Our Approach to Supporting Farmer Livelihoods
Agricultural supply chains are particularly vulnerable to a range of challenges, including climate change and water scarcity, increasing demand for land and natural resources, rural poverty, social inequality, child labor and ageing farmer populations. Tobacco is no exception.
“As a business, we are invested in the sustainability of our tobacco growing communities. We take steps to certify that farming practices align with our environmental goals and that working conditions are independently audited. Additionally, all our U.S. farmers grow diverse crops, increasing resilience and supporting prosperous livelihoods.” – Chris Dixon, Vice President of Leaf Operations within the Reynolds American organization
Our Long-Standing Commitment to Human Rights
The Reynolds American organization respects human rights and deliver a positive social impact in the communities in which we operate. By taking a holistic approach to enhancing their lives and tackling human rights risks, we can help secure the long-term sustainability of rural communities.
Fundamental human rights are affirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and our commitment to respect those fundamental rights are set out in the global BAT Group’s Standards of Business Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct, which we independently adopted, including the rights of employees within the Reynolds American organization, the people we work with, and the communities in which we operate across our supply chains and business operations. All our leaf suppliers are expected to participate in the industry’s Sustainable Tobacco Program, which requires an annual self-assessment against priority themes, including human rights.
Thrive Assessments
Launched in 2016 by the global BAT Group, Thrive Assessments are part of a sustainable agriculture and farmer livelihoods program, which includes all global BAT Group-owned and strategic third-party suppliers worldwide. For over eight years, Thrive, our sustainable agriculture and farmer livelihoods program focused on farming communities has been implemented. Thrive aims to assess that all our contracted farmers have a viable livelihood, promote farming to be seen as a preferred profession, particularly for rural youth, and within farming, demonstrate that tobacco is a valuable crop to grow.
GAP Connections
The GAP Connections farmer certification program helps produce quality crops while protecting, sustaining, or enhancing the environment; ensuring the safety and rights of farm laborers; and recognizing producers committed to a higher standard.
Supporting Farmer Housing
Since 2006, we have been helping support the need for decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for agricultural workers. In 2023, we provided $50,000 to Southeast Nonprofit Housing for its On-Farm Housing Program. The program provides incentives for growers to build new, better housing and is proven to increase both health and productivity.
To learn more about what the global BAT Group does to support Farmer Livelihoods worldwide, visit British American Tobacco – Farming Communities.
Footnotes:
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the global BAT Group and the U.S. parent company of, among others, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc.; American Snuff Company, LLC; R. J. Reynolds Vapor Company; Modoral Brands Inc.; RAI Services Company; and Reynolds Marketing Services Company. References to “Reynolds,” “Reynolds American,” “we,” “us,” “our”, and “organization” are for convenience and collectively refer to RAI and/or RAI’s independent operating subsidiary companies.
Forward-looking Statements
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements, including “forward-looking” statements made within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “believe”, “anticipate”, “could”, “may”, “would”, “should”, “intend”, “plan”, “potential”, “predict”, “will”, “expect”, “estimate”, “project”, “positioned”, “strategy”, “outlook”, “target” and similar expressions. These include statements regarding our ESG targets.
All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. It is believed that the expectations reflected in this document are reasonable, but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated. A review of the reasons why actual results and developments may differ materially from the expectations disclosed or implied within forward-looking statements can be found by referring to the information contained under the headings “Cautionary Statement” and “Group Principal Risks” in the 2023 Annual Report and Form 20-F of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT).
Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in BAT’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Annual Report on Form 20-F and Current Reports on Form 6-K, which may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website, https://www.sec.gov/ and BAT’s Annual Reports, which may be obtained free of charge from the BAT website https://www.bat.com/.
The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this website and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
