British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced a dedicated 'ESG Week' to highlight its goals and achievements around its enhanced Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) plans.
The company will utilise social media during the week to share its sustainability story with the outside world.
ESG Plan
BAT launched an ESG plan in 2020, with a particular focus on reducing the health impact from its operations.
Since then, the group has launched the tobacco industry's first human rights report and featured as the only tobacco company in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.
The company was awarded an 'A' score for climate change by the Carbon Disclosure Project and recognised as a 'Diversity Leader' by the Financial Times in its inaugural Diversity Leaders report.
In December 2020, the group announced its COVID-19 vaccine candidate had progressed to human trials to round off a strong year for the group.
ESG Week
Chief marketing officer of BAT, Kingsley Wheaton, said, "BAT ESG Week gives us the chance to share our continued progress with the outside world, given our purpose-led ambition to reduce the health impact of our business."
In the next step of its ESG plan, the group has outlined several goals, including increasing the number of consumers of BAT's non-combustible products to 50 million by 2030.
It also aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, accelerate other existing environmental targets to 2025, eliminate unnecessary single-use plastics from its operations and make all plastic packaging recyclable by 2025.
BAT's annual ESG report, which analyses the progress made by the group in the field of sustainability, will be launched on 9 March.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
