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CONEXION LATINA CO I X ME A C I R A T A S L E O U C Z E IA N B E M V O L CO IL Z A BR E L I CH A N I T N E ARG
JULY-DECEMBER 2013
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SUMMARY
Editorial Editorial Press Report Bridgestone Libertadores
ARGENTINA
04 05,06,07
Time to Perform Turbo in Latin America
08/09 10/11
Bridgestone and Art 12/13
Bridgestone founds Football school 28/29
Bridgestone Colombia launched special promotion for social media users 39
The power of fantasy coming true 14/15
Employees as volunteers at Soccer School 30
Bridgestone Colombia early end of the year celebration 40
Willpower 16/17
Bridgestone supports social action in Camaçari 30
Sergio Prada Candela now leading Bridgestone Colombia 41
CHILE
Together with Bridgestone Colombia experience passion for soccer and get magnificent prizes! 42
A highly appealing Museums Night 18/19 Our Solidarity Caravan visited Northern Argentina 20/21
Storage capacity expanded 32 Prevention / Working for the community 33
COLOMBIA
Bridgestone Colombia is now the sponsorof Team Triumph at the Sport National Championship 43
Bridgestone Colombia introduced its offer for the transport sector in the country 34
Bridgestone and its brand Firestone presented TURBO at an Avant premier 44/45
Bridgestone Associate receives the prize 25
Multillantas Bucaramanga is our new Bridgestone Colombia distributor 35
Bridgestone present at Tire and Retreading Show room 46/47
Culture Contest takes consumers to Formula Truck 26
Bridgestone Colombia gives huge flag to Santa Fe 36/37
Bridgestone Colombia at Colfecar Congress / New headquarter offices for Bridgestone Colombia S.A.S. 48
Bridgestone launches “Fuzion” line 27
Manizales has a new Bridgestone store: Invercapital Multillantas 38
Fifth Solidarity Run/Walk 22/23 Safety is always first 24
BRASIL
Ter Dex in Apartadó, a new Bridgestone Wholesale store for Urabá antioqueño 49
Staff BSAR – Liliana Nasiff / Ma. Luz Herrera BSBR – Josiene M. de Santana BSCO – Pamela Alarcón
BSCR – Ana María Arce BSMX – Amelia Vives BSVZ - Mayela Carta / Jasergui González / Daniella Vera
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Corporate Activities Public Relations Consumer Marketing Publicity
Environment Road Safety Social Activities
COSTA RICA Bridgestone launches new products manufactured in Costa Rica 50 Bridgestone brought football to all POPs 51 Bridgestone adds new business unit in the country 52/53 Colombia and Ecuador join Bridgestone of Costa Rica family 54/55 Bridgestone Costa Rica presents its seventh sustainability report 56 Initiative on Playgrounds built out of waste tires wins recognition from AMCHAM 57/58/59 Play “Señales” crossed borders 60/61 Volunteers: Identification and Commitment 62/63 Bridgestone promotes social responsability spiralwork 64/65
ECUADOR Turbo Avant Premier in Quito and Guayaquil 66
MÉXICO New products launched at Expo Golf 67
Bridgestone México recognized as a Great Place to Work 68/69 Opening of first Firestone Car Club in Mexico 70/71 Bridgestone opens new offices in Mexico 72 Bridgestone México presents its 2nd Sustainability Report 73 Spectacular Incentives Trip 2013 in Portugal 74/75 Soccer 7 tournament, winners travel to the final match of Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 76/77 Firestone shares TURBO’s emotion with children from ‘Save The Children’ Foundation 78/79 Award to young talent at our 5th Creativity Contest in Mexico 80/81 “Think Before You Drive” fifth anniversary in Mexico 82/83
VENEZUELA Venezuelan journalists enjoyed avant premiere “Turbo” 84 Bridgestone Workers attend Management Course 85
Children from Bridgestone Dojo JKA successful debut in Venezuela national karate championship 86/87 Bridgestone Volunteers shared Christmas time with the elderly 88/89 Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela, committed to our community 90/91 Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela works for a better planet 92 Volunteers from Bridgestone shared Children’s day 93 Bridgestone Volunteers’ participation in world beach cleaning day 94 Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela strengthens its alliance with Dividendo Voluntario para la Comunidad 95 Workers’ relatives learned how to manufacture swimming suits 96/97
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Editorial
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he regional Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility team at Bridgestone Latin America is glad to announce the presentation of our newsletter ConexiĂłn Latina 16th edition, an internal communication channel that focuses on events and activities relating to public relations and social contribution implemented by the group of companies, which contributes to enhancing the positioning of our brand in the region. On this edition, a point worth mentioning is the advertising activity developed together with Marketing and Advertising, Consumer Division. A top event was the first participation as tittle sponsor of Copa Bridgestone Libertadores, which included a set of promotional activities that made our brand visible for millions of soccer fans during the 2013 championship. Also, high impact activities refer to the launch of the advertising campaign “Time to Perfomâ€?, introduced at Latin American level and whose focus is the relationship between Bridgestone tire technology and the world of soccer, which introduction was also part of the activities within Copa Bridgestone Libertadores.
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Connection Latin also publishes stories relating to social responsibility that embody the commitment of the group towards supporting present and future generations. An integrated social action was developed during the presentation of the animated movie Turbo by DreamWorks to the countries in the region. Taking advantage of this avant premier, our corporation organized exclusive events for children in each country, inviting them to see Turbo and accompany the fastest snail along his adventure at the Indy 500 car track. Be our guest and read over this publication to learn about recent initiatives and both global and local programs to see synergy at work and Bridgestone volunteer effort that makes a difference for communities in Latin America. Yours faithfully, BATO LA Regional team Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility
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PRESS REPORT
Great Copa Bridgestone Libertadores final in Brazil
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ridgestone and the South American Confederation of Soccer (CONMEBOL) celebrated the close of Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 2013, played on July 25 between Atlético Mineiro from Brazil and Club Olimpia from Paraguay in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Before the final match there was a Publicity
press conference held by Bridgestone officers Nobuyuki Tamura, Director of the Corporate Communication Division at Bridgestone Corporation, Matías Borges, Sales and Marketing Director at Bridgestone Latin America, Alexandre Lopes, Sales and Marketing Director- Consumer division at Bridge-
stone Brazil together with the President of CONMEBOL, Mr. Eugenio Figueredo Hardens, as well as Atlético Mineiro and Club Olimpia coaches. During the conference Matías Borges, Sales and Marketing Director at Bridgestone Latin America commented, “This sponsorship
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has rendered great results for the brand in the region: “During the Copa Bridgestone Libertadores we have had a great brand appearance before our audience. We feel really pleased with the outcome and consumers’ recognition in the region.” During the prize giving ceremony, officers from CONMEBOL and Bridgestone Executives will introduce the trophy to the best Team as well as the trophy to the Most Valuable Player in the final match, which was given by Nobuyuki Tamura, Director of Bridgestone Corporation - Corporate Communication. The
recognition to the Most Valuable Player is determined by Bridgestone and the International Press. Football fans who had won tickets to the final match in different promotional activities of the brand and subsidiaries along the football season, were also there, among them winners of “Quiniela” and “Passion Commentator” actions directed to soccer fans from Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Noé Vázquez, 20 years old, and Communication Sciences student from Mexico was the
winner of the “Passion Commentator” campaign among six finalists from Latin America. BSUY 262
BSCL 321
19
BSMX 710
BSAR
954
BSBR 1858
BSVZ 124
GENERAL RESULTS IN THE REGION
RESULTS BY TOPIC
Country
Amount
Topic
Articles
Amount
$445,285 $667,281 $1,197,263 $552,175 $296,152 $20,125,198 $21,436 $306,977 $23,611,767
Corporate Libertadores Turbo TTP RSE Tire Pressure Total
1527 2247 126 33 478 98 4509
$5,415,593 $16,977,997 $275,414 $63,187 $672,349 $207,227 $23,611,767
Articles 321 261 710 954 124 1858 19 262 4509
BSCR BSCO BCMX BSAR BSVZ BSBR BSCH BSUY Total
CORPORATE
LIBERTADORES
RSE VARIOS
TTP
Articles
Amount
Articles
Amount
Articles Amount
Articles Amount
83 63 480 347 23 510 10 11 1527
$78,405 $308,716 $835,033 $368,974 $41,648 $3,765,401 $9,676 $7,740 $5,415,593
33 109 61 488 12 1290 8 246 2247
$49,654 $192,926 $99,632 $98,359 $43,356 $16,197,457 $2,971 $293,642 $16,977,997
186 0 116 119 37 14 1 5 478
Publicity
$292,460 $0 $178,557 $84,842 $15,998 $8,789 $5,595 $0 $672,349
BSCO 261
BSCR
0 31 2 0 0 0 0 0 33
$0 $54,978 $8,209 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $63,187
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OVERALL RESULT BY SUBSIDIARY 2500
$16,977,997
2247
2000 1500
$672,349
OVERALL RESULT BY TOPIC & SUBSIDIARY
1527
$5,415,593 $275,414
$207,227
1000 500
$63,187 Corporate
Copa Lib.
