JTI Makes Progress Toward Tobacco Sustainability

JTI’s factory in Batangas, Philippines, fea-tures the largest self-consumption rooftop solar system in South East Asia. It has 17,040 solar panels that convert the sun’s energy into electricity, preventing approxi-mately 4,000 tons of GHG emissions a year.

JTI

JTI Makes Progress Toward Tobacco Sustainability

The right choices contribute to sustainability, reduced environmental footprint and contribution to the community.

From Staff Reports

A record of over 2.7 billion illegal cigarettes was seized thanks to information provided by JTI in 2018, a report from its parent company—Japan Tobacco—said in May.

That was one of three main achievements that the report pointed to. The other two are that more than 30 percent of the electricity in JTI factories originated from renewable sources in 2018, and Human Rights Impact Assessments were completed by the company in five high-risk countries.

“We take the responsibility to manage our business sustainability very seriously, and I am proud of the progress we are making globally,” says Suzanne Wise, JTI’s Senior Vice President Corporate Development. “We constantly challenge ourselves to make the right choices for our business’ long-term sustainability, to actively reduce our environmental footprint and positively contribute to the communities we are a part of.”

The Price of Contraband

Illegal trade is a growing problem, for these reasons, among many others:

• It cheats legitimate tobacco companies and their brands,

• It cheats consumers who don’t know what they’re buying

• It cheats governments who lose tax revenues.

• It threatens wider society as organized crime networks involved in illegal tobacco trade are often also involved in human trafficking and terrorism.

Tackling illegal trade is a key component of JTI’s approach to sustainability, and in 2018 the company provided 1,328 reports to law enforcement agencies, leading to the seizure of more than 2.7 billion illegal cigarettes and the raid of 39 counterfeit factories.

At JTI’s factories around the world, the focus has been directed at minimizing the Company’s environmental impact. Following concerted efforts and investments, by the end of 2018, 31 percent of electricity was either purchased or generated from renewable sources.

One example is the Philippines, where the largest self-consumption rooftop solar system in South-East Asia was installed, with 17,040 solar panels. A factory-by-factory feasibility review of opportunities associated with solar, hydro, wind, and biomass power has also been carried out–with the aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the longer term. In 2018, the JT Group also achieved Leadership status in CDP Climate Change for the third consecutive year and was selected as a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia/Pacific Index for the fifth consecutive year.

JTI systematically undertakes due diligence to identify and assess current and potential human rights risks throughout its value chain and aims to assess by 2025 all operations which are situated in ‘high-risk’ countries. Last year, the Company ran five Human Rights Impact Assessments in Tanzania, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Myanmar and Malaysia, and consequently launched action plans to act on the findings and required improvements. This ongoing process aims to mitigate and prevent any adverse human rights impacts and ensure the highest standards of behavior are upheld within the business.

New Targets

“In the run-up to 2030, and in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the JT Group has committed to new sustainability targets, for which we will have a key role to play in the coming years”, says Maarten Bevers, JTI’s Corporate Sustainability Vice President. “We are pleased with our solid achievements and have already started working towards reaching these newly launched targets.”

The JT Group Sustainability report is compiled with reference to the principles of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), showing the JT Group’s commitment to being transparent in its sustainability performance. [TI]

JT’S GROUP-WIDE ENVIRONMENT PLAN SEEKS SUSTAINABILITY

A conduct business in a sustainable manner, has been launched with the aim to achieve its new targets by 2030. The company focus areas and key targets are:

Energy and Emissions:

• Doubling the proportion of renewable electricity that we use to 25 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050.

• Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from our own operations and emissions associated with our purchased goods and services by 32 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Natural Resources:

• Reducing water withdrawal associated with our tobacco business by 15 percent.

• Replacing all wood from natural forests used in the tobacco curing process of our directly contracted growers with renewable fuel sources.

Waste:

• Reducing waste associated with our tobacco business by 20 percent.

“We are looking forward to meeting this new plan’s objectives, which reflect changes in our business, societal expectations, and growing scientific understanding of the environment,” said Chigusa Ogawa, Senior Vice President, Sustainability Management.

“Our new targets go beyond our current plan and address a broader range of issues that affect not only our operations, but also key elements of our value chain.

“We are particularly proud that our science-based GHG emission reduction target has recently been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. We will track performance and progress toward our objectives and targets, and we will revisit the plan periodically to ensure that it remains relevant to our business and stakeholders.”

The JT Group launched its first Group Environment Plan in 2014 to strengthen its approach towards reducing its environmental impact. In 2017, the initial target to reduce GHG emissions by 20 percent was already achieved and exceeded—three years ahead of schedule.

“We are currently on track to achieve the other goals and commitments outlined in the Plan,” said Ogawa. [TI]