Environment

Excellence in environmental management is a key strategic pillar of our Group Sustainability Agenda .

Our approach focuses on the most important issues for our business and stakeholders across four priority areas:

•  Addressing climate change risks and opportunities: by 2030, we aim to be carbon neutral across our own operations¹ , and across our value chain by 2050² ;
•  Sustainable water stewardship : we are decreasing water use across our operations with a target to reduce the amount of water withdrawn by 35% by 2025³ ;
•  Eliminating waste and applying circular economy principles across our business and product categories: by 2025, we aim for 100% of our packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable ⁴ ; and
•  Biodiversity and afforestation : our business now and in the future depends on biodiversity and forest resources – by 2025, we are aiming for net zero deforestation of managed natural forests across our tobacco and paper and pulp based supply chains⁵ and net positive impact on forests in our tobacco supply chain⁶ .
   

As part of our commitment to transparency in the above topics, we provide information to CDP - a global environmental impact non-profit organisation, through its reporting frameworks. Our submissions are below:
 

2023
 

Climate Change (1.4 mb) 
Water Stewardship (950 kb) 
Forests (64 kb)
 

2022
 

Climate Change 2022 (1.5 mb) 
Water Stewardship 2022 (725 kb) 
Forests 2022 (490 kb) 
 

Environmental governance and management

Our Environmental Policy is implemented by all Group companies globally and outlines our commitment to high standards of environmental protection, adhering to the principles of sustainable development and protecting biodiversity.

Our Supplier Code of Conduct defines the minimum standards expected of our suppliers, including for environmental sustainability.

The Environment Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct have been endorsed by the Board of Directors of BAT p.l.c. (the Board). Our environmental targets, including for carbon neutrality, have also been endorsed by the Board and they review progress against these targets twice a year.

Our Management Board, chaired by the Chief Executive, has overall responsibility for overseeing the implementation of Group strategy and policies, including those relating to environmental management and climate change. The Operations Director is responsible for overseeing the delivery of our environmental strategy and targets, while relevant Management Board Directors regularly review our climate change and environmental performance.

Our policy commitments are supported by our well-established and mature Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) management system. This is based on international standards, including ISO 14001, and includes detailed requirements and guidelines for Group companies on best practice environmental management.

In 2022, 44% of BAT’s own factory total production volume was covered by factories with ISO 14001 certification.