Turbo
TTP
RSE
Tire pressure
1527
2247
126
33
478
98
Corporate Copa Lib. Turbo
MONETARY EQUIVALENCE BY SUBSIDIARY
25M
667,281
$20,125,198
20M 15M
445,285
10M
$552,175 $296,152
5M
$1,197,263 BSCR
BSCO
BSMX
$21,436 $306,977 BSAR
BSVZ
TURBO
CSR Tire Pressure
Articles Amount $22,957 17 $54,512 30 $23,144 16 $0 0 $28,549 19 $146,342 44 $0 0 $0 0 $275,414 126
Articles Amount $1,809 2 $56,149 28 $52,688 35 $0 0 $96,581 33 $0 0 $0 0 $0 0 $207,227 98
BSBR
BSCH
126
BSUY
33 TTP
478 98 RSE
Tire pressure
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Time to Perform
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s another marketing activity of great synergy in the region, Bridgestone Latin America, through the coordination of the Marketing and Advertising, and Corporate Relations regional teams, organized the launch of its new advertising campaign at regional level “Time to Perform”, which makes a parallel between Bridgestone tire technology and the world of sports. For the campaign “Time to Perform”, humor is used to create an analogy in which Bridgestone tests the impact that tire technology would have if it were applied to professional soccer. “Grass grip”, name of the commercial spot, shows how Bridgestone tire technology can make a soccer ball have a good grip on the field. Through humor, Bridgestone seeks to communicate some of the main benefits of its tires, such as good
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grip and durability, as well as to generate a bond between the brand and drivers from each country. “At Bridgestone, our passion for performance knows no limit” is the campaign slogan, aimed to communicate that Bridgestone is a Premium tire brand, a product designed to offer maximum performance at critical moments when it is most needed. For this commercial spot, former players from the Mexican and Argentine National Teams were invited to participate. Sebastián Verón and Jorge Campos were chosen for the campaign for they were football stars; their great track record as football players consolidated in one story is ideal for this commercial story line to highlight its core message “the ability to have outstanding performance at critical moments,
when it is most needed.” “As tittle sponsors of Copa Bridgestone Libertadores, in Bridgestone Latin America we are pleased by this new campaign that creatively integrates our initiatives in Sports Marketing with our products and their unique features”, commented Mr Ramiro Pineda, Brand, Adevertising and promotion Manager at Bridgestone Latin America Basically, the campaign addresses car drivers who know that driving goes beyond moving from point A to point B, that value the performance and safety offered by a Premium tire. As soccer makes men and women get together despite generational or lifestyles gaps to share the same passion, this campaign seeks to reach a more extensive and diverse public. “We are very grateful to drivers and
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football fans from the region, who have allowed us to share their passion for soccer. This campaign celebrates the passion of millions of fans and amateurs, and strengthens our commitment towards Latin American soccer and our intention to continue sharing this passion with sports followers�, added Mr Pineda. This campaign reported an advertising investment through FOX Sports in all Spanish speaking
countries in America, as well as printed advertising, OOH and POP Material, besides unpublished content for Digital and Social Networks. Also, we hosted an online press conference to formalize the launch with the media at regional level.
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Turbo in Latin America
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ridgestone, through its traditional brand Firestone, announced from United States the launch of the animated movie by DreamWorks titled Turbo, which was introduced to Latin American countries during summer. This story is about an ordinary snail whose highest dream is to compete on the Indy 500, regarded as the most important racing driving event in the world, one that the brand Firestone proudly equips. The reason of this alliance is that Bridgestone, at world level, shares same values and drives with Turbo such as perseverance, passion to reach goals and emotion for car races, exactly what Firestone has sought to maintain by means of its participation in the traditional car race Indy 500. For the launch of this movie, Bridgestone Latin America subsidiaries: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico, carried out a set of promotional activities through service centers, as well as activities with associates and the media. As part of their social commitment, Bridgestone companies in the region got together to get smiles from hundred of children in Latin America, when showing the movie to children from foundations, schools and homes to enjoy Turbo’s company and receive big brand surprises and gifts.
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ARGENTINA
Bridgestone and Art Bridgestone Emerging Art 2013 successful closing
With over 300 artists participating and a great number of visitors the 2013 edition of this award closed, establishing itself as a referent award within local emerging art. The objective of this award was to promote art, design, technology, music projects and at the same time to stimulate debate among art, environment and sustainability. After a rigorous evaluation of all the works submitted, the prestigious jury selected those works that would finally be part of the 10day exhibition at Borges Cultural Center in the city of Buenos Aires.
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As a closing ceremony award winning works received prizes. A great number of visitors attended the ceremony hosted by Mr Alfonso Zendejas, president of Bridgestone, and Roger Allua, director of Borges Cultural Center. The main pillar of Bridgestone Emerging Art | A place for innovation was to generate a new meeting place for creators and visitors to set up a reflection zone about environmental care.
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Winners by category Photography Jury: Fabiana Barreda Winner: Denise Labraga | Work of art: Untitled from the series No dicho, 2011 Electronic music Jury: Leandro Frias – Consulting Jury: Ricardo Cabral Winners: Gerardo Morel | Works of art: El sol que sale y Natura Saturanal Animation Jury: Martín Malamud – Consulting Jury: Nicolás Gastón Couvin Antonio Winners: Balseiro | Works of art: Oliverio, la aceituna Videogames Jury: Daniel Benmergui Winners: Santiago Javier Franzani | Work of art: A rabbit fable Fashion and accessories design Jury : Pablo Ramírez Winner: Natalia Lamarca y Maria Sol Dias | Work of art : #Numeral Industrial Design Jury: Santiago Martirena. Consulting Jury: Juan Gashu Winner:Federico Faure | Camposterra
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The power of fantasy coming true During winter school break our company organized a novel story telling show for young kids at Bridgestone Business School.
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In winter school break With the participation of an expert story teller, company partners’ children enjoyed an afternoon to let go of their imagination through stories and legends. The number of visitors was so important that we had to schedule two performances. After the show, which adults and children enjoyed, visitors shared tea time, a privileged moment to air emotions. On the close, children received surprise gifts and goodies to take home. At the home “Un Rinconcito de Amor” To celebrate Children’s Day the company visited a home that offers permanent accommodation to children affected by social vulnerability. We took advantage of this special celebration to share an afternoon full of stories close to the boys that live there. There “our” story teller once again captured children‘s interest with stories of legends and fantasies. All children followed narrations closely and enjoyed a very special Children’s Day. At the end of the performance everybody shared tea time and received gifts especially prepared for them.
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Willpower Little by little more and more people join in to donate time and effort to those who most need so. Working on the green garden at a Home “Un Rinconcito de Amor� is an example of how helping hands work.
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embers of the company, accompanied by family and friends, participated in volunteering work to reconstruct the green garden and plant citric trees in this home, which gathers children with different social problems. The work done was great since after winter time it was necessary to put the green garden back on track through maintenance work to face the seeding season whose yield will be harvested during spring and summer for home consumption. On this opportunity, our President Alfonso Zendejas participated actively together with his family in the different activities to enhance the green garden and plant trees. At the end of the day all participants shared lunch after which the home received our donations, clothes, footwear and toys collected by plant staff. In turn, the company donated a special watering system for the green garden, batteries, lamps and photocells. Also, the Home entrance was enhanced by installing
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an electrical doorman system and a phone station. The aid provided by Bridgestone Argentina’s staff reassures that best results are achieved when working in an organized and cooperative fashion, but mainly when that is heartfelt.
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A highly appealing Museums Night To reassure its strong commitment towards Corporate Social Responsibility, our company organized a free guided tour to the popular Buenos Aires Museums Night.
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big group of colleagues and their families took part in this event, which attracted over 800,000 people who enjoyed visiting 189 museums and cultural spaces in the city. On the night of Saturday, November 9, 15 buses took 480 restless and enthusiastic participants from the plant in Llavallol to the City of Buenos Aires. A full moon added its brightness to be part of this cultural event. On this occasion, Bridgestone group visited the Zoo, the Museum Regimiento de Granaderos a Ca-
ballo “General San Martin”, Fortabat Museum (exhibiting the Art Collection belonging to Ms Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat) and enjoyed a warm and excellent night in Puerto Madero, where they walked along Puente de la Mujer, (Woman’s Bridge) designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and Fragata Presidente Sarmiento, which was baptized in 1897 and was the first modern ship school of the Argentine Navy. Along the whole tour the different groups were accompanied and assisted by cultural guides who ex-
plained the main characteristic and interesting data about each place visited. It was another way to strengthen our company’s effort to achieve the integration of different social agents through activities for the whole community.
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Our Solidarity Caravan visited Northern Argentina
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Along a 4,000- km journey, our company took donations equivalent to around 9 tons to different communities in Salta and Jujuy
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y mid October we carried out our fourth Bridgestone Solidarity Caravan. This time, the goal was to help schools and indigenous communities in northwest Argentina. This year the Caravan was made up of 11 vehicles, a truck plus trailer and it got the support of a group of 37 people, company staff, clients and users, who accompanied, helped and worked actively during the whole journey. We traveled over 4,000 kilometers to deliver 9-ton donations. On this occasion, we visited 9 schools and distributed donations to 445 students. Along the journey we visited different places in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy such as El Galpón, Tilcara, Yacoraite, Volcano Cianzo, Juella and El Colorado. Since its first edition in 2009, our Bridgestone Solidarity Caravan has already distributed a total of 33 tons to the northwest of our country. On this 4th edition, the Caravan again invited associates, the community and neighbor companies in general to bring donations of all kind, such as medicines school sets, toys, sneakers, bicycles, food, clothes, utensils and kitchen furniture. A point worth mentioning is the warm interaction between members of the Caravan and students, teachers and parents in every community to know about and share daily experiences, life styles and trades. The places selected by Bridgestone Argentina for this caravan were communities which are so far away or of such difficult access that almost never receive any help or assistance whatsoever. Thanks to volunteers’ contribution and commitment together with the cooperation of companies as Aramark, Bagó, Colgate Palmolive and representatives from the commercial network, Bono Neumáticos, Coscolla Neumáticos, De Santo S.A, Larocca Salta Neumáticos, San Agustín, Neumatone, Neumáticos Médica, Ombú Neumáticos and Perez Curbello Neumáticos, we succeded in taking donations to their destinations. Thus, Bridgestone Argentina keeps on strengthening its commitment towards social issues, contributing to society through our aid to those who most need so.
