Rebate rewards Bridgestone energy saving efforts

On 7 May, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations presented its LaVergne tyre facility in Tennessee with a rebate totalling more than US$350,000; the plant received this rebate under the Tennessee Valley Authority and Nashville Electric Service’s ‘EnergyRight Solutions for Industry’ programme, which is aimed at helping manufacturers implement energy efficiency and demand-reduction improvements. The rebate was initially given to Bridgestone Americas in March.

The LaVergne plant improvements are the result of an overall plant lighting upgrade that began in 2010 to reduce energy costs and improve the quality of lighting. Nearly 3,900 old, high-intensity lighting fixtures were replaced with new, energy efficient fixtures that typically consume half the electricity while producing comparable amounts of light. The upgrades have reduced the plant’s power consumption by more than 3.8 million kilowatt-hours, enough energy to supply nearly 240 homes in the area for a year. 

“Identifying ways we can reduce our impact on the environment is ingrained in our culture as part of our ‘One Team, One Planet’ environmental commitment, and that is clearly evident in our manufacturing facilities,” said Muneer Chowdhury, TBR facilities manager, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. “This rebate will be added to the Bridgestone Americas Environmental and Energy Strategic Fund, to be re-invested in more conservation projects, further improving our efficiency and environmental performance.”

The LaVergne lighting upgrades will help the facility meet Bridgestone’s Global goal to reduce the CO2 footprint of the entire company and its products by 35 per cent (from 2005 levels) by 2020. The lighting upgrades are projected to reduce CO2 emission by 4,845 tonnes annually. Additional benefits of the upgrades include reduced mercury in the newer lighting and an anticipated reduction in LaVergne’s annual power bill of nearly $190,000.