Category: Sustainability

Altria Signs Power Purchase Agreement

Photo: sumikophoto
Altria Group has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for energy produced by a new wind farm project in Haskell and Throckmorton Counties, Texas, USA. Altria’s contracted portion of the Inertia Wind Energy Center is intended to address the emissions from 100 percent of Altria’s annual purchased electricity demand across all U.S. facilities.
“This is our first-ever VPPA and marks significant progress toward our science-based environmental targets—achieving 100 percent renewable electricity and reducing operational greenhouse gases emissions by 55 percent by 2030,” said Sal Mancuso, executive vice president and chief financial officer in a statement.
“When the project is operational, we expect we will hit both those targets—ahead of schedule. We’re proud to support a project that will bring additional renewable energy to the electricity grid, contributing to positive climate action.”
The Inertia Wind Energy Center will be developed, owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, and is expected to be operational by the end of 2022 with a total generation capacity of 301 megawatts. In addition to bringing clean energy to the grid, the project is expected to create jobs and provide long-lasting economic benefits to the local community.
Altria’s agreement equates to around 400,000 MWh of renewable electricity per year—the equivalent of over 51,000 homes’ annual electricity use—and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 283,000 metric tons, or equivalent to the emissions from more than 61,000 passenger vehicles being driven each year.
April 6, 2022
Brazil Recyling Tobacco Pesticide Containers

Photo: Sinditabaco
Tobacco growers in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul area are eligible to take part in the empty pesticide container collection program from March 7 to May 19. The move is part of a project by the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union, SindiTabaco, and associate companies, in partnership with the Tobacco Growers’ Association of Brazil, Afubra, and now benefits 113,000 tobacco growers and 395 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.
Iro Schuenke
According to SindiTabaco President Iro Schuenke, the project is one of the various examples in which the sector puts environmental, social and governance principles into practice.
“The pesticide collection program was created before legislation now in force, with the purpose to preserve the environment and farmers’ health and safety through proper disposal of empty pesticide packaging,” said Schuenke in a statement.
In its 21 years of operation, the program has collected 18 million empty pesticide containers and become a benchmark for other sectors in reverse logistics.
Of the containers collected, 93 percent are destined for recycling, providing raw materials to other plastic products, according to program coordinator Carlos Sehn. Containers that cannot be recycled are taken to licensed landfills.
March 7, 2022
EU Bill: Firms Liable for Supply Chain Violations

Photo: weyo
The European Commission has proposed a law that would hold large companies operating in the European Union for environmental violations or human rights abuses committed by businesses in their supply chains, reports The New York Times.
“This proposal is a real game-changer in the way companies operate their business activities throughout their global supply chain,” said Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, in a statement. “With these rules, we want to stand up for human rights and lead the green transition. We can no longer turn a blind eye on what happens down our value chains.”
Under the legislation, businesses would need to establish mechanisms to detect, prevent and mitigate breaches of human rights, such as child labor, as well as environmental hazards in their supply chains. National governments would define the financial penalties for violators.
Victims could sue for compensation in domestic courts of EU member nations, even if the harm occurred outside the bloc.
According to the European Commission, the new rules will bring legal certainty and a level playing field. “For consumers and investors they will provide more transparency,” the Commission wrote on its website. “The new EU rules will advance the green transition and protect human rights in Europe and beyond.”
The proposal would initially apply to companies with more than 500 employees and annual revenue over €150 million ($170 million). Around 2,000 companies based outside the bloc but doing business in the European Union, amounting to an annual revenue of more than €150 million, would also be covered.
After two years, the range would be expanded to include smaller businesses in so-called high-impact sectors, such as textiles, food products and mining.
The legislation will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the 27 national governments, with all parties able to modify the language. The final draft will require passage by the EU lawmakers and member nations. The whole process could take a year or more.
February 23, 2022
Universal Named ‘Engagement Leader’