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ARGENTINA
Fifth Solidarity Run/Walk Over 230 people participated in the event to help the Civil Association Betania in Turdera, a neighboring community. By Mid October we organized our fifth Bridgestone Solidarity run/ walk in Llavallol. Over 230 people took part in this edition on the 2K and 6K circuits. A run/walk is a competition anybody can participate in, from expert runners to enthusiastic neighbors ready to do physical exercise and have fun. This event is organized annually and it supports the Civil Association Betania in Turdera, an institution created and run by parents and family, which works as a Day Center and Home for mentally disabled adolescents and adults. It also holds a Training Center on dis-
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ability that offers professional advice in this head office as well as in the rest of the country. This fifth run/walk counted on the support from sponsors such as Aramark, Cabot, Co-Partners, Loginter, Rhein Chemie, Ristora and the
Municipality of Lomas de Zamora. At the end of the competition, all 2K competitors received medals while the first three of each category in 6K.received prizes. Thus, Bridgestone Argentina keeps on strengthening its commitment towards social issues, contributing to society through activities for the whole community.
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The Winners were: Category male 40 to 49 years old Jury: Fabiana Barreda Winner: Denise Labraga | Work: Sin titulo de la Serie No Dicho, 2011 Category male 50 to 59 years old Jury: Leandro Frias –Advisory jury: Ricardo Cabral Winner: Gerardo Morel | Work: El sol que sale y Natura Saturanal Category male 60 years old and over Jury: Martín Malamud – Advisory jury: Nicolás Gastón Couvin Winner: Antonio Balseiro | Work: Oliverio, la aceituna Category female general Jury: Daniel Benmergui Winner: Santiago Javier Franzani | Work: A rabbit fable Category male general Jury: Pablo Ramírez Winner: Natalia Lamarca y Maria Sol Dias | Work: #Numeral
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Safety is always first
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n 2013 Bridgestone started a global campaign of Industrial Safety intended to get the concept “Cero Accidents” rooted in the company. The first step of this campaign is to provide reassurance to the “Declaration of our Safety Mission for the Company” through a message that should serve as code of conduct for all employees of Bridgestone group and as reassurance that our commitment towards safety should always take first place over any other business issue: “Safety is always first” This message is also the starting point of “Essential Safety Activities”, a group of standards to be applied in all subsidiaries worldwide, in production and administrative areas alike, seeking to educate employees for them to become aware of our commitment towards safety, without leaks or exceptions.
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Bridgestone Essential Safety Activities The goals of these activities are: • 3S - to keep work places clean and tidy, where abnormalities and sources of danger are easily identified. • KY–to train employees to prevent and avoid factors of danger. • RA–to build low risk work places by means of the identification of risks and application of correcting measures. • Safety standards - to prevent accidents by means of clarifying and strict execution of safety standards. On the first stage, the “Declaration of Safety Mission” was placed at visible areas at the Argentinian plant while banners were placed in the main access doors to raise awareness on this issue from personnel. Later on, there will be informative meetings with all the employees in order to clarify concepts. By mid year the company will launch the manual “User Guide for four Essential Safety Activities”, which will be the basis for training activities addressed to all company employees. By adding this global initiative to the ongoing safety actions in our plant we aim at achieving excellence in terms of safety to generate a work place which we will feel proud of.
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Bridgestone Associate receives the prize
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ridgestone Associate “Pneus Hoff” received two prizes from the Association of Transport and Logistics Companies in the State of Grande Do Sul (SETCERGS). This Associate won prizes as “Best Distibutor of new tires” and “Best retreading company” . “This prize is the result of a strong team work at our company, a company that seeks excellence in terms of client service by means of the expansion of our chain of stores in the State, widening our association with the best world tire brand, Bridgestone, for the highest number of clients”, said Kiko Hoff, owner of Pneus Hoff, present in the whole state Grande do Sul through eight concessionaires BTS - Bandag Truck Service (the biggest truck and bus service center in Brazil ). “For Bridgestone, to see our distributors and associates getting rewarded on account of their quality reassures the important role our company has had in promoting distributors, as well as our concern to offer the best service to our clients”, said Marcos Aoki, Sales and Marketing General Manager - BBTS at Bridgestone Brazil. The Award “Transport and Logistics Preference” has been in place since 1994 and its objective is to identify favorite brands according to transport and logistics partners. This prize allows SETCERGS to acknowledge suppliers’ and partners’ performance that make products and services stand out in our region.
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Culture Contest takes consumers to Formula Truck
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he culture contest “Truck phrases”, involvng Formula Truck 2013 circuit, takes a winner and his/her partner to every city hosting this competition to watch the race from Bridgestone.HC VIP área. The action began on June 25 and closes on December 2, when registration period ends. To be part of this contest, participants should click on the tab “Truck phrases” on Facebook Bridgestone Brazil, (www.facebook.com/bridgestonebrasil) fill out the registration form and create a truck phrase of a maximum of 150 characters on one of the three topics suggested: “Performance on roads”, “Road safety” and “Technology on roads”. The author of the best phrase from each stage will win a couple of tickets for Fórmula Truck and have his/ her proposal published on Bridgestone fan page. Participants must have permanent domicile in the city where the competition takes place. Winners’ names will appear on “Truck phrases” on Bridgestone Brazil Facebook. Full terms and conditions are available on the fan page.
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Bridgestone launches “Fuzion” line Bridgestone has launched a new line of brand co-products Fuzion in the Brazilian market. There are three tire models for vehicles that use high performance tires, Touring and also trucks. Fuzion UHP (Ultra High Performance) has unidirectional tread design, quick reaaction to gearing, good traction and best braking on wet surfaces. Wide tire shoulders provide stability and better performance in bends. Fuzion Touring (comfort) tread designs were developed for drivers to have a calm and comfortable gearing. The grooves are designed to improve the response of the vehicle in case of wet surfaces. Besides these two models, Fuzion SUV (van) is another tire developed for drivers coping with bad weather conditions daily. Tread design provides excellent performance on wet surfaces and durability.
“After several surveys intended to understand the tire market in Brazil and the current fleet of vehicles, we saw that Bridgestone should reach this Ultra High /High Performance and Truck( LTR) segments providing a tire known as high performance tire”, comments Alexandre Lopes, Sales and Marketing Director – Consumer Division. “This has strengthened Bridgestone brand co-products in the Brazilian market.”
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Bridgestone founds Football school This project aims at providing activities for children and adolescents offering education, entertainment and socialization.
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ridgestone Football School was created to support and cooperate with education and entertainment for children and adolescents attending public schools located in the surroundings of our plants in Santo André, São Paulo and Camaçari, in Bahía. This social action is intended to promote sports through football training, to respect individuality and support each student’s education. The objective is to take sport as a tool for developing socialization, interaction and education. It also promotes the development of physical abilities, motor skills as well as techniques and strategy planning, which will lead to the discovery of new football talents not to mention its social impact. This project is a joint effort between the Prefecture Department and local Departments of Social Inclusion, Sports and Education, who selected candidates. The selection criteria are: social vulnerability, enrolment to a public school close to our plants and good marks. “For Bridgestone, football is a sport that encourages trust, pride and team work to reach an objective. These values are essential to our company. This project was born out of our belief that all children have the strength to overcome adversity and make dreams come true” commented Mr Luiz Fernando de Palma, Corporate Affairs General Manager at Bridgestone Brazil. The methodology applied is unique, designed by teachers and physical education teachers according
to students profile in the region. Classes are delivered twice a week in out-of-school hours. The project includes 48 students who receive uniforms and school kits.
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Employees as volunteers at Soccer School
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ith the objective of promoting involvement from employees in social actions developed by Bridgestone, our company launched the project “School Friends”, in November, in which employees contribute to the social integration of children attending Bridgestone’s Soccer School.
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Volunteers go to the school next to the plant where they work, in Santo André or Camacari, and they speak about their jobs in the company, they retell stories and help in training sessions, encouraging students to overcome drawbacks and to go after their dreams.
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Bridgestone supports social action in Camaçari Bridgestone, in association with other companies and the prefecture of Camaçari, Bahía, carried out the “Polo de Cidadania” on October 19.
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his action offered over 120 free services, medical check-ups, dental tests and nutritional advice, talks on nutrition and environmental education, as well as computing classes, professional counseling, course of studies and personal care service such as haircuts. This action also offered culture, sports and leisure activities, gym or capoeira. The “Citizenship Pole” (Polo de Ciudadanía) was created in 2008 as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Industrial Complex Camaçari, with the purpose of improving citizens’ living standards. About six thousand people participated in this action, offering 22,000 assistance services during the event.
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Storage capacity expanded Bridgestone Chile is carrying out important infrastructure upgrading in its warehouse.
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o optimize warehouse tidiness, secure inventory accuracy and speed up labor avoiding risks at the same time, Bridgestone Chile has started an orderly remodelling plan. In order to fulfil these aims the system was reorganized to meet the demands of the new process definition.
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The new structures include storage in wooden pallets that allow piling 4 or 5 levels, which optimizes space use in terms of height. The new layout of the warehouse adds around 4000 additional transitory places for storage. As a ccomplement to this redesign it is foreseen to incorporate 3 forklift machines
and 2 electronic stackers. All this upgrading will allow us to improve storage dynamics at Bridgestone warehouse, starting from the implementation and use of the module WM4.7 and to be ready for the next migration to SAP LA.
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Prevention
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Working for the community As part of Turbo promotion activities, Firestone Chile invited 200 children to a special show. Within Corporate Social Responsibility actions, children from the National Minor Service in Chile (SENAME) enjoyed the movie Turbo and the unusual snail’s adventures on a pleasant day. The SENAME is a state organism whose objective is to contribute to the restitution of children’s and adolescents’ rights, improving their living standards and promoting social integration. More than 200 children, together with their families in some cases, and officials from the organization enjoyed an exclusive show of the movie to kids’ delight with popcorn and sodas to close a special and unforgettable day..
