Category: Sustainability

Researchers Urge Ban on Cigarette Filters

Photo: bumbumbo
The public health and environmental health communities should unite to ban cigarette filters for the benefit of both people and planet, according to the authors of a study from the University of Bath that was published in Tobacco Control.
Introduced in the 1860s to prevent tobacco flakes from entering the smoker’s mouth, cigarette filters were later marketed as tool to reduce the health risks from smoking. Research shows that filters do not reduce those risks, however, and may even increase them by enabling smokers to inhale more deeply, according to the authors.
In addition, filters are an environmental hazard. Every year, an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette filters are deposited into the environment. Discarded filters are commonly made of cellulose acetate—a plastic losing on average only 38 percent mass in two years of decomposition—and contain toxic substances that may leach into the environment.
The study’s authors are skeptical about industry efforts to develop biodegradable filters, which they say would still leach harmful chemicals into the environment if discarded improperly.
What’s more, biodegradable filters could be used to promote smoking and improve the tobacco industry’s image. “It is likely that the tobacco industry will use biodegradable filters as both a corporate social responsibility and marketing opportunity,” the authors write.
It is likely that the tobacco industry will use biodegradable filters as both a corporate social responsibility and marketing opportunity.
Study “The Filter Fraud Persists”
The researchers also take issue with innovations such as recessed filters and “crush” filters, which they say are designed to make cigarettes more appealing and help tobacco companies circumvent advertising restrictions.
According to the study’s authors, the EU Single Use Plastics Directive missed a crucial opportunity by excluding cigarette filters from its upcoming ban on single-use plastics. “In the U.K., the tobacco industry’s new responsibility for smoking-related litter clean-up has already been used as an opportunity to have in-person interaction with the government, thereby exploiting this as a loophole in the WHO FCTC treaty,” they write.
This study was carried out by Karen Evans-Reeves, Kathrin Lauber and Rosemary Hiscock and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products project funding.
Tobacco Reporter covered filter manufacturers’ efforts to meet new environmental requirements in its March issue (see “Keeping Pace“).
April 27, 2021
Lessebo Paper Certified “Cradle to Cradle”

Image: Lessebo Papers
Lessebo Paper has achieved a Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold award for its white ranges of uncoated, premium graphical papers, Lessebo Design and Scandia 2000. End users can thus not only support their own sustainability strategy but also give consumers who are looking for a sustainable solution a decision-making aid. Lessebo Paper has been producing paper since 1693, making it one of the oldest paper manufacturers in Sweden.
The company focuses on innovative graphic papers in the premium segment.
Cradle to Cradle Certified is a globally recognized measure of safe, sustainable products made for the circular economy. To receive certification, the products are assessed for environmental and social performance across five critical sustainability categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy, water stewardship and social fairness.
To be awarded with the gold award, gold standards must be met in all categories.
“Our products have once again been proved to be a leader in sustainability,” says Eric Sigurdsson, CEO at Lessebo Paper, in a statement. “Being the first paper producer worldwide to receive Cradle to Cradle Certified at Gold level for our uncoated paper products is a big achievement and has been made possible by our focus on sustainability. This is clearly showing that our paper is one of the most climate-friendly paper qualities in the world.”
The paper is produced from totally chlorine-free pulp and has a minimal carbon footprint. It is especially suitable for printing materials where quality and sustainability are of importance, two factors that are key values of the Lessebo brand.
The manufacturer has a long history in Sweden and a track record when it comes to sustainability. Starting in 1662 as an iron mill, the company soon began to focus especially on paper production. And though Lessebo Paper has significantly grown over the years, its tradition and core value—to develop high-performance and environmentally responsible papers and boards—has persisted.
The continuing improvement on every level of production as well as the use of certified management systems has made Lessebo Paper one of the world’s most environmentally friendly paper mills, with emissions at 22 kg per metric ton of finished product—more than 96 percent lower than an average producer of graphical paper.
This commitment has over the years also been acknowledged by the industry: Lessebo Paper is qualified with many sustainability certificates, like the EU Ecolabel for its Lessebo Recycled paper range, the Forest Stewardship Council for several of its paper and board ranges and now also with the Cradle to Cradle Certificate.
In addition, Lessebo Paper had its white ranges of uncoated paper, Lessebo Design and Scandia 2000, assessed in the category of material health and was awarded a platinum level material health certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. This means that all ingredients and process chemicals have been evaluated and accepted by the organization.
April 27, 2021
New Glue Additives from Tobacco Stalks

