BAT maintains leadership in sustainability index

For the 14th year running, Lucky Strike cigarette-maker British American Tobacco (BAT) has maintained its position as industry leader the annual index of sustainability-driven companies worldwide.

Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), the cigarette manufacturer is a global leader in terms of economic, environmental and social performance among 11 tobacco companies in the world.

According to DJSI, a joint initiative by Dow Jones and sustainability investment specialist RobecoSAM, BAT got an overall score of 83 percent, consolidating its position as tobacco industry leader.

BAT’s 2015 score is also 21 percentage points higher than the industry average of 62 percent.

“We achieved industry leadership in nine of the 20 categories, including a maximum 100 percent rating for Combatting Smuggling, Raw Material Sourcing and Responsible Marketing Policies,” Robert Eugenio, BAT Philippines legal and external affairs head said.

A detailed assessment of companies' performance covers both general and industry specific criteria, including corporate governance, supply chain management, environmental performance and human rights, as well as the integration of sustainability strategies into core business.

Eugenio further said retaining BAT’s place each year is no easy achievement and no company can take its inclusion for granted, adding the company is also the first tobacco company to be included in the index.

“We have been industry leader every year, except in 2010 when KT&G Corp. in South Korea were industry leader with an overall score of 79 percent — 1 percentage point above BAT’s score of 78 percent,” Eugenio said.

In 2015, 1,845 companies were assessed by DJSI, but only 317, or 17 percent, achieved inclusion in the world index. Notable companies which lost their place in the index include PepsiCo, Diageo, Royal Bank of Canada, Experian and Cisco Systems.

“Over the years the DJSI index family has not only come to be the gold standard for corporate sustainability but has also become a competitive platform where companies receive recognition for their sustainability practices,” Guido Giese, RobecoSAM, head of indices said.

“This achievement is a true testament to the leadership, collaboration and the sustained efforts to deliver outstanding company performance across all areas of the business,” Jerome Abelman, BAT director, legal & external affairs and general counsel said.