Photo: Universal
Universal Corp. has been recognized as a 2021 Supplier Engagement Leader by CDP, a nonprofit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.
The CDP’s Supplier Engagement Rating (SER) system independently evaluates how effectively companies are engaging their suppliers on climate change using the CDP’s annual climate change questionnaire that covers governance, targets, scope 3 emissions and value chain engagement. The top 8 percent of assessed companies were selected as 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaders.
“We are honored to be recognized by the CDP as a 2021 Supplier Engagement Leader,” said Universal Chairman, President and CEO George C. Freeman III in a statement. “At Universal, we are committed to setting high standards of social and environmental performance and working in partnership with our suppliers to reinforce the sustainability of our supply chains and meet our climate change goals.”
Earlier, CDP recognized Pyxus International, Altria Group and Imperial Tobacco for their efforts to promote sustainability.
February 15, 2022
Altria Lauded for Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Altria Group has been recognized as a member of CDP’s 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard for climate change, highlighting Altria’s and its subsidiaries’ work in sustainable supply chain management. Its supplier engagement rating (SER) positions it in the top 8 percent of companies who disclosed to CDP’s full climate questionnaire.
The SER provides a rating for how effectively companies are engaging their suppliers on climate change. CDP assesses performance on supplier engagement using a company’s response to selected questions on governance, targets, scope 3 emissions, and value chain engagement in the CDP climate change questionnaire.
“We believe Altria’s and our subsidiaries’ strong, sustainable partnerships with our supplier base and trade partners are critical to our future success and the achievement of Altria’s Vision,” said Sal Mancuso, executive vice president, chief financial officer, in a statement. “We are committed to driving sustainability and diversity through the value chain and we welcome the opportunity to engage further with our suppliers on environmental sustainability as a CDP supply chain member.”
Last year, Altria was recognized for a second consecutive year with a double ‘A’ rating for tackling climate change and protecting water security by CDP, a non-profit that runs a global disclosure system on managing environmental impact. CDP’s A List distinguishes companies for leadership on transparency and action on key environmental issues.
February 11, 2022
Imperial Recognized for Climate Action

Imperial Brands has won continued recognition as a global leader for its engagement with suppliers on strategies to combat climate change.
The business has been included on the 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard compiled by environmental nonprofit organization CDP.
This is the third successive year that Imperial has been named a Supplier Engagement Leader.
In December, Imperial maintained its position on CDP’s Climate ‘A List’ for its actions to cut emissions and mitigate climate risks.
Companies responding to the full version of the CDP climate change questionnaire also receive a Supplier Engagement Rating (SER). The companies with the best SER are highlighted as Supplier Engagement Leaders—which this year are the top 8 percent of companies to have made disclosures.
“We are pleased to once again be recognized by CDP, and we remain unrelenting in our focus on climate, in line with our commitment to reach net-zero global emissions by 2040,” said Imperial’s Global ESG Director Tony Dunnage in a statement.
February 10, 2022
Pyxus Recognized for Climate Efforts

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Pyxus International has been recognized by CDP for its coordinated action to address climate change, water security and deforestation. CDP is a global nonprofit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions.
Based on the data reported by the company through CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process, Pyxus achieved a B score for its performance in the environmental focus areas of climate change and water security, and a B- score for its efforts to address deforestation. CDP’s scoring scale ranges from an A to a D-.
Pyxus’ scores reflect the data compiled from its family of companies and brands, was scored by CDP-accredited scoring partners and measured against nearly 12,000 entities as part of this year’s process.
“As a global agricultural company, Pyxus is uniquely positioned to create a positive impact on the environment in a number of regions across our supply chain,” said Pieter Sikkel, president and chief executive officer of Pyxus, in a statement. “CDP’s recognition of our environmental transparency and action reaffirms the importance of our business’ ESG strategy and the strides we are making to leave the world better than we found it.”
In December 2021, Pyxus unveiled the framework of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, building off the company’s legacy of sustainable agricultural production. Implementing sustainable solutions that further improve the company’s environmental performance and reduce its environmental footprint is one of three key pillars outlined in the framework.
“Pyxus’ 2021 CDP scores can be attributed to a series of successful company initiatives—from helping farmers transition to sustainable fuel sources to planting millions of trees worldwide—that are part of our overall strategy to reach net-zero value chain emissions by 2050 and zero net global deforestation by 2030,” said Sikkel.
“Our company has an important role to play in addressing climate change and we are committed to working with farmers to help them reduce their carbon footprints. We are proud to be recognized by CDP for our efforts and look forward to continuing to share more about our climate change initiatives in the future.”
Pyxus began reporting its greenhouse gas emissions to CDP in 2009, its water data in 2014 and its forestry data in 2020.
February 7, 2022
UN to Raise Awareness of Microplastics Impact

