Category: Sustainability

  • PMI Included in 2022 Gender Equality Index

    PMI Included in 2022 Gender Equality Index

    Photo: Formatoriginal

    Philip Morris International has been included in the 2022 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (GEI) for the second year running. This is in recognition of the progress PMI has made in increasing gender equality globally. Currently, 39.2 percent of management positions are held by women, an increase of more than 10 percent since 2014 and still growing.

    “I am delighted that PMI has made the GEI for the second year running, particularly given that the threshold for inclusion within this index has grown since last year,” said Silke Muenster, chief diversity officer at PMI, in a statement. “While we still have a long way to go, I am very proud of the progress we have made to date, and I am confident about achieving more in the future.”

    As part of PMI’s commitment to gender parity, a global company-wide target was set to improve gender balance to at least 40 percent female representation in management by the end of 2022 and measuring and reporting progress against it.

    Other achievements and initiatives to further gender equality by PMI have included: becoming the first EQUAL-SALARY globally certified company; addressing gender bias in talent assessments; introducing global inclusive parental leave guidelines; celebrating top female talent; and launching a women in leadership program.

    The GEI is a modified market capitalization-weighted index that aims to track the performance of public companies committed to transparency in gender data reporting. It measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand.

    “We are proud to recognize PMI and the other 417 companies included in the 2022 GEI for their commitment to transparency and setting a new standard in gender-related data reporting,” said Peter T. Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg and founding chairman of the U.S. 30 Percent Club. “Even though the threshold for inclusion in the GEI has risen, the member list continues to grow. This is a testament that more companies are working to improve upon their gender-related metrics, fostering more opportunity for diverse talent to succeed in their organizations.”

    All companies included in this year’s index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

  • Tobacco Firms Recognized as Top Employers

    Tobacco Firms Recognized as Top Employers

    BAT, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands have been named as top employers by the Top Employers Institute.

    “Being named as a Global Top Employer for the fifth year in a row is a recognition of BAT’s inclusive, engaging culture and innovative working environment,” said Hae In Kim, director of talent, culture and inclusion at BAT, in a statement. “We are continually striving to maintain a workplace where employees feel empowered and well supported, and we are delighted this has been recognized.

    “It is an honor to once again be certified by Top Employers Institute,” said Howard Parks, JTI’s senior vice president of people and culture, in a press note. “Our people are at the heart of everything we do, which is why we aim to offer them the best possible working environment. Giving our over 40,000 colleagues the opportunity to grow and providing them with the optimal conditions and support to fulfil their potential is of paramount importance to us.”

    “I am delighted that Imperial has been recognized as a Top Employer for another year,” said Alison Clarke, Imperial’s chief people and culture officer, in a statement. “Imperial Brands is a great place to work, grow and develop, and it’s particularly pleasing that—in these challenging times when we can’t always congregate in the way we would like—our people have shown real resilience and embraced new ways of engaging to create an even better place to work.”

    The Top Employer certification process is conducted annually by the Top Employers Institute, an independent organization that studies the employee offerings of major employers around the world. Certification recognizes employers that provide best-in-class employment practices, allowing employees to develop themselves personally and professionally while driving business results. Participating companies undergo a rigorous assessment process, which includes an extensive review of employer practices. Several validation sessions are held where evidence of these practices is provided, and an independent audit of the findings is also carried out.

  • Riot Labs Launches Carbon-Negative Disposable Vaporizer

    Riot Labs Launches Carbon-Negative Disposable Vaporizer

    Image: Riot Labs

    E-liquids producer Riot Labs claims to have launched the world’s first carbon negative disposable vaporizer, QBAR.

    Available in U.K. stores and online from Jan. 11, the compact device is Riot Lab’s first disposable product. The product will be available in several U.K.-manufactured flavors and three nicotine strengths. Each device offers 550 puffs—equivalent of 30 cigarettes—before requiring disposal.

    “The launch of QBAR, our first venture into disposables, and our new brand campaign, is all geared up to changing the status quo on smoking cessation, and continue to deliver on our mission to help people quit smoking,” said Ben Johnson, who founded Riot Labs in 2016.