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t Bridgestone Chile workers’ health is a key value; therefore, we purchased a next generation device to save lives: a defibrilator. This device, used in case of heart failure (providing electrical discharge that helps a patient maintain vital signs until assistance is available) is designed for any person to use in case of emergency. Although
instructions are simple enough and include spoken step- by- step guiance, Bridgestone team attended a training course that included practice for them to be ready to use the device in case of emergency.
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COLOMBIA
Bridgestone Colombia introduced its offer for the transport sector in the country At the company fair stand, Colombian transporters found Bridgestone best products and services for this market segment.
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une 5 through June 7, 2013, Bridgestone Colombia introduced its offer to the transport sector at the XXII International Autoparts Fair Expopartes 2013. Visitors participating in this exhibition
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at CorferĂas in BogotĂĄ had the opportunity to know the whole product range for the Colombian market offered by our company. At this event, which holds first place in its kind in Colombia and second
at Latin American level, Bridgestone focused on commercial exchange to strengthen relations with distributors, introduce its offer of products and services for trucks and contribute to market growth.
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Multillantas Bucaramanga is our new Bridgestone Colombia distributor Their goal is to become the best service center specialized in the transport sector in the region.
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ocated in a privileged and strategic area on ChimitĂĄ GirĂłn, Bridgestone Colombia opened Multillantas Bucaramanga, the new service center that offers a wide product range for the transport industry in the region. Multillantas offers an integrated product and service spectrum that includes alignment, balancing and assembly, mainly for the transport sector; it also sells all types of Bridgestone and Firestone tires for light and heavy vehicles in
Santander and North of Santander. This achievement is the result of the market expertise gained through almost 10 years. According to Aleida MarĂn Zuluaga from the marketing and advertising department at Multillantas, Bridgestone Colombia new store was designed to offer comfort to its clients; while vehicles are checked with the highest technology, drivers can wait in a wide lounge that offers cold and hot drinks, satellite television and WiFi facilities.
Multillantas has been a well known Bridgestone distributor in Antioquia and Tolima for almost 10 years and now the company has decided to expand this experience to the city of Bucaramanga. Their goal: to become the best supplier of products and services for the transport sector in the region, by means of an alliance with Bridgestone Colombia. Its bond with the first tire company in the world will facilitate its growth.
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COLOMBIA
Bridgestone Colombia gives huge flag to Santa Fe
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The flag intended to be a sign of recognition for achieving a position in Copa Bridgestone Libertadores semi finals. The President of Santa Fe, César Augusto Pastrana, received a huge flag of the team from Bridgestone, title sponsor of Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for their success at reaching a position in the tournament semifinals. In the picture, left to right, César Augusto Pastrana, President of Independente Santa Fe; Sergio Prada, General Manager at Bridgestone Colombia and Oscar Rodríguez, President of Bridgestone Costa Rica.
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COLOMBIA
Manizales has a new Bridgestone store: Invercapital Multillantas Bridgestone quality and support has got established in Manizales by the opening of a new store Invercapital Multillantas Manizales, located at the Texaco gas station La Playita, Km 3, Panamericana highway, a strategic crossing point for all transport from this city heading for any destination across the country. Besides Bridgestone and Firestone tires for all type of vehicles, Invercapital Multillantas provides a
wide range of alignment, assembly and balancing services, specialized in heavy transport. Likewise, as value added, clients will get tire durability follow-up and technical advice for rotation and calibration. At its pleasant and spacious premises of more than 300 m2, Invercapital Multillantas assists clients who are certain to find the quality and technology of Bridgestone products and the kindness
and qualified service of specialized technicians. According to Javier L贸pez Obando, POP Coffee store Coordinator at Invercapital Multillantas, this new service center has been designed to offer an efficient and timely service, with the best technology available for the transport industry in the country.
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Bridgestone Colombia launched special promotion for social media users Consumers obtained 10% discount in the purchase of Bridgestone Potenza RE760 tires.
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e all want to have something brand new after vacation time and this year Bridgestone Colombia invited consumers to renew car tires through a promotion designed for social media users. Indeed, between August 5 and September 5, 2013, upon buying Bridgestone Potenza RE760 tires, buyers got a 10% discount and additional prizes, materialized in free service attention, at Bridgestone service centers across the country. It was very simple to participate: to receive a voucher for a 10% discount in the purchase of Bridges-
tone Potenza RE760, Twitter users were expected to send the phrase: “after vacation time I want to have something brand new with #PromoBridgestone.” to @BridgestoneCol. Once the message was sent, the user received another one with a link to get the discount voucher, after providing some data. It was also possible to get the discount voucher by writing an electronic mail to the e-mail address p ro m o b r i d g e s t o n e _ b s c o @ l a bridgestone.com, saying: “I want to have something brand new with #PromoBridgestone.” Also, when
logging on the web page www.facebook.com/BridgestoneColombia and answering a simple question via inbox, users got a link to get the discount voucher on their cellphone. Users presented the printed discount voucher or showed the cell-phone message at Bridgestone service centers.
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COLOMBIA
Bridgestone Colombia early end of the year celebration
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pon announcing a very positive performance in the last three years in Colombia and Ecuador, The President of Bridgestone Colombia and Ecuador, Oscar Rodriguez, celebrated the end of the year with an event carried out in recent days at BahĂa Convention Center in the city of BogotĂĄ, which was attended by important company officers, employees, distributors
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from Colombia and Ecuador. At this meeting important announcements about new positions were made such as Colombia financial manager, Manuel Penzo, and a warm farewell homage was paid to the costarican Alexander Montanaro who was appointed Commercial Director at Bridgestone Argentina. On the photograph from left to right: Sergio Prada, General Manager
of Bridgestone Colombia; Alexander Montanaro, new commercial director of Bridgestone Argentina and Oscar Rodriguez, President of Bridgestone Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador.
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Sergio Prada Candela now leading Bridgestone Colombia S
ome weeks ago, Sergio Prada Candela, an Industrial Engineer from Táchira University took his position as General Manager at Bridgestone Colombia. Mr Prada Candela also had specialization training on Management Education at IESA, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración. Sergio Prada, married, with 2 children, is a professional with a 15-year track record in sales and marketing, including seven years at Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela. He now undertakes the challenge of consolidating the world tire leading brand in Colombia. Before taking this managerial position at this car multinational company, he was national BBTS sales manager at Bridgestone Colombia SAS and, later on, National Sales Manager at the same company, in charge of the commercialization of all Bridgestone–Firestone, Seiberling product lines for the Colombian and Ecuatorian markets. Mr. Prada Candela, known as a creative, dynamic, easily adaptable professional with clear leadership traits will work on the implementation of a management style based on team work for our organization to be recognized as a leading company for the quality of its products and services, for promoting people’s development and its commitment towards the community.”
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COLOMBIA
Together with Bridgestone Colombia experience passion for soccer and get magnificent prizes!
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he activity was carried out at Coopebombas, calle 59 #51D41. Bridgestone Colombia offered special discounts and surprise gifts for soccer fans. Visitors to this POP also participated in the Social Responsibility campaign “Think Before You Drive�, through the Inflating Pressure check as the main action. On Thursday July 18, Bridgestone Colombia planned a great surprise offer for those who wanted to experience the passion for soccer and have their cars checked before vacation time. Indeed, at Coopebombas store, consumers from Medellin took part in amusing games relating to soccer throughout the whole day and won instant prizes and discounts on products and services. Bridgestone Colombia organized several activities with instant prizes to customers: free alignment, valve + balancing, free oil change or free overall balancing. Likewise, customers received a free safety KIT, essential to maintain Bridgestone tires in good shape.
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Bridgestone Colombia is now the sponsor of Team Triumph at the Sport National Championship
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ith the purpose of improving performance and results on the track in the Super Sport National Championship, Team Triumph chose Bridgestone Colombia as sponsor this year. The team, created in 2011, has had a perfect season this year; they won 13 races out of 16
and they got three second positions. In the picture: Jofran Aparicio, future amateur race driver in the category Touring with Daytona 675 R tires; Carlos Alberto Cruz, Sales Manager of Special Businesses at Bridgestone Colombia; Juan Pablo Pach贸n, next amateur race driver in
the category Touring with Daytona 675 R and Diego Preciado, Engineering Technician at Bridgestone Colombia.
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COLOMBIA
Bridgestone and its brand Firestone presented TURBO at an Avant premier An important group of distributors, journalists and partners of Bridgestone Colombia were invited to the Avant Premier of Turbo in Colombia with the support of Firestone brand. Picture 1: Sergio Prada, General Manager at Bridgestone Colombia,
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accompanied by his wife, Meyling Martínez; his daughter, María Isabel Prada and Victoria Andrade. Picture 2: Bridgestone Colombia group of partners. Left to right: Luz Stella Jiménez, Purchasing Coordinator; Olga Moreno, Human Re-
sources Manager; Pamela Alarcón; Advertising and Communication Coordinator; Dora Romero, Finance Manager and Kevin Jaramillo, Consumer Market National Manager.
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COLOMBIA
Bridgestone present at Tire and Retreading Show room
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ast Thursday August 29, 2013, Bridgestone - Bandag were present at the Tire and Retreading Show room in Corferias in Bogotรก. At this event targeting the national transport sector, Bridgestone Colombia briefed attendants on retreading technology. Also our company offered information about operating cost cut and environmental benefits resulting from this practice. Together with their experts in the field, Bridgestone introduced its wide offer to more than 300 visitors at the Tire and Retreading Show room to enhance business opportunities and promote the retreading practice in the country. Visitors to the Tire and Retreading Show room participated in a draw to win two $500.000 coupons, redeemable as Bandag retreading service.
