Fleet decarbonisation is often discussed in terms of vehicle replacement, charging infrastructure and alternative fuels. Bridgestone Australia says tyre selection, maintenance, retreading and better data can also help fleets reduce emissions and prepare for new reporting requirements.
When fleet managers talk about reducing emissions, the conversation usually starts with vehicles. Electric vehicles, hybrid powertrains, charging infrastructure and fuel are the obvious areas of focus.
Bridgestone Australia says there is another opportunity sitting underneath every vehicle in the fleet: the tyres.
As a finalist in the 2026 Fleet News Group Awards for Fleet Supplier of the Year, Bridgestone is positioning tyre management as part of a broader sustainability strategy – one that can affect fuel consumption, tyre waste, manufacturing emissions and the data fleets need for environmental reporting.
Joanne Hayes, Head of Corporate Affairs at Bridgestone Australia, said the company is already working with customers to quantify the environmental impact of different tyre strategies.
“We are running reports for a number of customers using retreads and calculating the waste reduction through retreading, but also the CO2 emissions reduction in manufacturing,” Hayes said. “We are also helping customers with fuel reduction through products such as low rolling resistance tyres.”
For heavy vehicle fleets, retreading is one of the most established examples of circular economy thinking in fleet operations. Instead of treating a worn tyre casing as waste after its first life, a suitable casing can be retreaded and returned to service, extending the useful life of the asset and reducing demand for new tyre manufacturing.
Bridgestone says the sustainability opportunity goes further than retreading. Low rolling resistance tyres can contribute to lower fuel consumption, but only when they are selected and maintained correctly.
Claudio Sodano, Sales Director at Bridgestone Australia Ltd., said tyre inflation plays a critical role because under-inflation increases tyre flex and internal heat generation.
“If you have not got enough inflation pressure for the load, the tyre flexes more, generates more heat and creates higher rolling resistance,” Sodano said. “You are doing yourself a disservice if you fit a low rolling resistance tyre and then do not maintain it correctly.”
That makes tyre maintenance part of the emissions conversation. Selecting an efficient product is only the first step; inspections, correct pressures and appropriate replacement practices are required to deliver the intended result.
For fleets preparing for tighter sustainability reporting, the data behind those decisions is becoming increasingly important.
Hayes said some major customers are now asking Bridgestone for forms of environmental reporting that did not previously exist.
“As the market changes and requirements change, we work with our customers to understand what they are going to need,” she said. “We have customers saying, ‘I really need this reporting,’ when that form of reporting has never existed before. So we work with them on what data they need and what Bridgestone needs to start capturing.”
That relationship between supplier data and fleet reporting is likely to become more significant as organisations seek better visibility of operational fuel emissions and supply-chain impacts, including the Scope 1 and Scope 3 areas discussed by Bridgestone.
Electric vehicles add another dimension.
Sodano said EVs create different operating demands for tyres because they can be heavier than equivalent internal combustion vehicles, deliver high levels of torque immediately and generate less powertrain noise.
That means fleet managers need to consider durability, traction, rolling resistance and tyre noise when specifying replacement tyres for EVs.
“An EV is a different vehicle to an internal combustion vehicle,” Sodano said. “The tyre needs good traction for the higher tractive forces, low rolling resistance to support battery efficiency, and low noise because you no longer have the same internal combustion engine noise masking other sounds.”
For fleets transitioning to electric vehicles, that is a reminder that decarbonisation is not simply a procurement project. Every change in vehicle technology can have flow-on effects for maintenance, tyres, driver behaviour, charging, utilisation and whole-of-life cost.
Bridgestone is also looking at how the large volume of tyre, service and vehicle information available across its customer base could be used more effectively in the future. Sodano said the company is exploring how data from multiple sources could be combined and analysed to provide better insights into tyre wear and maintenance requirements.
The potential value for fleets is significant. Better information could help maintenance teams understand which tyres and positions are wearing faster, intervene earlier and avoid unnecessary failures or premature replacement.
For the Fleet Supplier of the Year category, this sustainability work highlights how the role of a supplier is changing. Fleet managers increasingly need partners that can help them measure outcomes, interpret data and adapt as operating requirements change.
Hayes said that ability to respond to emerging customer requirements is a core part of Bridgestone’s approach.
Tyres may not receive the same attention as a new EV or charging infrastructure project, but they remain one of the few fleet assets that influence safety, energy consumption, operating cost and waste at the same time.
For fleets trying to reduce emissions without compromising operational performance, that makes tyre management an area worth examining more closely.
Bridgestone Australia is a finalist for the 2026 Fleet News Group Fleet Supplier of the Year. Industry voting is open until 22 September 2026. Fleet professionals are encouraged to vote for the supplier they believe is helping the industry improve safety, sustainability, cost and fleet performance.