Photo: Inok
The Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST)—Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) has developed glue additives from tobacco stalks and tea leaves, reports the Manila Bulletin. The new additive would reduce the cost of producing plywood.
“After several formulations and tests of the experimental plywood, the glue mixes that produced the desired improved properties were piloted to produce full-size plywood in two plywood factories in Sariaya, Quezon and Valenzuela City,” said Fortunato T. de la Pena, DOST secretary.
“Based on factory trials, the FPRDI-developed formulations could match the commercial glue mix formulation’s performance, showed lower formaldehyde emission and improved termite resistance,” he said.
Plywood is made of several layers of veneers that are bonded by adhesives that use fillers to improve the adhesive properties. Plywood manufacturers in the Philippines are currently using traditional additives of rice hull or coconut shell flour for fillers and wheat flour for extenders and the catalyst.
The newly developed additives would reduce the cost of plywood production by PHP60 ($1.24) per panel, according to de la Pena.
“The valued adding to the two waste materials would reduce solid waste disposal by converting them into useful products,” de la Pena said. “Tobacco stalks in the glue mix benefit the environment through reduction in air pollution and elimination of toxic pollutants in the soil as tobacco stalks are normally burned or allowed to decay in the field.”
Tobacco stalks in the glue mix benefit the environment through reduction in air pollution and elimination of toxic pollutants.
Fortunato T. de la Pena, DOST secretary
Tobacco farmers would also benefit from using tobacco stalks for additives: “The socio-economic benefit of the technology would be the potential added income to tobacco farmers through selling and/or processing of waste stalks for the use of the plywood industry.”
April 22, 2021
KT&G to Convert to Eco-Friendly Vehicles

Minister of Environment Han Jeong-ae (left) and KT&G Vice President Bang Gyeong-man during the Korean Pollution-Free Conversion 100 ceremony at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul (Photo: KT&G)
KT&G plans to convert a total of 1,200 business vehicles into eco-friendly vehicles by 2030.
KT&G participated in the 2nd Declaration Ceremony for Korean-style Electric Vehicle Conversion 100 (K-EV100), held at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on April 14.
The K-EV100 project is led by the Ministry of Environment, which has publicly declared that vehicles owned or leased by private companies will be converted to 100 percent pollution-free vehicles by 2030.
Converting all of the company’s current business vehicles into eco-friendly vehicles by 2030 is predicted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20,000 tons.
“This K-EV100 declaration is a part of KT&G’s sustainability agenda, and we will endeavor to become a global leading company in ESG through systematic and advanced ESG management,” a KT&G official said in a statement.
April 19, 2021
People First
Photo: BAT
Jennie Galbraith discusses British American Tobacco’s human rights initiatives
By Stefanie Rossel
In December 2020, British American Tobacco (BAT) became the first tobacco company to launch a human rights report. Tobacco Reporter spoke with Jennie Galbraith, the company’s head of environmental, social and governance (ESG), who is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of BAT’s sustainability agenda and leads the group’s ESG engagement with investors.

Jennie Galbraith
Tobacco Reporter: Your company has been engaged in the field of human rights (HR) since 2000, with measures and achievements previously being reported in your corporate social responsibility reports. Why have you decided to publish a separate HR report?
Jennie Galbraith: We have a long-standing commitment to respect the human rights of our employees, the people we work with and the communities in which we operate. We have achieved a lot over the last 20 years, and we are setting the bar even higher. The HR report presents the progress we have made, highlights our ongoing work and outlines our plans for the future. This report is aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, which provides comprehensive guidance for companies to report on how they respect human rights in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. We also wanted to publish a human rights-focused report to provide our stakeholders with more in-depth information on our ambitions and our efforts to assist in addressing impacts across our global business and supply chain. We are proud to be the first company among our peers to publish such a report.
What are the most pressing HR issues in your tobacco supply chain?
Temporary workers, use of family labor in small-scale farming and high levels of rural poverty make agriculture a particularly vulnerable sector for human rights risks.
For example, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, poverty can lead to farmers taking their children out of school to work on the land or to overlook health and safety standards. That is why enhancing farmer livelihoods is central to our approach to achieving our goal of eliminating child and forced labor by 2025.
We have robust policies in place outlining our commitment to preventing child labor and exploitation of labor, underpinned by due diligence, monitoring and remediation programs. We also know that human rights issues in agricultural supply chains are very complex and cannot be single-handedly solved by one company alone. So, we adopt a collaborative approach. For example, it has been 20 years since BAT became a founding member of the Eliminating Child Labor in Tobacco Growing (ECLT) Foundation.
We support our directly contracted farmers in a number of other ways. This includes education and training on the latest sustainable agricultural methods, including new seed varieties that improve yields, and support with diversifying their crop to provide additional income and enhance food security. For example, in 2020, 93 percent of tobacco farmers in our supply chain reported growing other crops, including fruit, vegetables, maize and soy. We also provide our contracted farmers with training to help build their skills, knowledge and awareness on a range of topics—from human rights and health and safety to farm business management and women’s empowerment. For example, in 2020, 2,887 women’s empowerment training sessions were held, with 16,658 attendances.