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COLOMBIA
Bridgestone Colombia at Colfecar Congress
New headquarter offices for Bridgestone Colombia S.A.S. As of November 12, 2013, Bridgestone Colombia S.A.S has operated at its new headquarters; this decision stems from the set of changes oriented to consolidating our brand in the Colombian market.
New Adress
Avenida Calle 24A No.59-42, Piso 2Oficina 203, Edificio Argos PBX: (1) 654 4000, (same lines and extension numbers) Fax: (1) 6544001
Bridgestone Colombia participated in the 38th National Colfecar Congress where it exhibited its most complete truck tires range. During the event, our company had the opportunity of meeting different clients and sharing some time with the most outstanding companies in the sector. In the picture, from left to right: Ciro Castañeda, Sales Regional Manager; Hermann Marin, Sales National Manager; Luz Karine Pacheco; Jesús Buendía, marketing Chief and Sergio Prada, General Manager at Bridgestone Colombia.
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Ter Dex in Apartadó, a new Bridgestone Wholesale store for Urabá antioqueño
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ince August, Bridgestone Colombia has had a new wholesale distributor for a closer approach to its clients from Urabá antioqueño. It is all about Ter Dex, a company located in Apartadó that will supply, besides this municipality, Mutatá, Chigorodó, Carepa, San Pedro of Urabá, Turbo, Necoclí, San Juan de Urabá and Arboletes, among others. Ter Dex, a company engaged in lubricant distribution for more than 5 years in that region of the country, has decided to expand its range of products and services through an alliance with Bridgestone Colombia. From now on, Ter Dex will distribute its clients Bridgestone and Firestone tires for all kind of light and heavy vehicles. “We consider that Bridgestone and Firestone tires are the best suited for road conditions in Urabá Antioqueño”, pointed out Alejandro Muñoz, Sales Chief at Ter Dex. “Right From the start we have been working with leading companies to provide our clients with the best products and services. Now by this alliance with Bridgestone we will reach our clients with the best tires in the world”, he added. Thanks to the path opened by Ter Dex for the distribution of lubricants that covers the whole Urabá antioqueño and part of the chocoano, our products will reach consumers more easily and efficiently. Sales channels will no longer have to wait for tire orders to be dispatched from
distant cities or accumulate stock to meet market demand. Now they will go to Ter Dex, a protected distributor, reliable and with a wide range of products and services that knows the region and counts on professional staff who will visit them to provide guidance timely.
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COSTA RICA
Bridgestone launches new products manufactured in Costa Rica
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ridgestone introduced 23 new products to the Central American market and the Caribbean, the outstanding products being Dueler HT D684 II and Dueler AT Revo 2; both models are manufactured in Costa Rica. According to current drivers’ preferences and OEs, it is becoming more popular to use bigger ringed and lower profile tires. As experts on world trends and consumers’ needs, Bridgestone Costa Rica has worked in the development of new products according to market trends. “We work for our boss; our end user; this is the reason why when presenting our models Dueler HT D684 II and Dueler AT Revo 2 we are certain to provide excellent options for drivers to get the best tire performance on any road, either countryside or city” said Mr Erick Calderón, Marketing and CSR Manager at Bridgestone Costa Rica. Bridgestone’s main goal is to manufacture high tech, quality tires that render proper safety conditions on roads to be able to please our clients’ highest demands and serve our markets the best way. For that reason change and innovation will always be Bridgestone’s main allies.
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Bridgestone brought football to all POPs
The World Cup frenzy reached our clients thanks to the “sales Force Competition” that Bridgestone organized during March and April. The action was on in Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama and it consisted of rewarding those salespersons that proportionately surpassed their sales record according to the ranking assigned by Bridgestone. In Costa Rica three retail salespersons and three wholesale salespersons got rewarded. The clients participating in the promotion were Tire Kingdom, Reenfrio, Llantas y Más, H. Rucavado, Tractaco, Centro Llantero Sur and LLantas y Accesorios. In Honduras three retail salespersons were rewarded among clients Aurema, Motorshow and Llantilandia. As regards Panama the promotion was carried out with Tambor. The winners were exhilarated to watch their national team play at an away game. “It was an unforgettable experience to meet colleagues and share experiences
amid an atmosphere of amusement and companionship. “This kind of activities is highly motivating since we feel proud and pleased that a corporation such as Bridgestone should acknowledge our hard work and make us feel like winners”, commented Eduardo Murillo Sales Technical Advisor with Reenfrio and winner of one of the trips to Mexico. Winners from Costa Rica traveled to Mexico to watch the match Costa Rica vs Mexico at the Aztec Stadium. Winners from Honduras traveled to Costa Rica to watch the match against Honduras at the National Stadium, besides enjoying a plant and city tour. Finally, winners from Panama also traveled to Costa Rica to watch the match against Panama at the National Stadium besides enjoying a plant and city tour as well.
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COSTA RICA
Bridgestone adds new business unit in the country
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ridgestone de Costa Rica (BSCR) begins testing and finishing for the opening of its car store Firestone Car Club in December. Firestone Car Club is a Latin American customized sales project for tires, services and car products such as batteries, oil, brakes, among others. This station will allow us to have a more personal contact with end users to know their real needs and offer an extraordinary purchase experience for both vehicle and owner besides getting special attention and offers. This new model is intended to complete our growth strategy of current business partners. This way, in the mid term we would gain presence in areas where for different reasons distributors do not have points of sale. Also direct interaction with consumers will allow deeper market insight as well as market opportunities, changes in consumption patterns. Horacio Hidalgo, Manager of Trade Marketing and Sales Channels at Bridgestone Costa Rica pointed out that at Central American level Costa Rica was chosen to open a Firestone Car Club for there is a plant in the country from which 25 countries are supplied. He also commented that the company is expected to grow nationwide by a franchise strategy in the mid term, with at least 4 gas stations and in the future try to gain regional presence. Costa Rica joins in as other Latin American countries, Mexico and Brazil, where these gas stations are already in place and render important results when providing direct contact with end users and insight into needs and opportunities for new products in each market. Argentina and Venezuela will implement this model in the next few months.
With this new network of gas stations, Firestone Car Club, Bridgestone reinforces its leadership in tire sales as well as its world leadership in car service centers.
Firestone Car Club Services Tires Sale (PSR and LTR) Assembly and disassembly Balancing Alignment Repair Lubricants Oil Lubrication Filters Brakes
Firestone Car Club store has also been designed as an environmentally responsible initiative considering aspects such as electricity and water saving and proper disposal of waste as oil, cables and old tires, the latter being managed by Fundellantas, which treats and processes used tires efficiently without hurting the environment.
Sale Diagnosis Cleaning Correction Light mechanics Diagnosis Parts Tune-up Pre-RTV
More information: www.carclub.com
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COSTA RICA
Colombia and Ecuador join Bridgestone of Costa Rica family
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he Integration Meeting welcomed distributors from South American countries. The main objectives of the Integration Meeting at Bridgestone of Costa Rica hosted in June together with their clients from Colombia and Ecuador were to achieve a closer approach, share managerial vision and identify new business opportunities in South American markets of great potential. 46 participants from both delegations joined in the visit to make up a single family next to representatives
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from BSCR; they enjoyed several talks and team work activities. “This integration meeting allowed us to welcome the whole chain of distributors and get to know one another much better; they got familiar with our structure, learnt about plant processes, ongoing investments and new products, as well as getting to know the whole human resources team supporting our work in the different areas, from factory up to management” commented Erick Calderón, Retail and CSR Manager at Bridgestone Costa Rica.
Among the numerous positive results of this encounter, satisfaction on the part of distributors and the trust bestowed on Bridgestone of Costa Rica stand out . “We are grateful and surprised by the warmth and affection shown on our arrival. We want to congratulate you on your wonderful company, you have a working team of excellence that reflects the strong values that govern it” pointed out Marcela Rivas, client from Colombia. On the other hand, Juan Gallant, General Manager of Tires Plus- Qui-
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to –Ecuador added “it was extremely pleasant for us to meet people from Bridgestone Costa Rica, from the moment we got off the airplane, the greeting and the organization made us feel very important partners within Costa Rica’s team.” “It is an unforgettable experience to be able to share it with such kind and pleasant people as you are. Your culture and warmth left us beautiful memories. Thank you again for this experience; we are more committed than ever and glad to know we are together with the very best” pointed
out Gisella Dueñas, Grupo Dueñas Gutiérrez of Ecuador. Having this commercial approach as a spring board, there are quite a lot of goals to reach and challenges to overcome. “There is a lot of work ahead, starting with the strengthening of our distribution chain in both countries to achieve a stronger brand presence. We are sure that with the support of Colombia and Ecuador together to the benefits our products offer we will be able to break into these markets at more accessible conditions and more fa-
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vorable prices” added Erick. With this new alliance we have achieved the consolidation into a single team and a single vision that will reflect great success. ¡Welcome Colombia and Ecuador!
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COSTA RICA
Bridgestone Costa Rica presents its seventh sustainability report T
he commitment of being a socially responsible company involves providing room to account for the methodology followed by the company and its social, environmental and economic impact. This accountability is materialized through the release of our Annual Sustainability Report, which has been issued systematically since 2006, this being its seventh edition. This report includes detailed information on the impact of the threeangle actions of the company as well as a comparative chart of the main aspects under the 22 CSR points of Bridgestone Japan, ISO 26000 and GRI. The commitment of the company is to continue working with sustainable standards aiming at getting certified as a socially responsible company. For further information visit www.bridgestone.com.cr
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Initiative on Playgrounds built out of waste tires wins recognition from AMCHAM This type of alternative use of tires contributes to reduce hatcheries of dengue mosquito and its negative impact on the environment.
