Bridgestone’s Hispania Burgos Plant wins Mobility Week Award

European Mobility Week is an EU backed awareness raising campaign aiming at “sensibilising citizens to the use of public transport, cycling, walking and at encouraging European cities to promote these modes of transport and to invest in the new necessary infrastructures.” Held between September 16 and 22, the 2010 event attracted the attention of national and local authorities throughout the region, and cities and businesses that excelled in a particular area were awarded for their accomplishments. One such award recipient is Bridgestone, whose Hispania Burgos Plant won Spain’s European Mobility Week Award for “Best Practices”. This award, the tyre maker comments, recognises Bridgestone’s policies in the area of sustainable mobility and its commitment to raising awareness for the impact of how we move on both the environment and quality of life generally.

The theme of European Mobility Week 2010 was “Travel Smarter, Live Better” and it aimed to get Europeans to “move intelligently” for a better quality of life. Its goal was to increase awareness for the impact of how we move on the environment, our own health and wellbeing and the quality of life in our cities and urban areas. Spain’s participation in the week took the form of a series of exhibitions, conferences, workshops and satellite events and culminated in the presentation of the European Mobility Week Awards by the minister for Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, Elena Espinosa. The awards were split into two categories, recognising the efforts of local councils, on the one hand, and companies or institutions, on the other, in taking an active role in promoting sustainable mobility.

This year’s awards went to the Association of Municipalities of Cantabria in the category of “Permanent Measures” and to Bridgestone’s Hispania Burgos Plant in the category of “Best Practices”. Bridgestone’s plant was chosen out of 67 competing organisations and companies in Spain for its sustainable mobility policies. In addition to flexible working hours and internal campaigns to encourage the use of public transport, Bridgestone’s plant was also lauded for its extensive efforts to raise awareness amongst local citizens of the impact of mobility on the environment and quality of life.