Bridgestone Americas’ Warren County, Tenn., medium truck tire plant has earned LEED V3 (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) recertification.

The Silver level award was given by the U.S. Green Building Council. The 24-year-old plant first earned LEED V2 certification in 2008 and was the first tire plant globally to do so, and it is one of only three manufacturing plants of any kind in the world to achieve LEED certification for “Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance 2009.”

“The achievement truly underscores Bridgestone’s global commitment to sustainable business practices and demonstrates the environmental mission of our One Team, One Planet platform,” said Tim Bent, director of environmental affairs for Bridgestone Americas. “The Warren County plant is leading the way for other Bridgestone facilities which are actively adopting similar sustainability efforts throughout the U.S. and abroad.”

To achieve recertification under the LEED V3 program, the facility implemented a number of sustainable initiatives, including:

• Installing plumbing fixtures and potable water efficiency measures, reducing plant personnel water use by 42.7% vs. baseline
• Planting water-efficient, native species landscaping, reducing irrigation water consumption by 93% vs. baseline while improving wildlife habitat
• Achieving a 31% more energy efficient operation compared to the median performance of similar Bridgestone tire manufacturing facilities
• Protecting and restoring wildlife habitats; 79% of the plant site is covered by vegetation and 75% is a certified wildlife habitat area
• Use of sustainable cleaning products throughout the plant, exceeding the LEED requirement by 19%

The plant manufactures 9,000 truck/bus tires per day and employs 990 people.