capacity solar rooftop panels at the Nong Khae plant and become the largest solar rooftop panels in terms of capacity among the global Bridgestone Group. This also reflects the importance of Thailand as a production base for quality tires of the Bridgestone Group, “said Keiji Chuma, Managing Director, TBSC. “It is the hard work and efforts of every Bridgestone Thailand teammate who makes this initiative a reality. We continue delivering co-creating value and ensuring sustainability for society and our customers.”
TBSC’s Nong Khae plant can produce tires for passenger cars (PSR) and tires for pickup trucks or light trucks (LVR), totaling 202 tons per day on a total plant area of 660,000 square meters. The solar rooftop panels installation is another positive step to drive sustainable growth for business operations and leverage clean energy utilization to realize Bridgestone’s journey to contribute to a more sustainable society for all.