    QBAR is made from three elements that are all 100 percent recyclable. The outer casing is made from PLA plastic cornstarch, which is decomposable, but will be recycled into clothing, vinyl records and material for 3D printing. The 420 MAH A battery will be being reused in future devices and other electronic devices. The mouthpiece, which contains the liquid, will be incinerated power going into the national grid

    Riot Labs is also launching a Riot Recycle program to make it simple for stores and customers to recycle their devices, of. Consumers can drop their QBARs off at Riot Recycling Bins in specialist stores for dismantling and recycling.

     Ambitiously aiming for Zero Waste, Riot Labs also plans to work with stores to track how much waste each has saved so they can continue to optimize and find ways to achieve further reductions.

    “From day one, it’s been our mission to help people quit smoking for good, through creating products that are better for people, and better for the planet,” said Johnson.

     “Everywhere you look, companies are making efforts to be greener but that isn’t happening fast enough in the vape sector. We’re proud to lead the way with the first carbon negative disposable device—with its unique benefits we believe it will make a big impact on people’s smoking cessation journeys.”

  • Greening the Golden Leaf

    Greening the Golden Leaf

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Independent leaf merchants are working to improve the sustainability of tobacco cultivation.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    With only eight more years to go until most of the United Nations (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved, sustainability is becoming ever more critical in the tobacco sector.

    “In recent years, we have seen sustainability grow in importance to a point where it is addressed in almost all key internal and external engagements,” notes Mat Wilde, head of group sustainability at Contraf-Nicotex-Tobacco (CNT), a Germany-based company involved in the worldwide growing, sourcing, developing, processing, extracting and producing of leaf tobacco, nicotine and natural ingredients, among other agriculturally derived products.

    Set up in 2015 by the U.N. General Assembly, the SDGs comprise 17 goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” Goals include the elimination of poverty and hunger, quality education, health and well-being, gender equality, clean water and sanitation as well as the reduction of inequality, responsible consumption and climate action.

    While the leading international tobacco manufacturers in 2016 launched the Sustainable Tobacco Program (STP), an initiative that operates in more than 52 countries and gathers data on more than 180 suppliers of tobacco across 5 million smallholders, independent leaf merchants have also intensified their endeavors to support tobacco growers in their work toward more sustainable production.

    “I have always supported the growers,” says Rick Smith, founder of Wilson, North Carolina, USA-based Independent Leaf Tobacco Co. “They must be made whole for the industry to thrive. I have stepped up my efforts recently, certainly on types in short supply.”

    CNT works directly with its stakeholders on its sustainability efforts and supports its farmers in implementing best practices. “At the core of our approach with our farmers is our training program, where we aim to train growers on both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of sustainability topics,” says Wilde. “Understanding the context in each local operation, the root cause of prioritized issues and ensuring farmer financial sustainability is embedded within our programs. All are vital in working with our farmers to meet our common goals. Integrating key stakeholders, including farmers, farmer organizations, community, nongovernmental organizations and experts, within our projects and programs increases the impact and level of success.”

    Rick Smith

    Creating Awareness

    In a world characterized by declining smoking rates, sustainability includes ensuring financial viability for tobacco growers. For this reason, Norton Leaf Tobacco (NLT) of Zimbabwe educates its farmers on the need for diversification. “The government of Zimbabwe has introduced initiatives such as pfumvudza, a farming approach designed to maximize efficiency of labor and input resources,” explains NLT General Manager Alice Mukome Chiwanza. “NLT has field staff trained in the practice that ensures its farmers are able to increase both hectarage and yield of grains. Thus our officers are now training farmers to employ this method to encourage food security at [the] household level while assisting with the growing of the tobacco crop.”

    While NewCo Global Tobacco Trade and Service does not interact directly with farmers (it buys from partners and other leaf merchants), sustainability plays a key role in all of the German company’s activities. In September 2021, the company established NewCo Pro Services and Trade to handle the group’s diversification efforts and nontobacco activities.

    “This company’s main focus is to provide a proactive approach to global, social and environmental challenges as well as partner with entrepreneurs that have innovative solutions for a better future,” says Jose Maria Costa, senior executive advisor with NewCo Tobacco Services. “Through NewCo Pro Services and Trade, we are committed to doing our best efforts to make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals a reality. As such, we are in the process to market Sydney 905 water filters globally. These filters have proved to be one of the most efficient ways to get safe water regardless of water source. By providing access to safe water, we eliminate the need to use charcoal, which in many parts of the world is used to boil the unsafe water.”

