Our sustainability strategy is integral to our long-term success and frames the way we manage our environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities. Our strategy is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to have a transformational impact on the world by 2030 by addressing global challenges such as poverty, availability of clean water, inequality and climate change.
Developing alternative products that are potentially less harmful to health.
Maintaining sustainable agricultural practices to ensure a consistent, quality supply of tobacco.
Behaving responsibly at all times and providing a safe and rewarding work environment for employees.
The Board has oversight of our ESG responsibilities, supported by a cross-functional ESG Steering Committee, chaired by the Chair of Imperial Brands. The Committee meets formally during the year and encourages members to stay in touch with each other on a day-to-day basis to ensure there is regular ongoing dialogue about ESG matters.
We understand society’s concerns about the health risks of smoking and recognise the important role we can play in helping to reduce the harm caused by combustible tobacco products.
Our commitment
We are committed to strengthening our NGP performance and in doing so, making a more meaningful contribution to harm reduction by offering adult smokers a range of potentially less harmful products.
How we are achieving this
Building consumer and regulatory confidence in NGP by scientifically substantiating their harm reduction potential relative to conventional cigarettes.
Seeking to underpin our NGP operations with leading-edge science, innovation and high quality standards.
Our progress in 2020
Completed pre-clinical studies that show NGPs myblu and Pulze aerosols contain fewer and substantially lower levels of toxicants, and reduced in vitro toxicity, compared to cigarette smoke.
Our clinical studies show substantial reductions in exposure to harmful chemicals for smokers that switch to myblu.
UN SDGs
We are committed to tobacco harm reduction.
Given our global reach and influence, we have a duty to protect the natural environment and actively work to minimise our environmental impacts.
Our commitment
We are committed to reducing our climate and energy impacts across our value chain, from crop production to manufacturing and distribution.
How we are achieving this
Managing our climate-related risks and opportunities across our business and value chain.
Reducing our carbon footprint across our value chain.
Better understanding the carbon footprint of our NGP.
Our progress in 2020
We have developed site-based opportunities to ensure we deliver against our 2030 science-based carbon reduction targets.
We have seen a 12 per cent decrease in total Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our 2017 baseline year and our target is to reduce by 25 per cent by 2030.
We conducted a life cycle analysis of myblu which provided comprehensive information about the product’s environmental impact.
UN SDGs
We are taking action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Farmer livelihoods and welfare is of paramount importance to sustainable tobacco production and we continue to engage with our suppliers to support farming communities.
Our commitment
We are committed to supporting farmers to diversify income streams in order to enhance farming community livelihoods and welfare.
How we are achieving this
Strengthening the industry-wide Sustainable Tobacco Programme (STP) to measure positive impact.
Working together with our tobacco leaf suppliers through our Leaf Partnerships to allocate funds to continually improve access to basic needs and diversification of income.
Our progress in 2020
We are members of the STP Steering Committee and are contributing to the development of STP.
We supported farmers in Africa and Asia in diversifying their income from growing complementary crops to tobacco, such as fruit trees, maize, groundnuts and vegetables. We funded projects in Africa, Asia and South America enhancing access to basic needs to over 12,000 people. Case studies are on our website.
UN SDGs
We are committed to decent work for all and sustainable economic growth.
As an international business we recognise the importance, influence and duty we have in promoting respect for human rights across our business and supply chains.
Our commitment
We are committed to raising awareness and improving processes for identifying modern slavery in our business and supply chains.
How we are achieving this
Better understanding modern slavery risk across our business and supply chains.
Educating the business on the risk of modern slavery.
Introducing a robust human rights framework, which includes how we address modern slavery and the issue of child labour in tobacco farming.
Our progress in 2020
We started to implement the recommendations from the Slave Free Alliance (SFA) gap analysis conducted in 2019, although our work was hampered by the impact of COVID-19. Details are available on our website. SFA conducted a workshop for our global procurement team. Our Modern Slavery e-learning module is now available to employees in 12 languages. Specialist training has been provided for key functional representatives.
UN SDGs
We are committed to decent work for all and sustainable economic growth.
As part of our duty to protect the natural environment, we seek to minimise waste and waste sent to landfill.
Our commitment
We are committed to minimising the waste associated with our products, packaging and production processes.
How we are achieving this
Supporting manufacturing sites to achieve the 2030 targets set for waste.
Innovating waste solutions for product disposal.
Monitoring and responding to EU legislative changes, including the Single-Use Plastics Directive.
Our progress in 2020
Developed the myblu recycling playbook to support markets and our product design teams in understanding how to implement recycling and take-back schemes for current myblu devices, pods and packaging.
We continue to explore opportunities for improving material recycling in our cigarette filters and packaging.
UN SDGs
Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.
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