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In your report, an external sustainability expert on HR issues singled out three emerging and interlinked issues that will affect tobacco farmers in the near future: the changing climate, women’s empowerment and the need for alternative incomes. Of the three, climate change is likely to have the most far-reaching impact. What measures is BAT taking to tackle this issue?
To address climate change, we provide all our contracted farmers with a wide range of best practice environmental information and training as well as introducing them to sustainable farming practices and technologies, developed by our global leaf agronomy research. Beyond the farmers we contract directly with, we have long-term strategic partnerships with many of our third-party suppliers, and we expect them to provide the farmers they source from with similar support services. The Sustainable Tobacco Program (STP), an industry-wide initiative, sets the standard we expect from all our tobacco suppliers worldwide. The STP is aligned to international standards, including those of the International Labor Organization and the UN Guiding Principles, and it is our policy that all our leaf operations and third-party suppliers participate in the program.
Examples of our sustainable farming initiatives include sustainable fuels and curing technologies to help preserve forest resources and methods to reduce agrochemical use and preserve soil health. For example, since 2016, 99 percent of wood used by our contracted farmers for curing fuels has been from sustainable sources. We also support our farmers in using water more efficiently. In Pakistan, for example, drip irrigation technology has helped reduce farmers’ water use by up to 40 percent.
Sustainable farming practices not only bring environmental benefits; they also help to build farmers’ resilience to the impact of climate change. In some countries, we also facilitate crop insurance for our contracted farmers. This can be crucial in providing a safety net for unexpected events and natural disasters, such as floods and droughts.
Please explain the minimum standards expected from suppliers.
At a minimum, the standards we expect regarding human rights from our suppliers in relation to their own employees and contractors—including permanent, temporary, contract agency workers and migrant workers—include that they:
Provide equal opportunities to, and fair treatment of, all workers
Work to eliminate any form of harassment and bullying within the workplace, whether it is of a sexual, verbal, nonverbal or physical nature
Provide a safe working environment, adopt procedures to identify and address workplace health and safety risks, implement safe working practices and provide, where relevant, appropriate personal protective equipment to prevent occupational injuries or illnesses
Provide fair wages and benefits, which comply at least with applicable minimum wage legislation and other applicable wage and working time laws or collective bargaining agreements
Ensure operations are free from child labor. Specifically, following the guidelines of the International Labor Organization that any work that is considered hazardous or likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children should not be done by anyone under the age of 18 (or 16 under strict conditions); the minimum age for work should not be below the legal age for finishing compulsory schooling and, in any case, not less than the age of 15; where local law permits, children between the ages of 13 and 15 years old may do light work, provided it does not hinder their education or vocational training, or include any activity that could be harmful to their health or development—for example, handling mechanical equipment or agrochemicals. We also recognize training or work experience schemes approved by a competent authority as an exception.
Ensure operations are free from exploitation of labor. Specifically, ensuring their operations are free from slavery, servitude and forced, compulsory, bonded, involuntary, trafficked or unlawful migrant labor.
Ensure the right to freedom of association. Specifically, ensuring all workers are able—subject to applicable laws—to exercise their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, including the right to be represented by recognized trade unions or other bona fide representatives.
Ensure responsible sourcing of “conflict minerals,” including cobalt, gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten, and the ores from which they originate, originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas that could directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups or human rights abuses. Where products or materials supplied to the group contain such minerals, suppliers should work to exercise appropriate due diligence and perform a reasonable country of origin inquiry, including requiring its suppliers to engage in similar due diligence.
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How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on your HR programs and efforts?
With the pandemic bringing human rights into even sharper focus, it is imperative that we continue to work in partnership with others to support communities that may be particularly vulnerable to both the virus and its long-term economic implications. For example, we are supporting tobacco-growing communities and have worked to keep farms and trading floors operating safely, have distributed personal protective equipment and other essential items, and in countries such as Kenya, we have enhanced access to clean water and hand-washing facilities.
We have continued to strive to do more despite the pandemic and have set ourselves ambitious targets. We aim for our tobacco supply chain to be free of forced and child labor by 2025. I believe our purpose-led strategy and focus on delivering a better tomorrow have put us in a better position to manage these issues and to support our people and partners around the world.
Something that’s also been in the news a lot is the Covid-19 vaccine candidate, developed by BAT’s U.S. bio-tech arm, Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP). We are proud to play our part in the global fight against this virus and—hopefully—we can contribute to the solution.
What developments do you expect for 2021 as the pandemic continues to affect the world? What further measures will BAT take to support its farmers and suppliers?
With the U.N. Climate Change Conference and the U.N. Biodiversity Conference both set to take place this year, the “E” in ESG will continue to be a prominent feature on business agendas. But this does not mean human rights will be taking a back seat. There will be a keen focus on human rights and the impact of the pandemic on progress in this area. In addition to the normal economic challenges facing rural communities, there are fears that Covid-19 could increase poverty, and this could lead to more incidents of child labor. We believe this is a very real risk and are calling on everyone involved in global agriculture supply chains to look at child and forced labor solutions differently.
For our part, we will continue our well-established support for our contracted farmers and suppliers across the world, focusing on strong policies, extensive due-diligence and effective remediation to create shared value for all. We continuously work to improve and strengthen our approach, including examining new ways to train our field technicians to help them identify child labor risks and spot early warning signs, how we can better address root causes and how we can help improve farmer livelihoods.

