Nashville, Tennessee – Bridgestone Firestone North America’s Warren County plant in Morrison, Tennessee has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the first LEED certification for a tire plant in the world.

LEED encourages the development of more sustainable buildings, promoting energy and resource efficiency, waste reduction and pollution prevention practises, indoor air quality standards, and other environmental initiatives for both new construction and existing buildings.

The Warren County tire plant includes the use of hydrogen fuel cells in its automated-guided vehicles, energy-efficient lighting, high-tech fans, and bathroom resource-conserving fixtures. The facility has significantly reduced its energy consumption and has reduced water consumption in the plant by more than eight million gallons per year.

The plant, which produces truck and bus tires, was built 19 years ago, and is only the second existing manufacturing site in the U.S. to earn the certification. Earlier this year, it also received the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for Pollution Prevention, and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Air Quality Excellence Award.

“We are honoured to be the first tire plant in the world to achieve LEED certification and the second existing manufacturing building in the United States to achieve this recognition,” said Greer Tidwell, Bridgestone Firestone Director of Environmental Management. “Since most LEED certifications are awarded to new buildings, typically office environments, our team had to work very hard to meet the stringent standards necessary to achieve LEED.”