Bridgestone America’s tire manufacturing plant in Warren County, Tenn. earned LEED V3 recertification at the silver level from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The plant joins only two other manufacturing projects  in the world to achieve LEED certification for existing buildings. The Warren County facility first earned LEED V2 certification in 2008 and was the first tire plant globally to do so, says Bridgestone.

“The Warren County plant is leading the way for other Bridgestone facilities which are actively adopting similar sustainability efforts throughout the U.S. and abroad,” said Tim Bent, director of environmental affairs at Bridgestone America.

To achieve LEED V3 recertification, the facility had to implement many sustainable initiatives including:

• Installing plumbing fixtures and potable water efficiency measures, reducing plant personnel water use by 42.7% vs. baseline

• Planting water-efficient, native species landscaping, reducing irrigation water consumption by 93% vs. baseline while improving wildlife habitat

• Optimizing energy efficiency, achieving a 31% more efficient operation compared to the median performance of similar Bridgestone tire manufacturing facilities

• Protecting and restoring wildlife habitats; 79% of the plant site is covered by vegetation and 75% is a certified wildlife habitat area

• Use of sustainable cleaning products throughout the plant, exceeding the LEED requirement by 19%
  

The Warren County plant was also recognized as an OSHA Voluntary Protection Program Star site for its excellent safety and health management systems and injury rates, which are below the national average for the industry.

The facility manufactures 9,000 Bridgestone and Firestone truck and bus tires daily and employs 990 people.