BAT launches ESG Week to amplify sustainability progress

- BAT marks progress on sustainability journey with an ESG week

- BAT delivering on ESG priorities to build A Better Tomorrow™ for all stakeholders

- BAT aims to reduce health impact of its business targeting 50m consumers of New Categories products by 2030

LONDON, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BAT has launched a dedicated week aimed at highlighting its goals and achievements around its enhanced Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) ambitions. Across its digital channels, the company will devote the entire week to sharing its sustainability story with the outside world.

In 2020, the company announced its new corporate purpose to deliver A Better Tomorrow™ by reducing the health impact of its business, putting sustainability front and centre. Since March last year, BAT:

• Launched the industry's first ever Human Rights report
• Was the only tobacco company to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, its 19th consecutive year in the Index series
• Was awarded an 'A' score for climate change by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 
• Was named as a Diversity Leader by the Financial Times in its inaugural Diversity Leaders report

What did the company announce as ambitions in 2020?

• Increasing BAT consumers of non-combustible products to 50 million by 2030
• Achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and accelerating other existing environmental targets to 2025*
• Eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic and making all plastic packaging recyclable by 2025**

And the company is not stopping there on its transformation journey. In December 2020 BAT announced its COVID-19 vaccine candidate had progressed to human trials further demonstrating its commitment to innovation and science. BAT also announced last week that it is on track in its ambition to increase the number of consumers of non-combustible products, doubling the rate of consumer adoption in the second half of 2020.

Said Kingsley Wheaton, Chief Marketing Officer, BAT, "One of the core commitments we made in 2020, was to continually track and report on our sustainability progress. This new BAT ESG Week gives us the chance to share our continued progress with the outside world, given our purpose-led ambition to reduce the health impact of our business."

ESG Week will be followed by the launch on 9^th March of BAT's Annual ESG Report, which will provide details on all the company's sustainability initiatives and progress.

Follow #BATesgweek on Twitter to hear about our sustainability ambitions and progress.

About BAT
BAT is a leading, multi-category consumer goods business, established in 1902. Our purpose is to build A Better Tomorrow™ by reducing the health impact of our business which entails:

• Committing to providing adult consumers with a wide range of enjoyable and less risky products
• Continuing 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
• Encouraging those who otherwise continue to smoke, to switch completely to scientifically-substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives***
• Tracking and sharing progress of our transformation

The company has announced a target of increasing the number of its non-combustible product consumers to 50 million by 2030; and to achieve at least £5 billion in New Categories revenues in 2025.

Notes
* Based on Scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions.
** In full, our 2025 targets are to: eliminate all unnecessary single-use plastic packaging; 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable; and 30% recycled content in plastic packaging
*** Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.

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