    NewCo has also started replacing the plastic bags that are still used in the tobacco industry for tobacco samples with more environmentally friendly alternatives. “Most of the plastic bags that are used today for storing and shipping tobacco samples are not biodegradable and therefore they are not environmentally friendly. After several months of research and testing, we have placed our first order for the new bags, which are made out of potato starch and are 100 percent compostable and food-certified. Our plan is to contact all our suppliers, vendors and customers and offer them the possibility to make the same change NewCo has made and contribute to a world that is more sustainable.”

    Jose Maria Costa

    New EU Anti-Deforestation Law

    Worldwide, regulatory pressure on tobacco and tobacco products continues to increase, also in terms of sustainability issues. On Nov. 17, 2021, the European Commission announced a plan to ban the sale of agricultural products raised on deforested and degraded lands. The move is an attempt to ensure forests around the world remain intact and continue to absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. According to the U.N., the world has lost 420 million hectares of forest in the past 30 years—an area larger than the EU. During the recent U.N. Climate Change Conference, more than 100 states pledged to end deforestation and land degradation by 2030. For the time being, the European Commission’s list targets soy, beef, palm oil, coffee, cocoa and wood; while tobacco is not part of the commodities mentioned, the draft leaves room for future amendments.

    In a 2017 report on the environmental impact of tobacco, the World Health Organization expressed concern about the impact that leaf cultivation has had on forests since the mid-1970s. The health body estimates that 11.4 million tons of wood are required annually for tobacco curing. After processing, additional wood is needed for the production of cigarette and rolling papers as well as for packaging. As tobacco requires lots of nutrients, with soils being leached after two years to three years, land extension leads to further forest depletion.

    Smith notes that regulation should strike a balance. “Any laws restricting free trade affect us all and are usually detrimental to the people they are intended to help,” he says.

    “The tobacco industry needs to act responsibly to ensure that sustainability is at the center of all its activities,” Costa says. “From the farmers to the cigarette manufacturers, the entire value chain needs to protect all natural resources, including the forest.”

    Newco has been marketing Sydney 905 water, which allow users to get safe water regardless of source. (Photo: NewCo)

    Comprehensive Measures

    NLT is a member of the Sustainable Afforestation Association (SAA), a Zimbabwean nonprofit organization funded by tobacco merchants that was established in 2013 (also see “Taking Root“). “NLT has been a member since we started operations in 2018,” says Chiwanza.

    The SAA aims to retain and grow existing indigenous commercial forests. One of the ways in which it has sought to do this is by entering into joint ventures with farmers in tobacco growing areas to set up eucalyptus plantations. Eucalyptus not only grows quickly but also provides good firewood.

    “The bulk of Zimbabwe’s tobacco is grown by small-scale farmers who use wood-fired barns to cure their tobacco,” Chiwanza says. NLT also holds field days and workshops, encouraging farmers to grow trees and offering advice on best practices. SAA’s activities should help Zimbabwe remain compliant with anti-deforestation laws, such as the one pending in the EU.

    Fighting deforestation has been a priority at CNT for years, Wilde emphasizes, primarily for flue-cured tobacco in origins that use fuel wood but also for other tobacco types—with deforestation linked to curing fuel, barn construction material and land clearance. “Addressing deforestation has been a focus prior to external regulation, with necessity of ensuring continuity of the industry in some locations being a key driver for change, along with meeting communities’ expectations of the business and ensuring our ‘social license to operate.’ Having a robust traceability system in place, connecting tobacco to its growing source, farmers and the activities carried out on farm is key for transparency and meeting increasing supply chain legislation—both for human rights and the environment.”

    The company has identified high-risk origins within its supply chain and implemented systems aimed at mitigating deforestation. “The EU draft law on supply chain deforestation highlights the priority of this topic and reinforces the urgency of addressing these issues in high-risk origins, both as a company and as an industry,” says Wilde.

    CNT’s reforestation efforts comprise education and awareness programs for its farmers, community and stakeholders. “Training farmers on legal requirements, conservation and reforestation practices, and listening to our stakeholders on localized issues helps to address deforestation and reforestation,” Wilde points out. “Training is supported by farmer monitoring by Extension staff, the results of which are analyzed to feed back into response projects and training cycles. We run various reforestation and carbon projects within our origins. Tailoring reforestation and conservation response programs to the local context and working with expert partners in addressing the local hurdles to success is core in our sustainability strategy.”

