Rubber
Bridgestone Americas has been awarded a $35 million climate-smart grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to invest in desert shrub guayule to expand natural rubber production in the U.S. and offer a solution for growers amid the ongoing water crisis in the Southwest with a more environmentally sustainable crop.
As 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 U.S. with lowered greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs in the region for local U.S. farmers and Native American tribes to build a rubber bioeconomy based on climate-smart and sustainable practices.
The USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities was established to expand markets for America’s climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers. Bridgestone was awarded the $35 million grant as part of the first pool of partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity.
Published in the January 2023 Edition
