Top marks for Imperial Tobacco’s fight against illicit trade

Imperial Tobacco has won recognition for its management of social, environmental and economic issues, and gained top marks for its efforts to combat illicit trade.

Sustainability Asset Management (SAM), an independent organisation providing guidance for investors on behalf of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, rated Imperial highly for its approach to a number of key areas and risks.

‘We achieved a score of 76 per cent from SAM – higher than the 67 per cent average for the tobacco sector and five points higher than our rating last year,’ said Imperial in a note posted on its website.

‘We were commended for our performance in tackling illicit trade, environmental management, as well as our participation in our responsible sourcing programme.’

“I am absolutely delighted,” said Kirsty Mann, senior CR engagement manager.

“This is our best ever score and I want to thank our employees for this shared achievement.

“Our rating reflects the collective effort of people across the Group, who contribute to our responsible performance – whether it is through improvement projects, one-off activities or diligently reporting information to assist performance management.”