BAT named a 2021 Climate Leader in inaugural European ranking

British American Tobacco (BAT) has been named as a 2021 Climate Leader by the UK Financial Times in an inaugural European ranking. 

FT Europe Climate Leaders 2021 recognises the top 300 of more than 4,000 companies across Europe that achieved the highest reduction in core greenhouse gas emissions in relation to revenues for the period between 2014 and 2019.

BAT has set ambitious climate targets including being carbon neutral in its own operations by 2030. 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 this year, BAT announced a further ambition to be carbon neutral across its value chain by 2050, representing around 90% of its total carbon footprint.

Minimising impacts on the environment, increasing climate change resilience and protecting the natural resources on which society depends are key parts of BAT’s ESG strategy. Some examples include: Improving the energy efficiency of factories, such as by upgrading to more efficient and lower-impact equipment; increasing the use of renewable energy through renewable energy purchases and on-site energy generation projects; optimising logistics and fleet, such as through improving vehicle performance and fuel efficiency.

BAT Chief Marketing Officer Kingsley Wheaton said: “We are very pleased to be named by the Financial Times as one of the companies leading the charge against climate impact. BAT is deeply committed to being a responsible business and reducing our impact on the environment.”

“Last year, we said we’d achieve carbon neutrality for our own emissions by 2030 and we’re making good progress towards this target. In addition, considering the urgent global challenge of climate change, earlier this year we committed to carbon neutrality across our value chain by 2050. This recognition by the Financial Times is a positive signal that we’re heading in the right direction,” Wheaton added.

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 to high standards have received notable independent recognition. These include its 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.