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esterday, Bridgestone Costa Rica (BSCR) received recognition from Costa Rican- American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in the area Community Management for its constant work in building playgrounds and recreation areas out of waste tires.
This initiative is part of the actions that BSCR has promoted to reduce the impact of its products’ end of life cycle as well as to support the struggle against dengue mosquito due to the fact that waste tires are potential habitats when not disposed of correctly.
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COSTA RICA
“Our message is clear: appropriate disposal of waste tires implies sharing responsibility by all agents; there are disposal regulations and as consumers we should enforce compliance on the part of tire traders and distributors. As a company we seek to raise awareness so that members of the community dispose of tires appropriately besides trying to find novel ways to reutilize them without damaging the environment and taking care of general health condition”, said Ana María Arce, Coordinator of Corporate Relations and Community at Bridgestone Costa Rica. About the initiative The initiative started in 2012 with the construction of two playgrounds: the first one located in the facilities of the company. The second in the community of Hatillo 8 as vacant lots, rivers and other places. “Bridgestone intends to use waste tires as input in the reuse chain adding value so much so as to create children park.. This initiative generates an exportable pilot program for other countries in the region where we operate where the volume of waste tires is huge due to lack of used tires import restrictions” pointed out Ms Maple. The company intends to create at least one park in each Central American country in the short term; there are five parks in Costa Rica so far and last October the company implemented this initiative in one of the lodgings Aldeas SOS (Kids’ home) Panamá.
Playground built at Bridgestone Costa Rica Location: Belén Date of Construction: April 2012
Recreation area Fátima Coummunity Location: Desamparados Date of construction: June 2013
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Playground Hatillo 8 Location: Hatillo 8 Date of construction: June 2012
Recreation area “La Libertad” park Location: Desamparados Fecha de construcción: December 2012
Recreation area- Children’s home San José Location: San José Date of construction: August 2013
Recreation area Aldea SOS Panamá Location: City of Panamá Structure: flower pots and recreation structures. Date of construction: October 2013
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Play “Señales” crossed borders In the Dominican Republic and Guatemala road safety is a highly sensitive issue for the alarmingly high rate of road accidents in the last few years in both countries. According to AMET (Autoridad Metropolitana de Transporte de Dominicana), during the period January through November 2012, there were 1,435 deaths caused by road accidents in the country; Traffic Municipal Police from Guatemala reports 400 lost lives during the same period. It is for this reason that the drama group from the company, together with the Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, pulled together to raise awareness and strengthen road safety in youngest generations amusingly.
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This way, more than 6,700 children and adolescents enjoyed the play “Señales” in Guatemala in March and 300 children and adolescents in Guatemala shared the same message in September. For our company it is crucial to spread its values through a message on road safety to all citizens, especially to future generations and to leave its mark on such an important topic for Dominicans and Guatemalan. The selection of both countries is based in their commercial relevance for Costa Rica’s operations and additionally the potential for publicprivate alliances with their governments. Bridgestone Costa Rica regards ed-
ucation on road safety as a commitment that cannot be neglected in its Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. The company works on this issue with the objective of contributing to the improvement of our road safety culture, which will materialize as a lower rate of accidents and lost lives on highway.
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Play “Señales” • Supported by the Ministry of Education from the Dominican Republic and Guatemala Bridgestone Costa Rica • 9 performances in the Dominican Republic, 10 performances in Guatemala. • Drama group: 100% volunteer x-work. • Higher road safety awareness for over 9,000 children and adolescents.
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Volunteers: Identification and Commitment
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raining drivers on road safety, building playing areas out of waste tires, cleaning up beaches, communicating through art and music to communities at social risk are just a few examples of multiple volunteer actions organized by the company throughout the year to leave its imprint in society. “For Bridgestone, CSR actions are important indeed. For this reason we work strongly in conjunction with our associates who transform their energy and creativity into actions that impact positively on the environment, our country and the development of both” pointed out Ana María Arce, Coordinator of Corporate Relations and Community. In the last few months, Bridgestone Costa Rica has developed volunteer actions focused on Inflating Pressure at INTEL premises, where employees learned about the importance of correct pressure checks, how to measure pressure and got tips on basic care for appropriate tire maintenance. Playing areas have been built out of waste tires, offering excellent opportunities for boys and girls to enjoy outdoor activities. 25 volunteers will travel to Talamanca in Costa Rica to carry out a reconstruction work of community areas for indigenous population for 3 full days. Erick Ulate, a volunteer from our company assures that the importance of carrying out these volunteer actions is to grow as individuals facing communities’ needs, to grow as parents
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Bridgestone promotes social responsability spiralwork First footsteps in its value chain leave a trace of great advances and high expectation.
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COSTA RICA
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hen we address the issue of social responsibility we refer to the commitment and capacity of organizations to promote a positive impact on social and economic environments. In light of this definition, Bridgestone Costa Rica has encouraged six commercial partners to take part in a training process through its program “Value Chain” intended to spread its best practices in this issue. Supported by FUNDES and AED (Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo) the process was carried out throughout seven months, when distributors and suppliers had the chance of working on self assessment and to implement a plan for improvement at each company as well as to share results of the implemented methods that optimized business performance. According to the area Corporate Relations and Community, multiplying good practices across the whole value chain is part of the responsibilities of a company that is interested in experimenting and spreading sustainability as a managing and operating system within its organization. Also, it was a very interesting process; although there were several attempts in the past, this is the first occasion that the social responsibility issue has been worked on systematically along the value chain. Good results motivate us to continue working on visualizing a methodology that allows us to train a greater number of suppliers and distributors. For participants, the concepts and the new techniques learned on Value Chain will allow them to improve business performance and productivity. “The experience was an excellent tool to motivate us as managers, in the search of new opportunities for growth”, said Harold
Vargas, Sales Manager at Distribuidora Ionics in Central America. On the other hand, Idalberto González, from Reenfrio Comercial Automotriz, considers that participation in the Value Chain will help them improve plans, policies and internal procedures to be more competitive when kicking off an Environmental Administration project to achieve a better market image as well as more client satisfaction for its information policies on security for purchased products, besides many other benefits. As part of the program follow-up, in the next few months those associates participating in this first process will be able to continue with their training at Bridgestone Costa Rica, with the purpose of enlarging and applying best practices in social responsibility at their companies.
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ECUADOR
Turbo Avant Premier in Quito and Guayaquil The Avant Premier was at Cinemark Ecuador on July 17 and Guayaquil on July 18.
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n important group of Bridgestone Colombia distributors, journalists and partners were invited to Turbo Avant Premier in Quito and Guayaquil, an event sponsored by Firestone tires. All guests received a Turbo kit including a bag, a cap and a mirror by both brands.
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New products launched at Expo Golf
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ridgestone Golf division was part of Expo Golf Latin America 2013 at the World Trade Center in Mexico City, an event endorsed by the PGA. On this Expo Golf third edition, our Bridgestone Golf division in Mexico launched the most innovative golf products, among which we can mention ball e6, with its new pink color for lady golf players or the new design of ball boxes for e5, e6 and e7. Also, among new products the cap really stands out for its revolutionary technology that protects players from ultraviolet rays UPF 50 + UV. The new line offers Performance Caps, Ladies Performance Caps, Ladies Seeksucker Caps and Water Shed Caps, those which besides having the technological advance of solar protection, are also water and humidity resistant. Mr Gonzalo Valdés, Strategic Products Coordinador & Bridgestone Golf, explained during the brand participation that Mexican golf players are getting acquainted with Bridgestone Golf products, their quality and benefits. “we not only get recognition as a company that designs and manufactures the widest range of tires for diverse applications but also as a company that offers diversified products of technological innovation such as Bridgestone Golf accessories,” added Mr Gonzalo Valdes. At the moment, Bridgestone Golf sponsors Mexican professional golf players Manuel Inman and Estanislao Guerrero who have been part of the team for the last two seasons, reaching great success.
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MÉXICO
Bridgestone México recognized as a Great Place to Work
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ridgestone Mexico received the prize Great Place to Work 2013, advancing 11 positions compared to its last participation and getting place 46th in the ranking “The 100 best Companies to Work in Mexico 2013”, in the category 500 to 5.000 partners and multinational corporations. A Great Place to Work Institute, a rating agency regarded as a worldwide authority in assessment and analysis of organizational culture uses a methodology which was applied onto Bridgestone and other interested companies including evaluations on living standards based on three values: relationship between partners and leaders, that is to say, credibility, respect and fairness on the part of leaders towards team members and how these variables are perceived. The second parameter evaluates the relationship between partners and their jobs; it is the pride they feel for the tasks they perform for the organization they belong to and the team they are part of. The relationship among partners is the last value to be evaluated, referring to a work place that allows companionship. According to GPTW parameters, Bridgestone Mexico achieved recognition for its employees consider it as an excellent place to work since it offers trust, pride and enjoyment. Said Gabriel Pichardo, Director of Operations. “At Bridgestone, the most valuable factor we work with is our people; we are interested in getting to know what they need, not only providing them technical tools to perform their tasks satisfactorily but also elements for personal and professional growth. Our essence, to Serve Society with Superior Quality, is applied outward, improving our organizational culture
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year after year and offering our personnel the best quality as regards human treatment. It is our People that turn us into a leading company in the market.”
