AIKEN, SC. - My recent trip to Bridgestone’s PSR and ORR plants in the South were far more educational than I could have ever expected. In fact, had I known I was going to learn as much, I would have stayed home and watched the tube...

That’s not true. Enquiring minds such as yours and mine are always looking for the next nugget of new information. If you’re in the mood, I’ve got one for you: LEED.

LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a points rating system that allocates said points to a company/developer’s existing or new building based on specific criteria established by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998. As an FYI, the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) adhered to the same criteria and rating system in 2003.

The LEED “green” building rating system uses 110 points which fall into specific topics. Each topic has equally specific goals. Of them, we find Sustainable Site Development, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Energy Efficiency.

Not all of these topics apply to all buildings. The building designers, developers or owners can choose which match their establishments best in order to garner a rating. They work as follows:

40 to 49 points: Certified
50 to 59 points: Silver
60 to 79 points: Gold
80 or more points: Platinum

In 2009, Bridgestone was the first tire company in the world to achieve Silver LEED certification for two of its North American operations, one of them being the PSR plant in Aiken, SC, the other in Warren, Tenn. The new ORR plant literally across the street from the PSR is expected to also achieve LEED certification through recycling waste, a habitat management plan and using regional materials.

Bridgestone’s Americas Technical Center in Akron, Ohio, is also Silver LEED Certified. And here’s a small surprise: One of Firestone’s Complete Auto Care centers, the one in Smyrna, Tenn., is Gold LEED Certified. That’s impressive.

What’s really impressive is Bridgestone’s drive towards a better future for all.

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre