British American Tobacco p.l.c. has maintained its position as industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
According to a company press note, the company achieved an overall score of 88 per cent to remain on both the World and Europe indexes for an 11th year in a row.
‘The Dow Jones Indexes have earned an enviable reputation for the robust nature of their analysis, assessing more than 1,500 sustainability-driven global companies for their economic, environmental and social performance,’ the note said.
‘A detailed assessment of companies’ performance covers both general and industry specific criteria including: brand management; energy consumption; raw materials sourcing; and talent attraction and retention.
‘British American Tobacco was one of only 340 – less than a quarter of those assessed – who made the final cut. Such was the company’s high level of performance, it achieved best industry scores in 13 of the 20 categories.
‘It also scored a maximum 100 per cent rating in six key categories:
* Risk and Crisis Management;
* Combatting Smuggling;
* Environmental Policy/Management System;
* Fuels for Tobacco Curing;
* Human Capital Development;
* Responsible Marketing Policies.
‘In addition, the company achieved a best score of 93 per cent in the new Supply Chain Management category.’
“This is a genuinely fantastic result for the company and one that every single one of our employees should take great pride in,” said BAT’s international sustainability manager, Jennie Galbraith.
“British American Tobacco was the first tobacco company included on the index eleven years ago and we have been included each year since. This highlights that our employees across the group have consistently met the high standards required of a sustainable international business.”
Dow Jones publishes one sustainability index and three sub indexes; with the index covering the world and the three sub indexes covering Europe, Asia and North America.
All are based on the co-operation between Dow Jones Indexes and the Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) Group.