- Thames voyage officially marks BAT's Vuse becoming the first
global carbon neutral vape brand[1]
- Latest step in BAT's ambitious target to be carbon neutral
across its own operations by 2030
- Supports BAT's corporate purpose of building A Better
Tomorrow™
LONDON, July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BAT's Vuse
celebrates its position as the first global carbon neutral vape
brand with a carbon neutral summer voyage down the Thames in
London, home of BAT's global
headquarters.
The event underscores Vuse's commitment to carbon neutrality and
its various supporting initiatives. For instance, in
utilising substantial sea freight as part of its global supply
chain, the aim is to move the majority[2] of Vuse's global
shipments by sea freight by the end of next year.
Kingsley Wheaton, Chief
Marketing Officer at BAT, said: "I am proud of the way
that Vuse is playing its part in delivering A Better Tomorrow by
reducing its impact on the environment.
"Vuse is a leading global brand with ever-increasing scale,
which allows us to drive global supply chain efficiencies and
effectiveness. I am delighted that, in Vuse, we are
demonstrating the kind of purposeful behaviour expected from
leading brands of the world. This commitment will play a part
in our vision of A Better Tomorrow becoming a reality."
Notes to editors
Vuse's carbon neutrality was certified by BAT's sustainability
partner, Vertis, in May 2021 as a
world-first global vape brand achievement and a significant
contribution to BAT's ambitious climate targets, including carbon
neutrality across its own operations by 2030. The achievement
builds on BAT's strong ESG foundations which are deeply embedded in
its business, its people and its culture. In 2020 alone, BAT
achieved a 30.9% reduction in emissions from its operations,
contributing to a 37.4% reduction against a 2017 baseline. In
March 2021, BAT announced a further
ambition to be carbon neutral across its value chain by 2050,
representing around 90% of its total carbon footprint.
Vuse's carbon neutrality status, and ambition to increase sea
freight, is part of a bigger ambition to become an environmentally
sustainable vape brand with initiatives including:
- A global device and pod collection scheme - through
BAT's Drop the Pod campaign, approximately 200k pods were collected since the start of the
pilot in 2020
- Cutting single use plastics from packaging - Cut
the Wrap has saved 100 tonnes of plastic, or the equivalent of
four million plastic bottles in 2020[3]
BAT has reduced its carbon usage by 30% in the last year[4]. It
has been reducing its carbon footprint by:
- Improving the energy efficiency of factories
by upgrading to more efficient and lower-impact equipment
- Increasing the use of renewable energy through
renewable energy purchases and on-site energy generation.
On-site solar energy is used in factories in eight countries and
two new installations are planned this year.
- Driving external certification for carbon neutrality -
three of BAT's major sites are going through external certification
for carbon neutrality.
BAT is committed to its purpose of building A Better Tomorrow™
by reducing the health impact of its business through providing a
range of enjoyable and less risky products*.
BAT's sustainability efforts and commitment have received
notable independent recognition. These include inclusion in the Dow
Jones Sustainability Indices for 19 consecutive years (the only
tobacco company to be listed in the prestigious World Index in
2020), a MSCI rating of BBB and CDP A List status for climate
change.
Vuse's carbon neutrality is part of BAT's overall carbon
reduction ambitions and has been independently validated by Vertis
based on product Life Cycle Assessment data provided by an
independent third party. Today's voyage down the Thames was carbon
neutral.
About BAT
BAT is a leading, multi-category consumer goods business with a
purpose to build A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of
its business through offering a greater choice of enjoyable and
less risky products for adult consumers. The company continues to
be clear that combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks, and
the only way to avoid these risks is not to start or to quit. BAT
encourages those who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch
completely to scientifically-substantiated, reduced-risk
alternatives*. In order to deliver this, BAT is transforming into a
truly consumer-centric multi-category consumer products business.
BAT employs over 53,000 people and operates in over 180 countries,
with 11 million points of sale and 45 factories in 43 markets. The
company's Strategic Portfolio is made up of its global cigarette
brands and a growing range of reduced-risk* New Category tobacco
and nicotine products and traditional non-combustible tobacco
products. These include vapour, tobacco heating products, modern
oral products including tobacco-free nicotine pouches, as well as
traditional oral products such as snus and moist snuff. In 2020, we
had 13.5 million consumers of our non-combustible products, a rise
of 3 million on the year before. The BAT Group generated revenue of
£25.8 billion in 2020 and profit from operations of £9.9
billion.
*Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch
from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are
addictive.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including "forward-looking" statements made within the meaning of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words
or phrases such as "believe," "anticipate," "could," "may,"
"would," "should," "intend," "plan," "potential," "predict,"
"will," "expect," "estimate," "project," "positioned," "strategy,"
"outlook", "target" and similar expressions. These include
statements regarding our customer target ambition, New Categories
revenue targets and our ESG targets.
All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and
assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other
factors. It is believed that the expectations reflected in this
release are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of
variables that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those currently anticipated. A review of the reasons why actual
results and developments may differ materially from the
expectations disclosed or implied within forward-looking statements
can be found by referring to the information contained under the
headings "Forward-looking statements" and "Group Principal Risks "
in the 2020 Annual Report and Form 20-F of British American Tobacco
p.l.c. (BAT).
Additional information concerning these and other factors can be
found in BAT's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), including the Annual Report on Form 20-F and
Current Reports on Form 6-K, which may be obtained free of charge
at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov and BAT's Annual
Reports, which may be obtained free of charge from the British
American Tobacco website www.bat.com.
Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons
needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The
forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information
available at the date of preparation of this release and BAT
undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
such forward-looking statements.
[1] Based on ePod, ePen, eTank mini, Alto devices and
consumables internal sales forecast (calculated March 2021) for 12 months starting from
April 2021
[2] Vuse aims to have 80% of international shipments
transported by sea by the end of 2022.
[3] Plastic saving per annum was calculated from 2020
global sales volumes and the plastic bottles comparison was based
on a 22.9g bottle weight, representative weight of 500ml
commercially available soft drink bottles (May 2020). Results have been verified by an
independent body.
[4] BAT_ESG_Report_2020.pdf page 125
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