Photo: miklyxa
The UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) will launch a social media campaign to raise awareness about the environmental and health impacts of microplastics in cigarette butts, the United Nations reports on its website.
Cigarettes are the most discarded waste item worldwide. Globally, more than 6 trillion cigarettes are produced annually, each containing filters, or butts, that are mainly composed of microplastics known as cellulose acetate fibers.
However, cigarette butts that are not properly disposed of get broken down by factors such as sunlight and moisture, thus releasing microplastics, heavy metals and many other chemicals, according to the UN.
Cigarette butts account for more than 766 million kilograms of toxic trash each year. They are also the most common plastic litter on beaches, making marine ecosystems more susceptible to microplastic leakages.
When ingested, the hazardous chemicals in microplastics cause long-term mortality in marine life, including birds, fish, mammals, plants and reptiles.
These microplastics also enter the food chain and are associated with serious human health impacts, which can include changes to genetics, brain development, respiration rates and more.
The social media campaign will aim to engage influencers, as well as UNEP’s Goodwill Ambassadors and Young Champions of the Earth.
It will also include a political advocacy angle by highlighting a recent European Union directive that requires all tobacco products with plastic filters to be labelled clearly. The goal is to encourage the public to advocate for similar changes globally.
“The Secretariat of the WHO FCTC has the technical expertise of the impact of tobacco products on not just human health but also on environment,” said Atif Butt, UNEP’s chief of public advocacy.
“By joining UNEP’s and the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC’s expertise together under the Clean Seas activation on microplastics, we aim to highlight how our health is intrinsically linked to that of our planet.”
February 7, 2022
Crows Trained to Pick up Cigarette Butts

Photo: Eric Isselée
A Swedish company is deploying crows to pick up discarded cigarette butts from the streets and squares of a town near Stockholm as part of a cost-cutting drive, reports The Guardian.
The wild birds receive a little food for every butt that they deposit in a customized machine.
Christian Günther-Hanssen, the founder of Corvid Cleaning, the company behind the method, estimates that his method could save at least 75 percent of the costs associated with picking up cigarette butts in the city.
More than 1 billion cigarette butts are left on Sweden’s streets each year, representing 62 percent of all litter, according to The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation says that. Södertälje spends SEK 20 million ($2.19 million) on street cleaning.
Södertälje is carrying out a pilot project before potentially rolling out the operation across the city, with the health of the birds being the key consideration given the type of waste involved.
New Caledonian crows, a member of the corvid family of birds, are as good at reasoning as a human seven-year-old, research has suggested, making them the smartest birds for the job.
“They are easier to teach and there is also a higher chance of them learning from each other,” said Günther-Hanssen. “At the same time, there’s a lower risk of them mistakenly eating any rubbish.
Tomas Thernström, a waste strategist at Södertälje municipality, said the potential of the pilot depended on financing.
“It would be interesting to see if this could work in other environments as well. Also from the perspective that we can teach crows to pick up cigarette butts, but we can’t teach people not to throw them on the ground. That’s an interesting thought,” he said.
February 4, 2022
California Pushes to Ban Single-Use Filters

Photo: lienkie
California lawmakers want to ban single-use cigarette filters, e-cigarettes and vape products in the state with the aim of benefiting the environment and public health, according to a story in The Los Angeles Times.
Assembly Bill 1690 would authorize local prosecutors to levy a fine of $500 per violation, defined as the sale of one to 20 items.
Supporters of the bill say cigarette filters offer no health benefits but cost the state millions of dollars to clean up and release toxic microplastics into the environment.
Roughly 12 billion cigarettes are sold in California each year, 90 percent of which are filtered, according to San Diego State epidemiology and biostatistics professor Thomas Novotny.
Nicholas Mallos, senior director of the Trash Free Seas Program at the Ocean Conservancy, said that in 2020 cigarette butts made up nearly 30 percent of the trash collected by volunteers on Coastal Cleanup Day. The city of Los Angeles alone incurs an estimated $19 million a year in cigarette filter clean-up costs. Public agencies statewide spend about $41 million a year.
The bill also targets vape products, which contain batteries and fluids that damage the environment. Reusable and rechargeable vape products would still be available under AB 1690.
Similar bills previously proposed have been unsuccessful due to “tobacco money,” according to proponents of the legislation. Assemblymember Mark Stone believes this time will be different due to a “growing awareness” of the issues and a “stronger coalition” of supporters.
The bill does not include a target date for when the ban would take effect.

February 4, 2022