- Bridgestone’s focus on inspiring future athletes and sustainability the key to supporting City of Salisbury’s new athletics facility
ADELAIDE, South Australia (29, January 2021) – Bridgestone, a global leader providing sustainable mobility and advanced solutions, has outlined how its commitment to creating a more inclusive and sustainable society through its Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership is at the core of today’s announcement as the naming rights holders of brand-new Bridgestone Athletics Centre in Adelaide.
Bridgestone’s Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership aims to inspire people with the “Chase Your Dream” message and is brought to life in Australia through a several community-led projects such as the Bridgestone Athletics Centre.
The realisation of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre was brought to life by the perfect alignment of values between the City of Salisbury and Bridgestone – underpinned by the common goals of inspiring the next generation through providing access to facilities, built with sustainability as a priority.
The Bridgestone Athletics Centre exemplifies Bridgestone’s future global business direction as well as paying homage to the company’s founder through the alignment to the ‘Our Way to Serve’ Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Through this, Bridgestone aims to enhance the way people live, move, work and play through three priority areas: mobility, people, and environment.
The construction of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre by the City of Salisbury on the former site of Bridgestone’s Australian factory echoes the actions of Bridgestone’s founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, who aimed to benefit society through the provision of sporting facilities for the community around Bridgestone’s original factory in Japan. It also shares the tyre company’s ongoing pursuit of sustainability – a key component of Bridgestone’s recently announced future Business Strategy.
According to Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand Managing Director, Stephen Roche, the shared values between Bridgestone and the City of Salisbury have resulted in the adoption of innovative and sustainable technologies throughout the development.
“Bridgestone is proud be associated with this incredible project because of what the Bridgestone Athletics Centre represents. To us, it is a perfect harmony of inspiration and sustainability – helping to support future generations chase their dreams with consideration to environmental stewardship,” Mr Roche said.
“When Bridgestone Reserve was opened in 2017, its aim was to be a vibrant community space. The creation of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre makes this site even more valuable to the community, and the City of Salisbury has done everything possible to make the venue as sustainable and accessible as possible.
“As Bridgestone continues to advance in the areas of sustainability on a local and global level through initiatives such us sustainable procurement, it’s important for us to support projects in the community that align to our goals around environmental stewardship, but also give back to the community, and enhance mobility through accessibility. These are the priorities of the Our Way to Serve initiative and a core part of Bridgestone’s future,” he added.
Throughout the Bridgestone Athletics Centre, several initiatives were adopted to reduce the environmental impact of its construction and operations, from the track surface, to the venue lighting, and even the design of the change rooms.
The iconic blue running track utilises 50 tonnes of recycled rubber in the surfacing system, in harmony with Bridgestone’s local commitment to responsible end-of-life tyre management across its network of stores which sees rubber recycled in sustainable ways such as sporting grounds.
To make the venue accessible in all seasons, City of Salisbury has invested in the latest LED venue lighting systems. The technology used not only uses less energy than conventional oval lighting, but features customisable programs depending on the requirements of the user to ensure only the needed lights are utilised – providing further energy savings and reducing CO2 emissions.
The focus on sustainability and accessibility is continued in the Bridgestone Athletics Centre spectator areas, building and changerooms. The entire facility is wheelchair accessible, with particular focus on ensuring suitable changeroom and shower facilities are available for people with reduced mobility. The changeroom flooring is also produced using recycled rubber material in a continued effort to utilise sustainable materials. In addition, the site forms an important part of the City of Salisbury’s recycled water program with treated water both used on site and other sites throughout the city.
City of Salisbury Mayor Gillian Aldridge OAM explained sustainability was an important part of the project.
“The Bridgestone Athletics Centre is a wonderful demonstration of sustainability with features such as water harvesting, use of recycled rubber in the surface, led lighting, and solar panels all aligning with both Bridgestone and the City of Salisbury’s focus on sustainability. Adding to this, the site is well serviced by public transport with a train station right on the doorstep,” Mrs Aldridge said.
The Bridgestone Athletics Centre is one of several community-led projects Bridgestone Australia has been involved in, in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, held Bridgestone Corporation’s home city. Working with Team Bridgestone Australia athletes Cathy Freeman, basketballer Joe Ingles, surfer Connor O’Leary, wheelchair tennis player Heath Davidson, and swimmer Ariane Titmus, the tyre company is encouraging young Australians to ‘Chase your Dream’ with initiatives like workshops, inspirational talks and the revitalisation of accessible sporting spaces.
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About Bridgestone’s “Our Way to Serve” initiative:
“Our Way to Serve” aims to inspire Bridgestone teammates to continue doing great work, by continuing to do good for the world. “Our Way to Serve” organizes Bridgestone’s CSR efforts under three Priority Areas: Mobility; People; and Environment. “Our Way to Serve” reflects the company’s longstanding philosophy of “Serving Society with Superior Quality” and a recognition that the best companies not only perform for their stakeholders, but also contribute to a better world.
From our beginnings in the 1930s, our founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, believed that a business that contributes to society would do well by doing good. Today, this is more important than ever, with mounting social and environmental challenges threatening the planet and the quality of life of all people living on it. Now, as a global leader, the Bridgestone Group is committed to serving society by improving access to smart, safe transportation, building healthy, resilient communities, and minimizing our environmental impact. Looking forward, we remain committed to driving innovation around mobility, people, and the environment – so that we can continue to serve society with superior quality for generations to come.
About Bridgestone Australia Ltd.:
Bridgestone is a global leader in tyres and rubber, and is building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. In Australia, Bridgestone Australia Ltd. offers a range of services and solutions to all segments of the Australian market to deliver social value and customer value. Bridgestone’s extensive range of quality tyres is complemented by the provision of mechanical and fleet services through the company’s nationwide retail network of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centres, mobile service provider Lube Mobile, and the manufacturing and sale of quality retreads through Bandag Pty Limited. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tyres and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
About Team Bridgestone and Team Bridgestone Australia:
Athletes are the driving force of the Olympic Games and represent the heart of the Olympic Movement. They are also Bridgestone customers who put in countless hours on the road, day in and day out, traveling to and from training and competition, no matter the distance or weather conditions. In the lead up to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, Bridgestone is proudly supporting athletes who embody the company’s “Chase Your Dream” message and will serve as the face of Bridgestone activities as Team Bridgestone.
Bridgestone Australia is proudly partnering with Australian Olympic Snowboarder and rising star, Tess Coady, to share the ‘Chase Your Dream’ message through the lens of ‘resilience’, building on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) driven projects leading up to and during Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
About the Bridgestone Corporation Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships:
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, proudly became a Worldwide Olympic Partner in 2014 and a Worldwide Paralympic Partner in 2018. The company has global rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Movements through to 2024, a period that includes the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. Bridgestone activities related to its Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships are guided by a global “Chase Your Dream” message, which intends to inspire people to overcome obstacles and persevere in pursuit of their goals. Additionally, these activities advance the company’s efforts to help create a more inclusive and sustainable society in alignment with its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve. As a worldwide partner, Bridgestone has marketing rights that include its full range of tires, tire services and selected automotive vehicle services, self-propelled bicycles, seismic isolation bearings, and a variety of building and industrial products.
