PRESS RELEASE
13 NOVEMBER 2017
British American Tobacco’s commitment to working to enable prosperous livelihoods for all farmers who supply our tobacco leaf is the focus of the latest report on Sustainable Agriculture and Farmer Livelihoods, available now.
This new report provides an overview of how BAT invests over £60 million each year in advancing sustainable agriculture, through its global leaf research and development, and supporting farmers through a network of expert field technicians. It also shows how the Group is managing and monitoring supply chain risks and opportunities through global programmes; and how it is working in multi-stakeholder partnerships, including the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing (ECLT) Foundation , to solve complex problems and long-term issues in farming communities.
Nicandro Durante, Chief Executive, British American Tobacco, comments: “BAT has been working in partnership with tobacco farmers for more than a century. Over that time, we’ve evolved our approach to take advantage of new opportunities, focused on creating value for the future of our business and the farmers we work with.
“We understand that there are many challenges facing agriculture and rural communities, so our work also includes multi-stakeholder projects that aim to enhance livelihoods, protect human rights and lessen the environmental impacts of agriculture.”
Tobacco leaf remains at the core of our products, so the farmers who grow it are at the heart of our supply chain. British American Tobacco sources tobacco leaf from 350,000+ farmers in 34 countries, which includes 90,000+ directly contracted by BAT leaf operations and 260,000+ contracted by our third-party suppliers.
This report provides an in-depth look at how BAT is implementing its sustainable agriculture objectives to ensure the continued success and long-term security of our business and, crucially, to fulfilling our role in wider society to support farmers and their communities, now and in the future.
Highlights of the report include:
To download the report, go to www.bat.com/sustainabilityfocus.
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