    Spying Opportunity: Norton Has Great Expectations of Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Transformation Plan

    In September 2021, Zimbabwe’s government approved the tobacco value chain transformation plan, which aims to transform the sector, currently valued at $1.2 billion, into a $5 billion industry by 2025. Launched by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), the initiative aims to turn the economy around through agriculture, boosting national income and foreign exchange to the levels from before Zimbabwe’s land reform program, which turned the industry from one dominated by large-scale commercial tobacco plantations to one characterized by smallholder production.

    The plan calls for an increase of annual tobacco production from 200 million kg to 300 million kg, the exploration of alternative crops in anticipation of lower smoking rates and an increase in value addition and beneficiation from 1 percent of the tobacco crop to 30 percent.

    Alice Mukome Chiwanza

    Farmers have welcomed the initiative. “I believe this to be a great idea,” says Alice Mukome Chiwanza, general manager of Norton Leaf Tobacco (NLT), a local tobacco merchant. “Under the TIMB, Zimbabwe only exports at the very least semi-processed tobacco. Further beneficiation can be understood to mean [anything from] increasing the local production of regular—combustible—cigarettes to producing vaping devices. This will do wonders for the tobacco industry as it will mean employment, investments in the form of infrastructure, such as processing plants, and greater revenue as we will be exporting end products as opposed to raw materials that still need further processing.”

    According to Chiwanza, this would also present a welcome opportunity for NLT to grow its sales to supply products, such as cut rag, to local cigarette manufacturers while eliminating shipping costs that have been a large deterrent in exporting. “It may also create the option of partnerships allowing companies such as ours to venture into new technology and therefore [new] markets. The ministry’s plans also include localization of tobacco financing, which should significantly reduce borrowing costs for companies such as NLT. Being a wholly Zimbabwean company, NLT is poised to grab any plans encouraging increased local involvement in the tobacco industry.” – S. R.

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Taking Root

    Taking Root

    Photo: ArtushFoto

    Programs to combat deforestation are gaining momentum in Zimbabwe.

    By Daisy Jeremani

    As Zimbabwe grapples with deforestation, of which 15 percent to 20 percent is attributed to tobacco curing, farmers, merchants and the government have taken a stand to push back the loss of woodlands estimated at 330,000 hectares per annum.

    One of the initiatives involves farmers contributing a portion of their seasonal income into a reforestation fund that is managed by the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe (FCZ), a government agency.

    A second one is run by an association of tobacco merchants. Through the Sustainable Afforestation Association (SAA), buyers also contribute money for reforestation activities. The planting of trees started in 2014 with a buy-in from only six merchants, but now the number has risen to about 350 with a target of planting at least 3,000 hectares to 3,500 hectares of trees every year. So far, they have planted about 20,000 ha.

    In an interview with Tobacco Reporter, SAA’s business relations manager, Lloyd Mubaiwa, said his organization was set up by tobacco merchants “so that we create a sustainable source of fuel for tobacco curing so that we reduce the decimation on indigenous woodlands by tobacco farmers.”

    Besides loss attributable to the curing of tobacco, there has also been a massive decimation of natural woodlands and plantation forests due to various other factors, among them agricultural expansion, growth of settlements, infrastructure development, demand for firewood for domestic use and brick molding. Brick molding is almost the same as tobacco curing, as barns are built using bricks that would have been burned using traditional kilns, which require lots of wood to fire them up.

    The FCZ estimates that 330,000 hectares of natural forest are lost yearly, and 20 percent of that loss is caused by farmers, especially smallholders, cutting wood to cure tobacco. Approximately 80 percent of tobacco growers in Zimbabwe are smallholders who rely on forests nearby to cure the leaf because they lack money to buy coal, which better-resourced larger farmers use.

    A farmer using a conventional barn burns 9 kg of wood to cure 1 kg of tobacco, according to FCZ, whereas between 0.8 kg to 2.5 kg of coal are burnt to produce the same amount of leaf. A paper published by the International Journal of Development and Sustainability in 2014 said 0.6 ha of forest woodland are cleared yearly to process a hectare of tobacco.

