Bridgestone Group honors innovation, dedication

TOKYO — Bridgestone Corp. recently honored the outstanding achievements and contributions made by its employees and organizations with the Bridgestone Group Awards, which were presented during a ceremony March 29.

"The Awards," Bridgestone said, "were created with the purpose of increasing employee awareness of corporate activities based on the Bridgestone Corporate philosophy, fostering a sense of unity among group employees and recognizing accomplishments."

This year, the awards were based on "Our Way to Serve," the company's new corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment which is focused on several specific areas of impact: mobility, people and environment. Additional awards were given in areas of achievement and management fundamentals.

This year's award winners by category were:

Achievement:

• Bridgestone Americas, Inc., Bridgestone Corp. and group companies for activating the Bridgestone Worldwide Olympic Partnership of the Olympic games in Rio 2016. The award was given recognition of the firm's efforts to takes its standing as Worldwide TOP Olympic Partner further through the implementation of marketing and promotional events, collaborative community impact projects and other engagement activities. The efforts increased the brand's global awareness, cultivated a global corporate culture and laid a foundation for the firm as it prepares to continue its TOP Olympic partnership.

•  Bridgestone Europe NV/SA (BSMEA) for innovative strategic partnership for retail channel reinforcement. The retail channel reinforcement, Bridgestone said, among the key strategies for BSEMEA, which developed a strategic partnership plan and executed various activities that led to growth for the business with the acquisition of Speedy

• and the joint-venture with Pneuhage Management.

Mobility:

• Bridgestone Cycle Co. Ltd. (BSC) and group companies for the development of the E-bike equipped with Dual-Drive system. Three different styles of bikes — city bike, commuter bike and bike with child carrier — were launched to best meet the needs of riders. The technology used in the development of the bike promoted the company's "technical capabilities to the public and increasing brand value," Bridgestone said.

People:

• Bridgestone Australia Ltd. (BSAL) for its 30-year partnership with the Leukemia Foundation. Since 1986, BSAL has supported the foundation through a number of efforts including charity events, donation of transport vehicles and free accommodation for patients and their families.

• Bridgestone Argentina S.A.I.C. for the continued successes of the Bridgestone Corporate University (BCU) Training Center. Established in 2004, BCU offers educational and training opportunities for employees, customers and community members. Since then, it has had 413 graduated and trained 6,800. It was expanded in 2015 to provide continuing education and training.

Environment:

• Firestone Building Products Co. L.L.C. for the development of self adhering roofing membranes with "Secure Bond" zero volatile organic compound technology. FSBP first launched products with this technology in 2015 and has provided customers with safer roofing solution that also reduces environmental footprints.

Management Fundamentals:

• Bridgestone Corp., Bridgestone Tire Japan Co., Ltd. and the Group Companies for restoration efforts following the Kumamoto earthquake and reinforcement of crisis measures. Following the earthquake in April 2016, teammates in Japan cooperated and supported affected teammates and communities by contributing to the restoration of affected area, prevention of health problems and early restart of production and sales.

Bridgestone noted that these awards a critical part of its operation as it applauds efforts that reinforce the company's core values.

"Amid significant change in our operating environment, innovation and continuous improvement is essential in order to secure a competitive advantage and create value for both our customers and society," Bridgestone said.

"By recognizing outstanding activities through the awards and sharing examples of best practices, we believe we can achieve further improvements across the entire group."