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While you have made significant progress in the tobacco supply chain as far as HR are concerned, your New Categories portfolio presents challenges different from those in the leaf supply chain. What are these challenges, and how are you addressing human rights?
Our supply chain for our New Category business can have many layers of suppliers between the raw materials and the final product. This complexity can increase risks for both the security of supply and human rights. We are focused on mapping our supply chain and building relationships with critical lower-tier suppliers. All our tier 1 New Category suppliers are subject to our supply chain due diligence program, including human rights risk assessments and independent audits of workplace conditions. Since 2018, this has included tier 2 suppliers too. Suppliers are prioritized for audits based on the level of risk identified, against independent human rights indices developed by Verisk Maplecroft. We conduct an annual risk assessment on 100 percent of our existing materials suppliers. In addition, before we start working with a new product materials supplier, it must undergo an independent audit performed by our partner, Intertek.
We also need to monitor closely for conflict minerals in our electronic supply chain. The main challenge here is that the mines are often many layers away from BAT, meaning that we do not have control over their activities. However, we are committed to responsible mineral sourcing as outlined in our Supplier Code of Conduct. In 2019, we implemented new due diligence procedures, aligned to the OECD’s internationally recognized guidelines for responsible mineral supply chains. Last year, we published our first Conflict Minerals Report.
In our first year of monitoring for conflict minerals, we were pleased by the strong level of engagement from our suppliers, with a 100 percent response to our due diligence enquiries. The suppliers were at varying levels of maturity in implementing their own conflict minerals due diligence. We are working with all the suppliers concerned to help them address these gaps and support them in building capacity and strengthening due diligence measures.
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.
April 1, 2021
Alternatives for Adolescents

