Bridgestone NR farm, Firestone Liberia, is ISCC Plus-certified

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The largest contiguous natural rubber farm on the planet now owns the world's first ISCC Plus certification for an operation of its kind.

Firestone Liberia (Firestone Natural Rubber Co. L.L.C.), which covers about 185 square miles in the West African country of Liberia, received the certification March 13 for its efforts in reducing environmental impacts, using resources efficiently and mitigating climate change.

"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."

Firestone Liberia grows NR trees, harvests the NR and processes it before the NR is shipped to Bridgestone tire plants in North America and Europe.

These include plants that produce Bridgestone's flagship EV touring tire, the Bridgestone Turanza EV, which incorporates 50-percent ISCC Plus-certified recycled and renewable materials and are manufactured using synthetic rubber.

Specifically, this synthetic rubber includes 20-percent natural rubber; 18-percent recycled (or circular) synthetic rubber; with the remainder filled with circular carbon black.

ISCC-certified circular butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber and carbon black are allocated using the ISCC mass balance approach, a chain-of-custody option that allows traceability throughout the supply chain.

Further, with ISCC Plus, the farm's agricultural practices are validated as promoting proper working conditions and compliance with local regulations.

"The facility's ISCC Plus certification represents a major stride toward the company's 2050 goals," the company stated in a March 13 release. "Bridgestone also continues to advance its R&D efforts aimed at diversifying the world's natural rubber supply including commercializing the use of guayule natural rubber in tires."

Firestone Liberia employs about 4,000 people and is the West African nation's largest private employer. Employees there receive free health care and their more than 7,000 children are enrolled in 23 area schools.

The NR farm is Bridgestone's 16th operation to earn ISCC Plus.

Other certified locations are the Firestone Polymers Polymer Engineering Pilot Center in Akron, the first ISCC Plus-certified Bridgestone polymer plant; the Aiken County passenger/light truck radial tire plant; and the Wilson, N.C., passenger/light truck tire plant.

Bridgestone is striving to achieve carbon neutrality and tires made entirely from sustainable materials by 2050.

The world's second-largest tire manufacturer employs more than 45,000 people worldwide.

Firestone Natural Rubber Co., a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Inc., traces its origins to 1926 when the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. first established a natural rubber production facility in Liberia.