    Native woods cut down for curing near a tobacco farm in Zimbabwe (Photos: Taco Tuinstra)

    Planting Trees

    To narrow the environmental cost of leaf processing, the government put in place a statutory instrument in 2012, which requires that for every three hectares of tobacco planted, the farmer must establish at least one hectare of trees for the curing of tobacco. Under the FCZ initiative, on each sale, the government is levying growers 0.75 percent, which goes through the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) and then to FCZ to be used to fund afforestation projects.

    Initially, merchants gave out mainly eucalyptus seeds to farmers when they came to sell their tobacco at the auction floors, but they realized that farmers did not establish any nurseries, according to Mubaiwa. After the seed initiative failed, the buyers started distributing seedlings, but, again, that failed as most of the seedlings just died under sheds at farms.

    “Now what we do is a farmer gives us the area that he intends to establish a plantation. We GPS the area, draft a contract he or she signs, and then we carry out the operations that are required,” Mubaiwa said.

    They sign 20-year contracts under which 20 percent of the harvest goes to the farmer and 80 percent goes toward a community fuel project. After 20 years, the plantation is handed over to the farmer and they can do whatever they want with it. SAA believes that the planation will be a lifetime investment, and the farmer should be able to harvest for the next 40 years to 50 years.

    “What we are saying is [that] we have taught the farmer how to grow the trees, how to look after them, how regenerate the coppicing or the shots and also [help] him identify and access markets to maximize his share value,” said Mubaiwa.

    There is also another incentive to the farmer during this partnership as SAA pays what it terms relief fees, which is money that it pays toward the farmer’s land tax obligations all the years that they are in partnership. The money is paid at $15 per ha.

    SAA does not only contract farmers, but it also trains them to grow seedlings to its specifications. The seedlings are grown in floating trays that were developed specifically for forestry, which gives a good root-to-shoot ratio. The bigger nurseries are in Harare and smaller ones are in areas that the organization is planting in.

    Since its formation in 2013, SAA has established approximately 20,000 ha of commercial eucalyptus plantations through long-term partnership contracts with about 320 farmers in the four main tobacco growing areas north of the country. It targets to establish between 35,000 ha and 40,000 ha of eucalyptus plantations across the main tobacco growing areas in the next 10 years for sustainable tobacco curing in the country.

    Alternative Energy Options

    SAA does not only contract farmers, but it also trains them to grow seedlings to its specifications.

    “To augment its biomass energy drive,” Mubaiwa wrote on Zimbabwe Forestry Online in April this year, “SAA has also collaborated with recognized research institutions such as the University of Zimbabwe and the Tobacco Research Board (TRB) to explore the use of bamboo, ethanol, biogas and solar energy as alternative energy options for tobacco curing. There has been very little progress in the development of these modern technologies, primarily due to a lack of national strategies to promote them.”

    The afforestation levy on growers was introduced in 2015 at a rate of 1.5 percent of leaf sales per farmer and is run by FCZ. Growers complained that the levy was too high, so the government agreed that it would be reduced to 0.75 percent.

    FCZ spokesperson Violet Makoto said that although they started getting the funds from the treasury through the TIMB recently, the afforestation levy has enabled them to address the supply side of afforestation as well as enhance their research into species that can be used for tobacco curing and capacitating them to be visible to farmers and assist with Extension services.

    The government agency has also set up nurseries to address the issue of seedlings’ availability in the tobacco producing Mashonaland West, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East provinces. Besides urging farmers to grow fast-growing eucalyptus, Makoto said FCZ is also carrying out research into other species that can be used—preferably indigenous species.

    “So research is ongoing to try out in terms of biomass value of the different indigenous species to see if they will be suitable for tobacco curing,” Makoto told Tobacco Reporter.

    She could not disclose figures on the hectarage grown under the levy, saying farmers have just embarked on this program, but she said uptake has been encouraging from large-scale tobacco growers. Makoto estimates that each of the big growers have set aside two hectares of trees for tobacco curing. The FCZ is also trying to make inroads to smaller scale farmers so that they establish community woodlots that they can harvest from.

    Zimbabwean tobacco growers inspect new technologies to help reduce energy consumtion.

    New Technologies

    In addition to replenishing forests, the government, through the TRB, is researching into, developing and promoting adoption of more energy-efficient curing options as well as renewable curing systems.

