Firestone Liberia earns ISCC PLUS

On 12 March 2024, Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) announced that its Firestone Liberia natural rubber growing and processing facility has attained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS recognition. Firestone Liberia earned ISCC PLUS certification for its efforts in “reducing environmental impacts, utilizing resources efficiently and enhancing its capacity to adapt to, mitigate and build resilience to climate change”, according to the company.

The certification also recognizes the farm for “the implementation of good agricultural practices, ensuring proper working conditions, complying with local regulations and fostering effective management practices to facilitate ongoing growth and improvement.”

Firestone Natural Rubber Company, LLC traces its origins back to 1926 when The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company first established a natural rubber production facility in Liberia, West Africa. The current Firestone Liberia facility is the largest contiguous natural rubber operation in the world, covering approximately 118,000 acres or 185 square miles. The facility is also Liberia’s largest private employer with approximately 4,000 teammates who harvest and process natural rubber. The company also plays an active role in the Liberian community by providing teammates and their dependents free medical care and operating 23 schools, which educate more than 7,000 students.

After processing, the natural rubber is shipped to Bridgestone’s tyre plants in North America and Europe for tyre manufacturing. This includes Bridgestone’s Turanza EV, which incorporates 50 per cent ISCC PLUS-certified recycled and renewable materials.

Bridgestone reports that the facility’s ISCC PLUS certification represents a major stride toward the company’s 2050 goals, which include achieving carbon neutrality and producing tyres exclusively from 100 per cent sustainable materials.

“As we progress in our transformation to a sustainable solutions company, we are making incredible progress toward sustainable manufacturing,” said Rick Burnett, Vice President, Internal Manufacturing Division, Bridgestone Americas. “The ISCC PLUS certification is a pivotal milestone which recognizes our actions to sustainably growing and processing natural rubber as we accelerate our progress toward using 100% sustainable materials in our products by 2050.”

The Firestone Liberia facility is Bridgestone’s 16th facility or organization to earn the ISCC PLUS certification since 2022. Notable certifications include: the Firestone Polymers Polymer Engineering Pilot Center, which is the first ISCC PLUS certified Bridgestone polymer plant and the Aiken County Passenger/Light Truck Radial tyre plant and Wilson, N.C. Passenger/Light Truck tyre plant, which are the first two ISCC PLUS certified tyre plants in America.