British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco have been recognized for corporate sustainability.
BAT has been named in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the 20th consecutive year and is the only tobacco company to be included in the DJSI World Index. The World Index represents the top 10 percent of more than 10,000 companies assessed.
BAT is the highest-scoring tobacco company in 2021, with industry-leading scores in 11 of the 24 categories assessed, while achieving a top score of 100 percent in six categories, according to a company press release.
“It is an honor to have been recognized by the DSJI every year for the last 20 years and once again be ranked within the DJSI World Index,” said Kingsley Wheaton, chief marketing officer at BAT.
“Sustainability has been central to our business and ethos for decades, starting in 2001 when we established our first group-wide environment, health and safety systems, the BAT Biodiversity Partnership and a program of independently facilitated social dialogue. In March 2022, we will publish our 20th ESG Report.”
Meanwhile, Japan Tobacco has been included in the DJSI Asia Pacific for the eighth consecutive year. JT scored 79 out of 100 in the 2021 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, achieving full score in the materiality, risk and crisis management, environmental reporting, operational eco-efficiency, social reporting, and corporate citizenship and philanthropy criteria out of 24 total criteria.
“We are delighted that JT is once again included in the DJSI Asia Pacific this year,” said Kazuhito Yamashita, member of the board and senior vice president, chief sustainability officer, compliance and general affairs, in a statement.
“Participation in international and credible ESG assessments allows us to objectively evaluate our own sustainability measures and disclosure materials. We are committed to promoting transparent and reliable disclosures of nonfinancial information. It is one of the agendas we have been focusing on in recent years and is an important initiative in order to advance dialogue with our stakeholders.”
The DJSI is a recognized worldwide ESG (environmental, social and governance) stock index and a global sustainability benchmark that tracks the stock performance of the world’s leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. The DJSI Asia Pacific is an index of companies in the Asia-Pacific region that is reviewed once a year, and its constituents are selected from about 600 major companies in the region.