This week, Bridgestone
Americas
was awarded a $35 million climate-smart grant by the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) to further cultivate and scale the use of desert shrub
guayule as a sustainable way to expand natural rubber production in the US.
Part of the USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities
initiative,
the $35 million investment in guayule will allow Bridgestone to expand natural
rubber production in the Southwestern US with lowered greenhouse gas emissions
and water use for growers amid the ongoing regional water crisis — and creating
jobs in the region for local farmers and Native American tribes to build a
rubber bioeconomy based on climate-smart and sustainable practices.
The viability of guayule as a sustainable, domestically produced alternative to
imported tropical
rubber
— an industry rife with deforestation, carbon emissions and human rights abuses
— has also been explored by
Ford
and fellow tire maker
Cooper;
as well as companies including
Patagonia,
for use in wetsuits.
"We have been committed to guayule as a domestic source of natural rubber since
our research initiative in this desert shrub began in 2012, to offer a more
sustainable solution for both our environment and economy," said William
Niaura, Director of
Sustainable Materials and Circular Economy at Bridgestone Americas. "By
participating in this larger industry-wide initiative led by the USDA, we can
continue our commitment to establishing a natural rubber industry domestically
in a climate-smart way, alongside other industry leaders who are similarly
dedicated to sustainable commodity production that will provide meaningful
benefits for domestic growers."
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Bridgestone's 281-acre guayule farm in Eloy, Arizona | Image credit: Bridgestone
The USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities was established to expand
markets for climate-smart commodities in the US; scale the climate benefits of
more sustainable commodity production; and provide direct, meaningful benefits
to farmers — including for small and underserved producers. Bridgestone was
among the first pool of recipients of the funding opportunity.
Bridgestone will use the grant funds to attract additional guayule growers in
the Southwestern US among local farmers and Native American tribes, to cultivate
a domestic natural rubber industry with a climate-appropriate crop. The company
will also work to educate growers on implementing climate-smart growing
practices of to help enable carbon sequestration in desert soils, water
utilization, soil health, and nutrient delivery and ecological benefits of
guayule.
The $35 million in grant funds will be disbursed through a five-year period
from 2023-2027 and is designed to reduce overall costs for guayule growers. Joining
Bridgestone, additional partners in the climate-smart grant include
the University of Arizona, Colorado State University, OpenET,
Environmental Defense Fund, Tohono O'odham Nation and Colorado River
Indian Tribes, and eight regional growers.
Bridgestone launched its guayule research
initiative
in 2012 when it broke ground on a guayule processing and research center in
Mesa, Arizona; the Bridgestone Group produced the first
tire
made from guayule-derived natural rubber in 2015. Today, the company continues
to operate the Mesa facility in addition to a 281-acre guayule farm in Eloy,
Arizona. To date, Bridgestone has invested more than $100 million in its
efforts to commercialize guayule. Bridgestone is also the recipient of multiple
US government research grants for guayule research and development, including a previous award
from the USDA in July
2017
and from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (September
2021).
Most recently, Bridgestone announced it is expanding the number of local farmers
it partners with in Central Arizona and is targeting 350 new acres of guayule to
be planted in 2023. In August 2022, Bridgestone announced its plans to invest an
additional $42 million to establish commercial operations, with additional
investment and expansion toward 2030. This investment will increase capacity of
up to 25,000 additional acres of farmland for planting and harvesting guayule at
scale in collaboration with local US farmers and Native American tribes.
Guayule is part of Bridgestone's plan to achieve carbon neutrality and make
tires from 100 percent sustainable materials by 2050. The company is targeting
commercial production of guayule-derived natural rubber by the end of the
decade.
The guayule initiative aligns with the Bridgestone E8
Commitment
that consists of 8 Bridgestone-like values starting with the letter "E"
(Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy,
Emotion, Ease and Empowerment) to realize a sustainable society.
This initiative builds on other recent initiatives — such as Bridgestone’s
partnership with
LanzaTech
to co-develop the first dedicated end-of-life tire-recycling process — that
further the company's progress on the "Ecology" and "Energy" pillars.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Nov 18, 2022 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET