Altria Releases Climate Financial Report

Altria Group launched its first standalone Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report. The TCFD was formed by the Financial Stability Board in 2015 to help companies provide decision-useful information about their climate-related risks and opportunities to investors. In 2017, the TCFD published final recommendations across four core elements: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

“Just as we believe in the benefits of a science-[based] and evidence-based approach for our industry and tobacco harm reduction, we believe in a science-based approach for climate action,” said Sal Mancuso, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Altria, in a statement. “We also acknowledge this is our first TCFD report, and expectations for environmental, social and governance [ESG] disclosure are rapidly changing. We intend to learn as we go while responding to this dynamic environment as we evolve our reporting in the future.”

This year, Altria disclosed its progress and key metrics for each of its responsibility focus areas: Protect the Environment; Reducing Harm and Preventing Underage Use; Drive Responsibility Through Our Value Chain; Supporting Our People and Communities; and Engage and Lead Responsibly.

Altria’s responsibility focus areas are guided by its materiality assessment process—a comprehensive, formal approach to identify the most impactful ESG issues that Altria believes are important to its long-term sustainability and success.