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Opening of first Firestone Car Club in Mexico
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ridgestone Mexico opened the first Firestone Car Club, service center, a business model developed in Bridgestone Latin America, which offers retail tire sales, services and car related products of the highest quality including batteries, oil and brakes change and maintenance, alignment, balancing, among others. The opening of the new Firestone Car Club took place last November 8 and was, hosted by Mr Daniel Benvenuti, President and general Manager at Bridgestone Mexico together with Gabriel Pichardo, Operations Director, Eduardo Ochoa, Sales and Marketing Director, Omar
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Flores, Car Club manager and Carlos Serrano, Business Coordinator at Bridgestone México, among other officers from the company. “One of the main objectives of Bridgestone Mexico is to strengthen client relations to have closer contact with our boss, our end user. Firestone Car Club is a tool to achieve this by respecting the values under which this project was conceived: proximity, comfort, trust, quality, commitment and honesty”, declared Mr Eduardo Ochoa, Sales and Marketing Director at Bridgestone Mexico. “With the opening of this new service center Firestone Car Club in Mexico, Bridgestone
reassures its leadership not only in tire production and sale but also as a leading company in the country with the widest POP network” emphasized Mr Ochoa. The new Firestone Car Club in Mexico joins the list of service centers of this kind located in Latin American countries such as Brazil and Costa Rica, showing material results by facilitating closer contact for the brand with its end users as well as opportunities to have first hand approach to clients’ needs and new products in each market.
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Bridgestone opens new offices in Mexico
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n November 6, 2013 Bridgestone celebrated the opening of its new offices in Mexico, located in a prestigious area within CAD Design Center, at Av. Juan Vázquez de Mella #481 Col. Los Morales, Polanco. This important change follows the innovative philosophy of the company, and its constant striving for excellence in all operation aspects. The new premises offer an atmosphere of modernity and elegance, promotes creativity and innovation besides showing our brand’s clear leadership and prestige in the country. “At Bridgestone Mexico we work hard towards showing our mission “
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to serve society with superior quality” in our daily activities, which implies offering facilities that meet the highest standards of safety and labor health”, mentioned Mr Daniel Benvenuti, President and General Manager at Bridgestone Mexico. “We want to maintain our position as Best Place to Work, which means doing our best joint effort, associates and company. Part of this effort is to provide a working place according to our essence and organizational pillars that reflects the best of our brand as the use of the highest technology, innovation and team work to create a positive working environment and offers
better communication across areas, besides developing environment friendly operations”, emphasized Mr Benvenuti. The company strives to create a happy labor community and offer a pleasant working time; that is the reason why its new facilities’ layout was designed to foster better coexistence and social learning among associates. Also, the new corporate offices are equipped with the latest technology and design that show our brand quality, innovation and transparency.
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Bridgestone México presents its 2nd Sustainability Report A
s part of the opening of its new corporate offices, Bridgestone Mexico presented advances and initiatives that show company’s commitment towards social, environmental and economic matters through Mexico 2nd Sustainability Report 2012 “Supporting people… supporting the future.” The report includes data on activities developed by employees, oriented to stakeholders on the most relevant issues regarding sustainability and Social Responsibility in Mexico. This document also covers the actions carried out in corporate offices in Mexico City, Cuernavaca plant and rubber production plant for Bandag retreading in León, Guanajuato. “At Bridgestone Mexico we are convinced that Sustainability and Social Responsibility are essential elements in business management, as important as transparency in informing our stakeholders about initiatives and economic, social and environmental achievements of the corporation”, said Mr Daniel Benvenuti, President and General Manager at Bridgestone Mexico. This report was prepared according to the 22 guidelines on Social Responsibility set by Bridgestone Japan Corporation and the recommendations by Sustainability Reporting Guide 3.1 of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), self declared application level B. Besides, this year national and international sustainability methodologies have been incorporated such as ESR, ISO 26000, AA1000 and Global Compact, with the purpose of being consistent with our mission, values, philosophy, corporate culture, ethics code and our own company objectives to achieve constant improvement.
To be consistent with our philosophy on use and efficient management of resources, Bridgestone Mexico Sustainability Report 2012 was developed as an electronic version. For a printed version visit: www.informebridgestone.com
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Spectacular Incentives Trip 2013 in Portugal
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ugust 24 through September 4, Bridgestone Mexico organized its Incentives Trip 2013, an event meant to reward its national distribution network; 50 associates received this magnificent benefit, a fabulous trip, after showing outstanding performance. Bridgestone Incentives Trip had a spectacular destination: Portugal, an awesome historical place that overwhelms visitors for being a cos-
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mopolitan and modern city packed with monuments. It is a crossroad of medieval streets with plenty of museums, monuments and churches that treasure past wealth and picturesque neighborhoods. To enjoy this charming destination, Bridgestone coordinated a first class trip with the best choice of hotel accommodation, personalized tours, private activities for the group, among other guests sur-
prises. They visited several cities in the country, a delightful experience for they also enjoyed Portuguese cuisine, traditional Fado and they shared Portugal’s breathtaking traditions and culture. Among the places visited, sites of interest in Lisbon certainly stand out, such as Monasterio de los Jerónimos, Belem Tower and Monumento de los Descubridores among others. Also, the group from
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Bridgestone visited Vila Franca de Xira, where the Equestrian Center Lezíria Grande stands; visitors attended the spectacular Equestrian Gala whose objective is to spread and promote Equestrian Art and traditional Portuguese horse riding of great beauty and tourist interest. Other adventurous visits headed for the cities of Sintra, Cascais, Obidos, Évora and Bathala; in the latter, a visit to the Sanctuary of Fátima was
a must, one of the places that receives the highest number of pilgrims in Portugal known worldwide for the appearances of Fátima Virgin. Cabo de Roca, another point of interest along this trip, allowed Bridgestone guests to enjoy the view from the most western point in Europe. Along eleven unforgettable days, Bridgestone officers and guests enjoyed pleasant moments of history,
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culture, adventure and relaxation, celebrating goals achieved in a pleasurable and elegant surrounding in Portugal. It is through this type of trips that Bridgestone nurtures a close relationship with its business partners, building trust, one of the main values between brand and its distribution network.
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MÉXICO
Soccer 7 tournament, winners travel to the final match of Copa Bridgestone Libertadores The first edition of the Soccer 7 Tournament taking place on July 7 was organized by Bridgestone at Morelos stadium. This competition was developed at national level among 256 participating teams from different parts of the Mexican Republic out of over 800 registered teams; the final phase was played in Morelia by the best four teams. Teams of the cities of Guadalajara, Morelia, Federal District and Monterrey played a quadrangular
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in the Michoacan capital amid an enjoyable, cooperative ‘fair play’ atmosphere close to family and friends, who supported their players throughout the whole tournament. The champion team was Monterrey getting the highest number of points during this final phase (7). The second position was for the host, Morelia; the third position for Guadalajara, and the fourth position for the Federal District. During the event the media were
also invited by Bridgestone to play a mini tournament. TV Azteca, Fox Sports and OMD took part, Bridgestone mix becoming the champion. As part of the closing event, there was an award winning ceremony. The first position won a trip to Copa Bridgestone Liberators final match between Club Atletico Mineiro from Brazil and Club Olimpia from Paraguay in Belo Horizonte city, Minas Gerais, Brazil, the local team winning the match 6 to 3 on penalty kicks.
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“For Bridgestone it is essential to bring consumers close to things they enjoy, their passions, such as soccer, to offer them the chance to become protagonists and get thrilled on the field. We want to communicate this passion for sports that turns into comradeship, family reunion and friends, when making up a Soccer team 7, working towards a common goal; this time passion was materialized as tickets to watch the final match,� mentioned, Eduardo Ochoa, Sales and Marketing Director – Consumer division at Bridgestone Mexico.
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Firestone shares TURBO’s emotion with children from ‘Save The Children’ Foundation As part of the promotion activities around the movie TURBO in Mexico, the corporate area organized a special show for the children from Save The Children Foundation, who enjoyed the movie sponsored by Firestone brand. Around 80 children were invited to the special show at Cinemex Pabellón Polanco and were given a surprise kit with merchandised items and school sets decorated with movie characters. As part of the activities within social responsibility, this initiative
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allowed us to gather smiles from the little ones. Bridgestone officers and associates were glad to share this innovating and amusing movie, a valuable lesson of determination through Turbo and passion to reach dreams, same traits as our company’s. “We are very pleased to share brand activities with the little ones, on this occasion, to share a valuable lesson of determination through Turbo and passion to achieve dreams, common traits with our company and with all those that
work with us,” commented Amelia Vives, Manager of Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility at Bridgestone México. The little ones received a great gift, a special kit Firestone Turbo including a backpack, a pencil case, lunch packs, photograph frames, rulers to measure heights and a piggy bag. Save the Children in an organization that provides direct assistance to little kids, which currently operates in more than 120 countries worldwide and seeks to inspire advances in the treatment of child-
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hood to achieve immediate and everlasting impact on little boys’ and girls’ lives. Other activities at Bridgestone Mexico focused on promoting Turbo through a promotional campaign at Bridgestone Service Centers, inviting children to get a picture dressed up as Turbo characters, while parents browsed information about services and promotions at the service centers. There was a great Turbo avant premiere for associates, special guests and the media to enjoy this amusing movie.
