Our sustainability goals
Watch our video at www.bat.com/sustainability/vision
to find out what sustainability means to some of our employees and how they are addressing some of the key challenges for our business.
Sustainable business practice is at the heart of the Group’s responsibility strategy. By addressing our social, environmental and economic impacts, we build value for the business, for our shareholders and for other stakeholders.
Our sustainability agenda comprises five goals covering harm reduction, marketplace, environment, supply chain and people and culture. You can read about all our long-term goals and our work in 2011 in these areas in our Sustainability Report 2011 online at www.bat.com/sustainability.
Included in the sections below is a brief summary of how we are trying to meet our sustainability goals and achieve a sustainable future through:
- working towards reducing the risks from our products;
- supporting regulation based on sound evidence;
- marketing our products responsibly;
- promoting sustainable agriculture;
- investing in our people; and
- working with others.
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Harm reduction
Our long-term harm reduction goal:
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We will strive to bring commercially viable, consumer acceptable reduced-risk products to market.
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27 Scientific papers submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals in 2011
The greatest negative impacts from our business are the real and serious health risks of tobacco products. So developing reduced-risk products for those adults who use tobacco is a priority. There are many challenges in this: the science is complex; collaboration is needed between scientists, tobacco companies and regulators; products need to meet consumer expectations; and we need a regulatory framework that supports tobacco harm reduction. We are committed to meeting these challenges.
We are working on three broad product categories: reduced-toxicant combustible tobacco products; low-toxicant smokeless tobacco products; and alternative regulatory-approved nicotine products.
How we are preparing for the future
- Identifying which smoke toxicants pose the greatest health risks and inventing new technologies to reduce them.
- Developing a framework of scientific tests to evaluate the likely health impacts of potentially reduced-risk products.
- Engaging with regulators, scientists and the public health community to develop the frameworks needed to bring them to market.
- Nicoventures is exploring the development of and commercialisation of regulatory-approved nicotine products.
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Marketplace
Our long-term marketplace goal:
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We will take a lead in upholding high standards of corporate conduct within our marketplace.
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73% Of our companies run youth smoking prevention programmes
Our aim is to grow our market share but we do this responsibly through innovative products and packaging. We believe that regulation should be shaped in collaboration with all stakeholders, including the tobacco industry. With our industry experience and expertise, we can be part of developing regulatory solutions.
The illegal tobacco trade is a widespread problem, made worse by ill-considered regulatory policies and particularly by large and sudden increases in excise tax that destabilise the market. The perpetrators of this trade are criminals, often gangs that also traffic drugs, arms and people, and may have ties to terrorist organisations.
How we are preparing for the future
- Sharing objective evidence to help contribute to the policy debate on regulation, as well as supporting regulation for the development and sale of reduced-risk products.
- Updating and strengthening adherence to our International Marketing Standards.
- Collaborating with governments and enforcement authorities to help address the illegal tobacco trade and working with our competitors to develop new technologies to stop the unauthorised sale, re-sale or smuggling of tobacco products.
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Environment
Our long-term environment goal:
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We will actively address the impacts of our business on the natural environment.
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-7.5% Energy use per million cigarettes equivalent compared to 2010
Addressing the immediate impacts of our business on the environment as well as the likely future pressures involves risk assessments, performance management and investment in efficient technologies. Environmental problems cannot be solved by one company acting alone. They also need flexibility – what works in one part of the world might not in another.
The success of our business now and in the future depends on biodiversity. Biodiversity provides resources like clean water, healthy soils and timber. Business can have a negative impact on biodiversity, as species and communities also depend on these resources.
How we are preparing for the future
- Using risk assessments and stakeholder dialogue to guide our approach to climate change.
- Developing strategies to reduce our impacts, focusing on water, energy and biodiversity.
- Using biodiversity risk and opportunity assessments to guide our approach to sustainable agriculture.
- Working with external stakeholders on areas of common interest, such as the members of our Biodiversity Partnership.
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Supply chain
Our long-term supply chain goal:
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We will work for positive social, environmental and economic impacts in our supply chain.
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443,480Tonnes of tobacco leaf purchased by our companies in 2011
Our supply chain sustainability strategy covers our own planning, manufacturing, logistics and trade marketing operations, but the most significant part of it relates to tobacco growing. This is where our greatest environmental impact is but where we have influence, rather than direct control.
We believe effective regulation in this area must cover all agriculture, not just tobacco. We also believe we have an important part to play in developing sustainable agriculture solutions, thanks to our experience and our relationships with over 140,000 contracted farmers in 19 countries.
How we are preparing for the future
- Protecting the long-term security of our tobacco leaf supply by encouraging sustainable agriculture, involving multi-stakeholder partnerships.
- Working to help build an objective evidence base on the impact of tobacco growing compared to other crops.
- Listening to our Supply Chain Sustainability Stakeholder Panel’s guidance and challenge on our supply chain sustainability issues.
- Reducing the environmental impact of our own operations and encouraging our suppliers to reduce theirs.
- Using our supply chain programmes and partnership projects with suppliers and third parties to protect the human rights of our suppliers, contracted farmers and local communities.
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People and culture
Our long-term people and culture goal:
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We will work to ensure we have the right people and culture to meet our goals.
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64 Nationalities represented by people working at our global headquarters in the UK
To achieve the goals we set for our business we need a strong workforce – from securing our supply of tobacco leaf to developing reduced-risk products. We can only strengthen our culture and build competitive advantage if we continue to focus on driving high performance, encourage greater productivity and build on the excellence of our talent.
Diversity helps us to understand our stakeholders and to meet their needs. It takes many forms: gender is one aspect, but it is also important to consider nationality and background. We have a number of initiatives to improve gender diversity at senior management levels and we are committed to improving the representation of all nationalities among our senior leaders at our headquarters and in our companies worldwide.
How we are preparing for the future
- Continuing to build robust succession plans.
- Establishing clear principles and simple, effective tools to manage performance.
- Embracing the diversity of our workforce to encourage creativity and innovation.
- Improving our approach to the health, wellbeing and safety of our people.
- Streamlining our global practices and eliminating duplication.
- Strengthening our core capabilities, our values and our culture.