Material Issues Mexico

During 2017, Bridgestone Latin America North (BS-LAN) conducted a materiality study, with the following objectives:

• To identify stakeholder perceptions about the company’s sustainable performance, in alignment with Our Way to Serve, the three Priority Areas and the six Management Fundamentals.

• To prioritize stakeholder needs and/or expectations through an indirect dialogue conducted through a survey, in order to establish the issues comprising the company’s social responsibility strategy reported herein.

The materiality study was conducted in compliance with GRI Guidelines and INTE G:35 Standard of the Technical Standards Institute of Costa Rica (INTECO), which is unique to that country. The materiality study initially focused on an approach involving a range of internal and external stakeholders, in an effort to identify their expectations and perceptions regarding sustainability at Bridgestone. Thus, the process served to identify issues that are relevant to ensure the continued development of the company’s regional sustainability plan, seeking to connect the Priority Areas with the stakeholders’ interests and with the company’s business objectives.

According to the stakeholders consulted on the performance and key issues to be reported by each Priority Area and Management Fundamentals, it was concluded that in Mexico there is a positive perception of the company's sustainability above 96% on average.

Main results are as follows:

In addtion to taking into account the priorities of the stakeholders (results of the survey); the issues determined at the internal level were weighted by the importance that each area granted to the management of the organization, its impact in matters according to the focus on social responsibility according to ISO 26000, and the relevance of content that was reported in the media (news monitoring) during 2017.

In addition, a benchmark and comparative analysis of the best sustainability practices of Bridgestone Mexico's competitors was conducted.