    One of the new technologies being promoted is the rocket barn, which is suitable for smallholders. Invented in Malawi and adopted and further developed by the TRB, the barn utilizes 4 kg of wood to cure 1 kg of tobacco whereas the conventional barn consumes 9 kg of wood to cure 1 kg of the crop. The small diameter furnace, introduced locally in 2014, also cures 0.5 ha of crop in a five to six day cycle compared to seven to 10 days in a conventional barn.

    There is also the larger, more expensive, twin-turbo barn, which is the most energy efficient model so far. According to the TRB, this technology utilizes any flammable material, including sawdust, wood and liquefied petroleum gas. A farmer needs about 1.5 kg of firewood to produce 1 kg of tobacco.

    In September this year, the TIMB launched a tobacco value chain development plan that seeks to promote use of solar and other renewable technologies to gradually phase out heavily polluting wood and coal-based curing systems.

    The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association’s chief executive, Rodney Ambrose, regretted the teething problems that have affected the FCZ managed program.

    For three years since its launch, he said, officials bickered over how the fund was to be administered. Many opportunities were missed over the years the tobacco levy was deducted but kept in the TIMB bank account as officials differed.

    “Then in 2020, a decision was made that [the] Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe should do the afforestation,” he said.

    The Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe’s president, Believe Tevera, also a farmer in Mount Darwin, Mashonaland Central Province, is also critical of the FCZ initiative. He said it was high time they saw real environmental remedy though the levies as the rate at which degradation is happening was not congruent with the steps that are being taken to correct the problem.

    “In Mount Darwin, we have been advocating to have that money channeled through the promotion of community-owned woodlots because we have wetlands. We can actually utilize these wetlands by planting gumtrees (eucalyptus). We can also grow the trees in gullies as there is a lot of soil erosion, which is being caused by deforestation,” he said.

  • Spain to Ban Smoking on All Beaches

    Spain to Ban Smoking on All Beaches

    Photo: G215

    Spain will ban smoking on all beaches reports The Daily Mail. Violators risk fines of up to €2,000 ($2,264.52).

    The national law aims to combat pollution caused by cigarette butts on the country’s 3,000 miles of coastline.

    The measure was introduced by a green party following a petition signed by more than 283,000 people and delivered to the government requesting a change to the law.

    Several Spanish regions, including Barcelona and the Canary islands, have already introduced similar smoking bans on beaches.

    Other regions in Europe have also banned smoking on beaches, including some areas of southern France and Sardinia.

    However, Spain’s nationwide ban is the first of its kind in Europe.

  • Vuse Wins Sustainable Product Award

    Vuse Wins Sustainable Product Award

    Photo: BAT

    The Vuse e-cigarette brand has won the Sustainable Product Award in the 2021 SEAL (Sustainability, Environmental Achievement and Leadership) Business Sustainability Awards. The award recognizes innovative and impactful products that are “purpose-built for a sustainable future.”
     
    The SEAL Awards celebrate leadership through business sustainability and environmental journalism awards.
     
    “We are honored to receive this SEAL Sustainable Product Award for our Vuse vapor brand,” said Kingsley Wheaton, BAT’s chief marketing officer, in statement.

    “At BAT, we are creating the brands of the future with sustainability at their core. In 2021, Vuse was certified as the first global carbon neutral vape brand. This is part of Vuse’s broader sustainability program, which aims to eliminate single-use plastics and have all packaging recyclable by 2025.
     
    “We are proud that Vuse has set the sustainability standard within the vaping category.”

  • Universal Releases 2021 Sustainability Report

    Universal Releases 2021 Sustainability Report

    Universal Corp. has released its 2021 Sustainability Report.

    “At Universal, sustainability has long been part of how we conduct business. We are committed to disclosing our operational activities as well as our sustainability performance consistently and in a transparent manner,” said George C. Freeman III, Universal’s chairman, president and CEO.

    “We are excited about our sustainability goals and targets outlined in this report and will continue to build upon our global programs to reinforce the sustainability of our supply chains.” 

    Universal’s 2021 Sustainability Report focuses on the company’s material sustainability topics as well as environmental, social and supply chain goals. Data disclosed in the report reflects activities from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.

