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Bridgestone Commercial Solutions’ Tampa-Based Retail Stores Receive Green Star Certification for Environmental Performance Hillsborough County’s Environmental Protection Commission honors local GCR Tire Centers and Truck PM Plus location

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 5, 2013) – Bridgestone Commercial Solutions today announced that its Company-Owned Operations (COO) in Tampa, Fla., received Green Star Certification from Hillsborough County’s Environmental Protection Commission (EPC). Hillsborough County commissioners presented Bridgestone’s area GCR Tire Centers and Truck PM Plus with the award at their joint retail store location on East Adamo Drive. Green Star is an industry-friendly program designed to encourage auto repair facilities in Hillsborough County to go beyond environmental compliance through the use of Best Management Practices and Pollution Prevention strategies.

“We are very proud to achieve Green Star Certification for our joint GCR Tire Centers and Truck PM Plus location in Hillsborough County,” said Pat Driscoll, General Manager, GCR Tire Centers. “Sustainability is one of our core values at Bridgestone, ingrained into every aspect of our business. The entire GCR and Truck PM Plus team has worked very hard to achieve Green Star Certification because we want to be a good corporate citizen of the greater Tampa community. Being sustainably minded is the right thing to do, and we want our customers to feel good about doing business with us.”

Dewitt Bruce, an environmental specialist with the EPC of Hillsborough County, presented the Green Star Award to the GCR and Truck PM Plus team during a special celebration recently held at their joint location.

“The Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission is proud to welcome GCR Tire Centers and Truck PM Plus to our Green Star program,” said Bruce. “We appreciate their efforts for continuous compliance and the willingness to go above and beyond to qualify as Green Star facilities.”

The EPC utilizes a compliance workbook and self-audit checklist developed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection specifically for the auto repair industry. Once a facility completes the checklist, it is submitted to the EPC for review. After review, a certification inspection is performed to ensure what is on paper is actually being practiced. Only 40 automotive businesses have been named Green Star facilities in Hillsborough County, including Bridgestone’s COO location.

About Bridgestone Commercial Solutions:
Bridgestone Commercial Solutions, a business of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, provides tires and services for trucking, construction, mining, aggregates and industrial operations across the Americas. The division manufactures markets and sells medium and heavy duty truck tires for the original equipment and replacement markets in the United States and in Canada through Bridgestone Canada Inc. Bridgestone and Firestone brand truck tires are available through more than 2,500 dealers and truck stops across the U.S. and Canada. Bridgestone Commercial Solutions, Mining offers products and services to the mining industry. In addition, through its Bandag brand, Bandag retreading dealers have access to industry-leading retreading research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales expertise. Bandag retreaded tires are sold through approximately 1,600 point of sale locations in North America. This combination of new and retread product offering provides customers with total tire solutions.

About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:
Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its One Team, One Planet message, the company is dedicated to achieving a positive environmental impact in all of the communities it calls home.