Iro Schunke Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Youth empowerment, the main objective of the Growing Up Right Institute, is a key element for transformation in Brazil.
By Stefanie Rossel
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The United Nations has declared 2021 the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor. Although child labor decreased by 38 percent in the past decade, it still affects 152 million children worldwide. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), around 70 percent of child laborers work in the agricultural sector. Tobacco cultivation plays an inglorious role in this issue—child labor still occurs in developing countries, such as Malawi and Indonesia, but also in rich countries, such as the United States.
Brazil, the world’s No. 2 tobacco producer, which in 2020 exported $1.4 billion in leaf, according to Statista data, is familiar with the issue too. In 2008, the country barred children under 18 from any work with tobacco and imposed penalties for child labor violations for farmers, factories and companies that purchase tobacco leaves from fields that employ children. Through extensive information campaigns, the government has raised tobacco farmers’ awareness about the hazards of nicotine and pesticide exposure, particularly for children. Despite the country’s understaffed labor ministry and lack of resources to carry out sufficient inspections, Brazil has been praised for its progress in addressing the problem.
“The tobacco sector is, without any doubt, a model of child labor eradication in the rural areas in Brazil,” says Iro Schünke , president of the Growing Up Right Institute (Istituto Crescer Legal, or ICL). “The fact has already been acknowledged by the ILO. For over two decades, we have been fighting the problem, and it is no exclusivity of the tobacco sector in the rural area.”
Between 2000 and 2010, the greatest reductions in child labor reduction took place on smallholder tobacco farms, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. During that decade, the sector lowered the rate of child labor in the tobacco supply chain by 58 percent in Rio Grande do Sul, even as the area dedicated to tobacco cultivation doubled. The national average reduction of child labor, Schünke points out, is 10 percent.
Numerous awareness initiatives on farmers’ health and safety and child and adolescents’ protection, launched by Brazil’s tobacco industry since 2009, have contributed to this development. According to Schünke , the tobacco industry is the only agricultural sector in Brazil to require school enrollment forms and school attendance certificates of school-age children as a condition for the renewal of commercial contracts with farmers.
“The main challenge to the theme in the rural area, especially in family farming, is a cultural question,” says Schünke . “During all those years of holding seminars, we perceived a feeling of great anxiety among the farmers about what to do with their children once they conclude their elementary school. The shortage of rural schools is just another problem in the rural area and, along with the problem of drugs and idleness, the parents end up contributing toward a cultural viewpoint that places great value on work, thus encouraging the children and adolescents to engage in activities inappropriate for their age.”

Creating better chances
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Awareness work was necessary to help parents place greater value on education while public policies were needed to strengthen the schools in rural areas, according to Schünke . In 2015, SindiTabaco, Brazil’s Interstate Tobacco Industry Union, and its associate companies established the ICL. Supported by experts and organizations involved with education and the fight against child labor, the initiative provides young people with opportunities in rural areas.
It is currently focused on southern Brazil—a major tobacco cultivation region—and provides children between the ages of 14 and 17 who want to follow in the footsteps of their tobacco-growing parents with training programs in rural administration and entrepreneurship. The curriculum includes studies of the rural properties, diagnosis of the municipality and region based on the local productive arrangements, mapping of local partnerships and strategic alliances. It also involves the development of group work, engaging the families and communities, as well as product creation and viability studies.
The adolescents are hired as apprentices by tobacco companies and are remunerated in compliance with the country’s learning law. Instead of working, the participants carry out theoretical and practical activities within the premises of the school, geared toward the reality of their families and communities, thus stimulating life projects and personal development without leaving the rural areas. Exclusively focused on rural management and entrepreneurship, there is no training relative to any specific type of rural activity, not even tobacco, Schünke explains. “The young are provided with tools to think about their life projects, whether in the rural setting or in town, with an eye on sustainability.”
The training takes place in the shift opposite regular school hours and comprises 900 hours of tuition in one year. “The young apprentices [enjoy] the same benefits as the apprentices in town,” says Schünke . “This is a way to keep them away from inappropriate activities for their age and, at the same time, provide them or their families with a source of income,” says Schünke . “The course also provides the adolescents with a new vision on the countryside—they come to know about possibilities that have not yet been explored by their family members; they come to grips with the value of the land and acknowledge the farm as business. “Within this context, it is not a rare thing to see a change in the way some young people look at the rural activities and at the countless chances to do business in the countryside, whether as farmers, service providers, educators or leaders in their communities, for example.”
Rural exodus is a major issue in Brazil, which is one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America. According to Statista, almost 87 percent of the population lived in cities in 2019; their share has continuously increased over the past decade.
Toward more gender equality
In its six years of operation, nearly 500 young people have benefited from the ICL’s rural professional learning program. The initiative, says Schünke , has gained momentum at national and international levels. “When they finish the course, the youth are more qualified to understand that it is through qualification and education that they can improve their quality of life. Furthermore, they are in a better position to understand which tasks are appropriate to their respective age and the importance of their extended and continuing education, carrying on with their studies of both their elementary education and higher education. As a result, they are better prepared to make their choices for the future and engage in professional work as soon as they achieve the minimum age required.”
Apart from the training program, the institute offers courses focused on gender equality and on entrepreneurship in education. “Us for Them—The Female Voice in the Countryside” is a program designed to develop the communication skills of young rural girls. One of its objectives is to keep all rural communities informed through local radio programs. “Four editions of the program have already been conducted, starting in 2017, focused on former girl students of the rural professional learning program.”
In 2020, the institute launched a pilot of its program “Good Practices in Entrepreneurship for Education” in the municipality of Cangucu, Rio Grande do Sul. The initiative consists of sharing methodological tools tested and approved by the pedagogical team of the Growing Up Right Institute with the aim to qualify teachers able to multiply these practices geared toward administration and entrepreneurship.
For the time being, all the activities take place exclusively in Rio Grande do Sul, Schünke says. “We have plans to extend the activities of the institute to other tobacco growing regions in Brazil.”
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.