  • PMI Reports on Ag Labor Practices

    PMI Reports on Ag Labor Practices

    Photo: PMI

    Philip Morris International has published its Agricultural Labor Practices: 10-Year Anniversary Report. The report recognizes the company’s decade-old agricultural labor practices (ALP) program, which launched in 2011 with the aim to eliminate child labor and to achieve safe and fair working conditions on farms where PMI sources tobacco.

    “In marking the 10-year anniversary of our ALP program and the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor, we have developed a comprehensive report to reflect on the progress we’ve made while acknowledging that accelerated action is more urgent than ever,” said Jennifer Motles, chief sustainability officer, PMI, in a statement. “We are acutely aware that poverty and inequality are at the root of child labor and other human rights issues. Through our focus on living income, we aim to build resilience in our farming communities, provide new and alternative sources of revenue, and improve income levels and households’ livelihoods.”

    Updated in 2019 to include its living income target, PMI’s ALP program is an ambitious and comprehensive effort to improve labor practices in a global agricultural supply chain. The report reaffirms the company’s commitment to continue protecting, promoting, and supporting the socioeconomic well-being of tobacco-farming communities. This includes the ambition to achieve 100 percent of its contracted farmers paying at least the legal minimum wage by 2022, zero child labor in its tobacco supply chain by 2025, 100 percent of its contracted farmers making a living income by 2025, and 100 percent of contracted farmers supplying tobacco to PMI to have basic water access by 2025 and access to basic sanitation and hygiene by 2030.

    These strategic ambitions continue to build on ALP targets already achieved in previous years, which include providing safe and decent accommodation to workers, and ensuring 100 percent of farmers and workers have access to personal protective equipment for the application of crop protection agents and prevention of green tobacco sickness.

    These strategic ambitions continue to build on ALP targets already achieved in previous years, which include providing safe and decent accommodation to workers, and ensuring 100 percent of farmers and workers have access to personal protective equipment for the application of crop protection agents and prevention of green tobacco sickness.

    Through our focus on living income, we aim to build resilience in our farming communities, provide new and alternative sources of revenue, and improve income levels and households’ livelihoods.

    Jennifer Motles, chief sustainability officer, PMI

    In commemoration of the 10-year anniversary, PMI is also partnering with Verité to integrate its learnings into an open-source toolkit that will aid companies, suppliers, and producers in driving improvements in labor practices of agricultural supply chains around the world. The initiative, called the “Verité Farm Labor Due Diligence Toolkit,” is part of an action pledge Verité has made in support of the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor.

    The toolkit will draw on the insights developed during Verité’s collaboration with PMI on the ALP program, as well as Verité’s work with other clients. PMI will join a coalition of other private-sector sponsors convened by Verité to support the toolkit initiative, helping to prioritize, develop and promote the materials to be included within.

    “By continuing to collaborate with our partners such as Verité, we further strengthen our foundations, scale our efforts, and share our learnings to improve agriculture labor practices,” said PMI Head of Social Impact Anna Kletsidou. “As the company delivers a smoke-free future, we are expanding into electronics—leveraging our ALP learnings, PMI remains alert to environmental and social impacts created by this supply chain and is developing robust strategies to address them.”

    Since its implementation, PMI’s ALP program has showcased the importance of partnership, digitalization, and continuous improvement. Earlier this year, PMI commissioned a publication focused on climate justice and the interconnectivity between environmental and social issues, recognizing the impact of climate change on human rights and the need to develop coherent and inclusive strategies.

  • KT&G Earns ISO 50001 Certification

    KT&G Earns ISO 50001 Certification

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G has earned ISO 50001 certification from for five of its factories in South Korea.

    Established by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 50001 covers energy management system standards. KT&G was recognized for establishing departmental energy targets, setting priorities and creating an evaluation process.

    With this certification, KT&G now holds four major ISO certifications: ISO 9001 (quality management system), ISO 14001 (environmental management system), ISO 45001 (safety and health management system) and ISO 50001 (energy management system).

    “The major certifications from ISO prove KT&G as a workplace with clear goals and systematic processes in the fields of energy, environment, safety, and quality,” a KT&G official said in a statement following the awards ceremony in Daejeon. “We plan to take the lead in creating a sustainable future value.”

    Earlier this year, KT&G announced it would aim for carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of its environmental management ambitions.