Bridgestone Costa Rica has respect for Human Rights, as it considers these a pillar to ensure harmonious relations with society and sustainable development. The company recognizes their importance, as Human Rights are a fundamental part of its business model, and consistently strives to find ways to design strategies that create a positive impact.
Bridgestone Costa Rica has four corporate policies further developed in the guidelines to ensure the organization is in full compliance with Human Rights standards, guaranteeing a work environment based on respect for all employees.
1. General Code of Conduct
This code recognizes that the members on the Bridgestone Americas team are the company’s most valuable resource and the key to success. It believes that everyone must be treated with respect and dignity at all times and without exception. This information is included in the section addressing the promotion of respect and dignity that also clearly states that the company will not tolerate any behavior that fosters an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
2. Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention Policy
Bridgestone Costa Rica firmly believes that diversity enriches teamwork. Therefore, the company has a policy that fosters a working environment free from harassment, discrimination, and reprisals on the basis of any characteristic such as race, ethnicity, skin color, mental or physical disability, age, sexual orientation, gender/sex, (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender identity and/or expression, marital status, citizenship status and any other characteristic protected by federal, state, and local laws.
3. Human Rights Policy
This policy focuses specifically on the issue of Human Rights, strictly prohibiting discrimination in any of Bridgestone Costa Rica’s corporate activities based on ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, language, religion, creed, social status, disability or any other related factor.
This document also prohibits harassment and establishes that no Bridgestone member will speak or act in a manner that denigrates the individual dignity of another person. Under this same philosophy, child labor is prohibited in all countries in which the company operates.
4. Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Policy
The purpose of this policy is to encourage a workplace free of sexual harassment and misconduct by any employee, especially in their work relations within the Bridgestone Latin America North business units. The policy also recognizes the importance of Bridgestone assuming its responsibility for the implementation of effective processes to prevent and punish said behaviors, under the oversight of the Investigation or Ethics Committees.
Open-Door Culture
In addition to specific policies, Bridgestone seeks to strengthen a culture of open communication and free expression in order to nurture an environment where the team respects each other. An Open-Door Culture was created to encourage employees to feel comfortable sharing their suggestions and concerns. This type of work environment fosters relations that address challenges directly, by creating a problem- solving culture and facilitating productivity.
In 2017, Bridgestone Costa Rica reinforced its Human Rights culture among all team members by training its employees on this subject during Ethics Week. Online training courses on the values of integrity, respect, ethics, and compliance were provided for all staff.
Workplace Inclusion and Diversity
Bridgestone Costa Rica seeks to integrate diverse profiles in our work team. The company recognizes that workplace inclusion is fundamental to human and economic development, both for the company and stakeholders alike.
In 2017, the company continued to encourage gender equality in the workplace by hiring 10 women who joined the Bridgestone Costa Rica family.
Through workplace inclusion of women, Bridgestone Costa Rica contributes to the achievement of the SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
