Considering the substantial impact that agriculture has on nature, our tobacco-related environmental programs are critical to our aspiration to preserving nature. In 2023, we will remain committed to progress against our deforestation-free supply chain ambition, foster the application of our Good Agricultural Practices governing the production of our tobacco, promote water stewardship and the efficient usage of natural resources, and ultimately contribute to the Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) that we will set to guide our roadmap to reducing our environmental impacts.

Pedro Braga, Vice President, Global Technical Operations

With our new nature-related ambition as a compass, we are committed to rigorously look at and address the most relevant pressures on nature generated by our operations and value chain, with a focus on ecosystem use and use change.

As part of our climate strategy and accounting for synergies with our nature protection ambition, we will continue to identify and invest in nature-based solutions that focus on protecting nature by avoiding deforestation, improving nature through community projects, and fostering natural ecosystems beyond forests.

We are on track to achieving a deforestation-free supply chain and are committed to accelerating our afforestation and reforestation efforts in the years to come to contribute to our no net loss ambitions. Moving forward, we intend to extend our water stewardship efforts in our non-tobacco supply chain, and notably across our supply of electronics, paper and pulp-based materials, and other agricultural products. We plan to work collaboratively with suppliers and key stakeholders to drive water circularity and resilience, starting with priority areas in our supply chain. This entails, as the first step, expanding our water risk assessment process within the coming years to cover the most relevant categories of materials. We will then fine-tune a detailed roadmap to 2033 by integrating water stewardship milestones, including specific targets, and fully developing the interlinks with other areas of environmental sustainability such as biodiversity protection and waste management. Meanwhile, we will continue certifying our manufacturing sites to the Alliance for Water Stewardship standard, prioritizing our efforts based on production volume and type, water consumption, and internal capacity.

Mimi Kurniawan, Vice President, Operations Sustainability