April 1, 2021
Industry Should Pay for Cleaning Cigarette Litter

Photo: Pixabay
The United Kingdom is considering a plan to force big tobacco companies to pay the annual cost of cleaning up discarded cigarette butts.
The move comes after fresh evidence reveals that cleaning up littered cigarette butts currently costs U.K. local authorities around £40 million ($55 million) per year. Despite smoking rates being at their lowest recorded level, cigarette filters continue to be the most littered item in England.
Among the options being looked at by ministers is a regulatory extended producer responsibility scheme for cigarette butts in England, a new power currently being legislated for in the environment bill. This would require the tobacco industry to pay the full disposal costs of tobacco waste products, ensuring the sector takes sufficient financial responsibility for the litter its products create.
“Cigarette butts are a blight on our communities, littering our streets or ending up washed down the drain and polluting our rivers and oceans,” said Environment Minister Rebecca Pow in a government press note. “We must all take action to protect our environment. We are committed to making sure that the tobacco industry plays its part. That is why we are exploring how cigarette companies can be held fully accountable for the unsightly scourge of litter created by their products.”

We must all take action to protect our environment. We are committed to making sure that the tobacco industry plays its part.
Rebecca Pow, U.K. environment minister
“We are making excellent progress in our ambition to be a smoke-free country by 2030, with smoking rates at a record low,” said Public Health Minister Jo Churchill. “While this is making a substantial impact on the public health of the country, the environmental impact of smoking due to cigarette butt and package littering is still a major issue.”
According to Keep Britain Tidy research, smoking-related litter is the most prevalent form of litter in England, making up 68 percent of all littered items and found on around 80 percent of surveyed sites.
Most cigarette butts are single-use plastic and contain hundreds of toxic chemicals once smoked. Littered cigarette filters can persist in the environment for many years and release these chemicals to air, land and water, harming plant growth and wildlife.
According to the Litter Strategy for England, the most effective way to tackle smoking-related litter is by reducing the prevalence of smoking in the first place. The government is committed and will publish a new tobacco control plan for England later this year to deliver its ambition of a smoke-free country by 2030.
The environment bill will allow the government to legislate for extended producer responsibility schemes, which could be applied to tobacco products. Cigarette and tobacco product packaging is already covered by the proposed packaging producer responsibility scheme, which is currently undergoing a second phase of consultation.
At the September roundtable on smoking-related litter, Pow encouraged parties to consider whether a nonregulatory producer responsibility scheme could be developed for tobacco waste products. Having considered further evidence, the government has decided that a regulatory approach may be required to ensure that the industry takes sufficient financial responsibility for the litter created by its products and to prevent them from undermining public health policy.
In August, Pow threatened the tobacco industry with tough action unless it did a better job of controlling cigarette litter.
March 31, 2021
BAT Ranked Third in ESG Index

Photo: BAT
British American Tobacco (BAT) has been rated as the third-highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) company in the FTSE-100 index, which consists of the 100 largest publicly traded companies in the United Kingdom. The designation for BAT was made by Refinitiv, a global provider of financial market data and a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group.
BAT achieved an ESG score of 91 out of 100 and is the highest-rated business in the food and tobacco sector globally.