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Award to young talent at our 5th Creativity Contest in Mexico
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ridgestone Mexico closed a successful 5th edition of its contest “Think before You Drive”, aiming at valuing talent and creativity of university students through the communication of safety measures promoted by our brand. There were 500 participants who creatively highlighted the importance of simple actions as using seat belts, not driving under the effects of alcohol. or not exceeding speed limits; tips that might easily prevent human toll and material loss. As a company related to the car industry, Bridgestone is committed to community safety; that is why our company has taken a leading position in educating and raising awareness on road safety by means of providing important advice on this issue and offering free inflating pressure check-ups among others. “At Bridgestone we are proud that
adherence from young Mexicans to our proposal gets broader year in year out; participants present high quality and innovative works that promote safe and correct driving in a creative and novel way”, said Mr Daniel Benvenuti, President and General Manager at Bridgestone Mexico. “As young drivers belong to the most vulnerable segment in terms of car accidents due to distractions or alcohol consumption, our university contest seeks to unify creativity and innovation with the aim of reducing the rate of road accidents besides promoting talent in our youths,” emphasized Mr Benveniti. During the award celebration at Voilá Antara, the group Quiero Club from Monterrey presented their show; through their appealing melodies they were presenters and witnessed this prize giving ceremony
where winners received great prizes such as a trip to Indy 500 in 2014, acash prize and a next generation HP Tablet. Visit www.piensaantesdeconducir. com.mx to view the winning works from this 5th Creativity Contest “Think Before You Drive”
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“Think Before You Drive” fifth anniversary in Mexico
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ridgestone Mexico successfully closed its programs “Think Before You Drive” at car wash centers and road safety campaigns as well as “Think Before You Drive Kids”, activities that were on during the first half of 2013. “Think Before You Drive” is Bridgestone campaign aiming at improving road safety awareness for which adults, adolescents and children are the focus of the actions that have been on for five years now, providing drivers tips to reduce exposure to car accidents and reckless driving. Children, future drivers, are assigned the role of supervisors on road safety in an amusing way. The implementation of Think before You Drive at car wash centers and universities throughout these years
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has resulted in 12,000 free inflating pressure checks for automobiles that reached over 600,000 people. Also, through the implementation of road safety programs during Holy Week, the brand has reached more than 40 million drivers, offering them information on the four pillar tips the campaign promotes as well as other important recommendations on vehicle and tires care before starting a trip. In turn, the interactive show “Think Before You Drive Kids” with Mr Dummy as the main character, has been performed at public and private schools over the years. Mr Dummy is a puppet that together with a scientist from Bridgestone test center show children the correct behavior to follow when on
board of a vehicle; this show has visited several cities in the country. Since its launch the program has reported 316 shows at schools reaching a total of 258,684 children. “Drivers’ road safety is essential for Bridgestone; that is the reason why we develop specific actions that highlight the importance of correct tire inflating pressure. We aim at improving future generations’ standards; consequently, we carry out activities with children, taking good care of the messages communicated to them so that they become multipliers and alert watch dogs on road safety issues”, explained Amelia Vives, Manager of Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility at Bridgestone Mexico.
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Venezuelan journalists enjoyed avant premiere “Turbo�
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pon the launch of the animated movie Turbo, Bridgestone Venezuela offered a private show for journalists from the central region through Firestone brand; guests enjoyed a pleasant morning watching the fearless snail, its main character on the big screen. Over 160 people representing local and national media shared the show with their little ones this
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morning and enjoyed the touching production by DreamWorks featuring Firestone tires. Besides promoting Turbo and reassuring the values depicted along the story as core principles in company culture, it was a chance to strengthen bonds with the press and encourage family ties through an amusing spare time activity that included the little ones.
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Bridgestone Workers attend Management Course
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riven by the desire to get additional tools in managerial strategies and technical advances within the tire industry, 15 workers from different areas of the organization attended a course on Quality Management and Tire Technology, a program facilitated by our alliance with the Training and Technical Center for Companies (Fundaceate), an area belonging to prestigious University of Carabobo. The 240-hour course was offered free of charge and the internal facilitators were JosĂŠ Manuel FernĂĄndez, sales Engineering Manager as well as Luis Abreu and Leon-
ardo Sabatino, tire expert advisors. There were also professors from UC that offered basic managerial skills. Classes were delivered at Bridgestone’s Activity Center, an area located within the company premises used to carry out entertainment, training and cultural activities, not only for company employees and their relatives but also open for the surrounding community.
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Children from Bridgestone Dojo JKA successful debut in Venezuela national karate championship Workers’ children learn martial arts in the company
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y end July a delegation of students from Bridgestone Dojo JKA participated in the 25th National Karate Championship in the state Aragua. In this competition six of the children had outstanding performance and received silver and brass medals in the category: Kata (exhibition) and Kumite (combat). This is the first time that the students have participated in a public competition. CSR area implemented this program intended to teaching karate by the end of 2012, with the purpose of offering this alternative for personnel’s children at Bridgestone’s Activity Center. Another objective is to contribute with the promotion of a discipline that promotes physical exercise and strengthens human values to bring up better citizens for the future. Sensei Enrique PÊrez, an industrial engineer at our plant, is in charge of delivering training sessions; twice a week, he takes off his uniform and puts on a kimono to take his role as volunteer coach to teach the little ones theory and practice of this millennial martial art he has acquired since childhood.
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Bridgestone Volunteers shared Christmas time with the elderly Within December festivities, Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela delivered contributions to the home for elderly people “Santa Eduvigis”
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olunteers from Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela C.A visited the home “Santa Eduvigis” located in the state of Carabobo, which has been responsible to protect old people providing care and love for over 29 years. Members of Bridgestone Volunteer force took important contributions, clothes and personal care products, and shared morning time with amusing activities to celebrate Christmas. Donations were made by volunteers themselves, those who join in all social initiatives organized by Bridgestone Firestone, oriented to benefit the least favored groups of society. Irma Mayela Carta, CSR Manager at the company mentioned that for Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela, C.A. family it is essential to encourage workers and allies to join all the activities oriented to benefit our community.
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Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela, committed to our community
The organization shows its commitment to the country though CSR campaigns that contribute to the development of communities and their future
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ridgestone Firestone Venezuela, C.A., delivered a contribution of 230 meals to members of the communal board El Prado in the municipality of Guacara, in Carabobo, to provide a complete and nutritious breakfast to children
belonging to the vacation program in this community, which seeks to promote recreation and guarantee education on values among children. These donations ratify our company’s commitment to children and
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Venezuela’s future. Irma Mayela Carta, CSR and Public Relations Manager commented, “activities involving the little ones will always be part of our priorities because they represent the generations undertaking the responsibility of con-
tinuing our country.development” By this contribution Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela C.A. does its share in building a better country and guarantee a great future for generations to come.
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Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela works for a better planet Donation of trees for a greener environment As part of CSR activities that Bridgestone Firestone Venezolana, C.A. carries out for a better planet and community well being, the company donated more than 500 trees to the organization “professional and technical Services�, with the aim of contributing to tree planting and improvement of different areas in Carabobo and Co-
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jedes states, central territory. These plants will be sowed by volunteers of the organization together with neighbors and Bridgestone Volunteer Force. Donated almacigos were grown at the forest nursery that has worked inside company facilities for a long time, created to contribute decrease carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
This initiative, and other similar ones such as tree planting at educational institutions are part of the environmental program developed by the company, which ratifies its commitment towards the future of Venezuela and its Environmental Mission.
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Volunteers from Bridgestone shared Children’s day They gave away toys and they spent unforgettable moments
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olunteers from Bridgestone Firestone Venezuelan, C.A., shared a special day with lots of children from Carabobo within Children’s Day celebration; they spent the whole morning full of amusing games and gifts. With this initiative, the organization emphasizes its commitment towards future generations’ well-being.
The toys were donated by Authorized Service Centers across the country, which as an active part of the organization, participate spontaneously in all the projects that benefit communities. The site selected for the activity this year was Casa de Dios San Juan Bautista, from Guacara municipality (Carabobo state), where children
received gifts, shared morning time full of entertainment and enjoyed their day fully. This type of initiatives belongs to the company program “Make a child happy” whose core purpose is to make kids happy and cultivate values in the little ones in Venezuela.
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Bridgestone Volunteers’ participation in world beach cleaning day Year in year out our company contributes to raise environmental awareness among Venezuelan population
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pon the commemoration of the World beach cleaning day Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela C.A. participated in the coast clean-up in Carabobo and Anzoátegui States. One day was devoted to Patanemo Bay, in Carabobo, where over 110 volunteers were divided in groups to pick up solid litter from the area. Also, our little ones shared this
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activity after receiving some training on this issue. “We incorporated children so that they undertake our effort of preserving the environment”, mentioned Irma Mayela Carta, CSR and Public Relations Manager. Another litter collection activity was carried out on the east coast of the country, specifically on Lido beach in Anzoátegui, where representa-
tives from Licensed Service Centers participated for second running year in the program organized by Inparques, a public organism engaged in environmental protection, which was in charge of final disposal of dozens bags of waste.
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Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela strengthens its alliance with Dividendo Voluntario para la Comunidad Our company continues doing its share to build a better country
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ridgestone Firestone Venezuela, committed to the surrounding community, together with Dividendo Voluntario para la Comunidad (DVC), has made several contributions throughout the year to projects aiming at dealing with deprived segments in the community. Among the most outstanding activities we can mention our support to the organization “Casa de Dios San Juan Bautista� by donating food and the purchase and installation of fans. While in the context of returning to school, our company contributed with 2,130 notebooks, part of a kit that rewarded creativity among children belonging to public schools in popular areas in Carabobo. Additionally we delivered 38 tables and chairs to the Escuela Bolivariana Las Tablas. For Bridgestone Firestone Venezuela it is our tradition to participate in the initiatives promoted by DVC to raise funds, as the Amateur Chefs Festival or the traditional dinner Profondos at the end of the year.
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Workers’ relatives learned how to manufacture swimming suits Through a free course offered by the company
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n pursue of offering an alternative way for workers’ relatives to generate additional income, Bridgestone Firestone Venezolana, C.A., offered a training course on manufacturing bathing suits as part of its initiatives on social responsibility. A total number of 20 people attended the three-day course; they learned how to make swimming suits and to design matching accessories. Now they are able to create unique pieces of high quality standards, among which the product lines that stand out are bikinis, beach wraps and accessories. The tools and material used were provided by the organization, including the stamped, colorful and one-color lycra fabrics to achieve harmony in every original design. All this is part of a project that aims at promoting Venezuelan family entrepreneurship so that it reaches higher standards of living. This activity was carried out at Bridgestone’s Activity Center, an area devoted to leisure activities, education and culture, not only for company employees and relatives but also for the surrounding community.
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AMERICA LATINA
CONEXION LATINA JULY-DECEMBER 2013
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