Green Forum • 24 October, 2024 at 9:00 PM
BAT aims to achieve a 50% reduction in our Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions by 2030 and to be Net Zero across their value chain by 2050, said Ileana Dumitru, Corporate & Regulatory Affairs Director for the South Eastern Europe Area at BAT, in an interview for Green Forum. Moreover, the company aims to reduce the total amount of water the company withdraws by 35% for its operations by 2025.
How does BAT's ESG strategy align with the company's overall business objectives and long-term vision?
At BAT, we are a leading multi-category consumer goods business with a clear purpose: to create A Better Tomorrow™. This purpose aligns with our long-term vision of building a Smokeless World, where smokers transition from cigarettes to smokeless alternatives. Our goal is to become a predominantly smokeless business by 2035, which means providing smokers with access to reduced-risk* products, driving Tobacco Harm Reduction.
Supporting our goal of A Better Tomorrow™, we've set several ambitious ESG targets that will not only accelerate our transformation but also benefit society at large. These include increasing the number of consumers using our smokeless products to 50 million by 2030, ensuring that 100% of our packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025, achieving Net Zero GHG emissions by 2050, and increasing the proportion of women in management roles to 45% by 2025.
Additionally, responsible marketing is a key component of growing our business. We ensure that our marketing efforts are directed exclusively at adult consumers and work closely with retailers through awareness training. We also advocate for minimum age laws where they don't already exist. Just to give an example, this summer, we took a step further in this commitment in Romania by partnering with the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) to launch our annual underage access prevention campaign. The campaign focuses on raising awareness about the importance of complying with legislation that prevents minors from accessing tobacco and nicotine products. This year, Romania implemented significant legislative updates, including extending the ban on selling e-cigarettes to minors, whether they contain nicotine or not, and banning the sale of tobacco and nicotine products through vending machines. Romania is one of the first EU countries to enforce such comprehensive restrictions on all forms of tobacco and nicotine products, including nicotine-free e-cigarettes.
What initiatives have you implemented to improve resource efficiency, such as water conservation?
At BAT, we believe that efficient water usage is not only a responsibility but also a key aspect of good business practice. This includes everything from eliminating water loss and leaks to increasing water recycling. While our manufacturing operations aren't as water-intensive as some other industries, the growing concern around water scarcity due to climate change makes resource efficiency a priority for us. For several years, we've been steadily reducing water usage and increasing recycling across our operations, thanks to our long-standing environmental management systems. Our Integrated Work Systems (IWS) are central to this effort, helping to optimize water use across all of our factories. We also implement various initiatives at each of our sites, including eliminating leakages and reusing water from manufacturing processes for utilities, cleaning, and restroom facilities.
We're proud that 24 of our operation sites are certified by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), which underscores our commitment to sustainable water management. One of these sites is our BAT factory in Romania - Ploiești, which earned AWS certification in 2021, demonstrating our efforts to uphold best practices in water stewardship.
What programs or initiatives do you support to give back to the communities where it operates?
Giving back to the community is fundamental to BAT's mission. Whether it's through our efforts to reduce the health risks of smoking by developing reduced-risk* products or through local awareness campaigns, we aim to create a positive social impact for our employees, the supply chain, and society at large.
As mentioned before, one of our key initiatives is focused on promoting legislative updates and reinforcing the importance of zero tolerance for the sale of nicotine products to minors. This campaign reaches approximately 32,000 partner retail stores and is highly visible in outdoor spaces and mass media.
Additionally, we place great emphasis on environmental responsibility. Our annual "Choose Responsibly for a Clean City" campaign, now in its 6th edition, encourages simple but impactful actions that protect Romania's environment. This year the campaign was launched on World Environment Day (June 5th), which coincides with the start of the summer season and it urges tourists to adopt eco-friendly behaviours during their holidays. Messages like "This summer, leave only memories at the seaside, not waste" are displayed on the highway to the Romanian coast, as well as across media and online platforms.
Our commitment extends beyond public campaigns—our more than 3,000 employees in Romania also play a vital role in promoting these messages. Every year, we run internal initiatives, such as blood donation drives, waste collection, and afforestation projects. In 2023, BAT Romania employees planted over 5,000 trees, helping to regenerate ecosystems in Călărași County. We've also made strides in reducing office waste by replacing disposable containers with reusable ceramic cups, cutting down on more than 2 tons of waste annually.
These efforts underscore our belief that small, everyday actions can have a major positive impact on both the environment and society.
How does BAT report on its ESG performance, and what standards or frameworks does it follow?
We've been producing independently assured reports for over a decade, which highlights our serious commitment to transparency, corporate responsibility, and sustainability. Our goal with sustainability reporting is to offer clear and integrated communication on our progress and initiatives to all of our stakeholders, across a variety of formats.
Our reporting suite includes our first-ever Combined Annual and ESG Report, along with issue-specific Focus Reports, a Diversity and Inclusion Report, an ESG Performance Data Book, and a Modern Slavery Statement. You can also find details on other key issues and activities throughout our website.
What are BAT's long-term goals for ESG and sustainability, and how do these goals contribute to the company's overall strategy?
At BAT, our long-term ESG and sustainability goals are at the heart of everything we do and are fully aligned with our vision of building A Better Tomorrow™. We're focused on reducing both the health and environmental impact of our business while delivering sustainable value for our stakeholders.
We understand the importance of natural resources in running our business, and we're committed to using them efficiently. That's why we're constantly working to minimize our environmental footprint and improve resource management. We're striving for excellence in how we manage our environmental impact having ambitious goals: By 2030, we aim to achieve a 50% reduction in our Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions and to be Net Zero across our value chain by 2050 at the latest and by 2025, we aim to reduce the total amount of water we withdraw by 35% for our operations.
Beyond the environment, we're committed to having a positive social impact—whether it's supporting our employees, improving conditions across our supply chain, or contributing to local economies through tax payments. Our focus on responsible marketing ensures that we engage with adult consumers only, and we work closely with local communities to make sure our impact is a positive one.
At the same time, we know that acting with integrity is essential to maintaining trust with all our stakeholders. We are committed to being transparent, accountable, and ethical in every market where we operate. Our principles and policies guide how we conduct business, and they ensure we remain a reputable and responsible global company.