Winning more than 200 awards in 2020 was an exceptional recognition of our achievements and shows we are on track to build the sustainable enterprise of the future.
Guy Meldrum, CEO and president, Reynolds American Inc.
“Winning more than 200 awards in 2020 was an exceptional recognition of our achievements and shows we are on track to build the sustainable enterprise of the future,” said Guy Meldrum, CEO and president of BAT subsidiary Reynolds American Inc., in a statement. “We’re delighted to be part of the ranking as one of the FTSE-100 top three ESG performers as continued proof of this. In 2020, we committed to ambitious new ESG targets to deliver ‘A Better Tomorrow’ for consumers, society and for our investors, and we’re well on our way to achieve them.”
In March 2021, BAT published its annual ESG report demonstrating the global organization’s progress against its targets, including: increasing consumers of noncombustible products by 3 million to 13.5 million at year end 2020; increasing New Categories revenue by 15 percent in 2020 versus 2019; increasing renewable energy to more than 26 percent in 2020—a 10 percent increase from 2019, coupled with a greater than 30 percent reduction in overall carbon emissions since 2019; reducing water withdrawn by nearly 11 percent since 2019; holding more than 38,000 human rights training sessions, with more than 390,000 attendances across its supply chain; and reaching 38 percent of female representation in management roles.
March 25, 2021
Innovia Sustainability Efforts Certified

Photo: Innovia
Innovia has expanded ISCC PLUS certification to its plants in Australia, Belgium and the U.K. This allows Innovia to produce its range of Encore sustainable films globally, supplying both certified renewable materials and certified circular material.
“The sustainable team based in Wigton supported the work that the local cross functional plant teams undertook in very tight timescales,” says Paul Watters, product development manager of packaging at Innovia. “To achieve ambitious schedules meant they had to adopt a well-coordinated and collaborative team approach.”
ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) is an independent multi-stakeholder organization providing a globally applicable certification system for the sustainability of raw materials and products.
Innovia has also developed its own internal life cycle analysis program, which enables it to measure key sustainability metrics, including carbon footprint and fossil scarcity on a cradle to gate basis.
“These additional certifications show our commitment to increasing our manufacturing footprint of certified renewable and recycled content films in line with customer demand for these types of products,” said Watters.
March 17, 2021
BAT Unveils Ambitious New Environmental Targets

Photo: BAT
British American Tobacco (BAT) has unveiled ambitious new environmental targets in its 2020 environmental, social and governance (ESG) report.
In 2020, BAT announced its ambition to be carbon neutral for emissions resulting from its own business activities by 2030. The most recent commitment also aims to cut emissions across its value chain. This builds on BAT’s existing efforts to engage with suppliers on climate change and to support contracted farmers in adopting less carbon-intensive farming techniques.
Having achieved its water recycling target ahead of time, BAT also announced it will set the bar higher to increase the amount of water recycled to 30 percent by 2025. By 2025, BAT also aims to have 100 percent of all manufacturing sites certified by the Alliance for Water Stewardship.
In March 2020, BAT announced stretching new ESG targets as part of its evolved strategy to deliver “A Better Tomorrow.” The latest ESG report highlights BAT’s progress, including: increasing consumers of noncombustible products by 3 million to 13.5 million at year end 2020; increasing new categories revenue by 15 percent in 2020 versus 2019; increasing renewable energy to 26 percent—a 10 percent increase from last year and a greater than 30 percent reduction in overall carbon emissions since 2019; reducing water withdrawn by nearly 11 percent since 2019; holding more than 38,000 human rights training sessions, with more than 390,000 attendances across its supply chain; and reaching 38 percent of female representation in management roles.
We continue to drive for excellence across all areas of ESG, and we’re proud to announce our new commitment of expanding our carbon neutrality target to include Scope 3 emissions by 2050.
Jack Bowles, CEO, BAT
“This report gives a transparent account of our progress and our heightened ambition,” said BAT CEO Jack Bowles, in a statement. “We continue to drive for excellence across all areas of ESG, and we’re proud to announce our new commitment of expanding our carbon neutrality target to include Scope 3 emissions by 2050.”
March 10, 2021