Actively seeking open dialogue with our stakeholders allows us to understand their expectations and the impacts our business generates, and to respond in a proactive manner that is proportionate to our ability to manage such impacts effectively. PMI functions as part of a broader societal framework, where many impacts represent shared challenges. Through our engagements and advocacy efforts we seek to achieve change on a broader scale beyond what we can achieve alone.
While PMI’s commitment to its transformation is unwavering, we recognize that we cannot complete the journey alone. Like any systemic issue involving a challenge that cannot be solved in silos, it requires all relevant actors to be part of the solution. Indeed, a credible and sustainable transformation cannot afford to leave willing participants on the sidelines. Instead, it requires stakeholders to unite their perspectives, knowledge, and past resources, and join forces toward the shared goal of taking evidence-based action—regardless of by whom that is needed.
Our stakeholder engagement activities are guided by transparency, integrity, and respect, and governed by our Code of Conduct and its accompanying policies, summarized in this overview of our engagement principles.
The need for open collaboration
Around one billion adults smoke cigarettes today. Achieving the systemic change required to achieve our smoke-free purpose demands broad-based collaboration that transcends traditional boundaries and preconceptions. When a company like PMI is systematically excluded from participation in relevant forums, initiatives, or partnerships—regardless of its strong commitment to transition, measurable progress, and positive change—it creates counterproductive fragmentation in the very ecosystem that needs to work cohesively toward this common goal.
This exclusionary approach, while perhaps driven by historical concerns or reputational considerations, ultimately impedes collective progress by limiting the diversity of perspectives, resources, and capabilities available to address systemic challenges. It inadvertently contributes to maintaining the status quo at precisely the moment when transformational change is both urgently wanted and critically needed by society.
Like any systemic issue, smoking is a challenge that cannot be solved in silos. It requires all relevant actors to be part of the solution. Ridding the world of cigarettes is a challenge that cannot afford to leave willing participants on the sidelines. Instead, it requires all stakeholders to come together, share knowledge, pool resources, and join forces toward the shared goal of making smoking obsolete. Only through this comprehensive and open approach to engagement and collaboration can we achieve a scale and speed of change that is meaningful.
How we are engaging with our stakeholders
Our stakeholder engagement activities incorporate both structured and ad hoc interactions. Above all, they are guided by transparency, integrity, and respect, and governed by our Code of Conduct and its accompanying policies (Principles and Practices), summarized in this overview of our engagement principles.
The table below features the most significant topics discussed with our key stakeholder groups and our responses to them; however, it is not an exhaustive list.
Consumers
Consumers
Why we engage
The best choice a smoker can make is to quit tobacco and nicotine altogether. For adults who do not quit smoking, we aim to ensure their full awareness of the existence of smoke free products and of the benefits of switching to these alternatives, versus continued smoking, and support them in this conversion journey so that as many adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke as possible will switch to them and never return to cigarettes. We do this by taking a consumer-centric approach to developing scientifically substantiated nicotine-containing products, and commercializing these better alternatives that aim to meet adult smokers’ preferences and needs.
How we engage
- PMI websites and social media accounts
- Surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups
- Hotlines and call centers
- Consumer events and awareness-raising campaigns
- Stores and e-commerce
Key topics discussed
- Access to and awareness of the benefits of smoke-free products compared with continued smoking
- Responsible marketing and commercialization, including youth access prevention
- Scientifically substantiated claims
- Product innovation, circularity, and responsible disposal
- Quality and services
How we are responding
- Investing in R&D and strategic acquisitions to propel our smoke-free vision and meet consumer needs
- Moving from a business-to-business (B2B) to an increasingly consumer-centric model to commercialize smoke-free products and support users in their conversion journey
- Broadening access to smoke-free products for adult smokers and nicotine users by working to improve consumer awareness and product availability, affordability, and acceptability
- Embedding eco-design and circularity principles in product development and launching take-back services for our products’ end-of-life
Employees
Employees
Why we engage
Our employees are drivers of change and the ambassadors of our purpose. Their engagement and dedication are essential to making PMI’s vision and strategic goals a reality. We continuously communicate with and listen to our employees and strive to provide them with opportunities for growth and development within an inclusive workplace.
How we engage
- Regular surveys
- Group-wide intranet and other internal platforms
- Performance and development reviews
- Internal events and conferences
- Training programs
- Recognition schemes
- Employee resource groups
- Our Code of Conduct and accompanying set of internal policies, principles, and practices
Key topics discussed
- Company culture and purpose
- Collaboration and fairness
- Health, safety, and well-being (including work–life balance)
- Job security, talent attraction, lifelong learning opportunities, retention
- Protection of employee data
How we are responding
- Consistently and clearly embedding our purpose across our company culture
- Promoting living wages, equal pay for equal work, and equal access to opportunities
- Providing flexible work, paid parental leave, and volunteer time
- Raising awareness around mental health and supporting employee well-being via a variety of programs and initiatives
- Upholding workplace health and safety
- Fostering a fair working environment that unlocks the potential of our diverse workforce
- Promoting global employee resource groups on a variety of diversity dimensions
- Expanding employee access to lifelong learning programs to promote upskilling and reskilling
Supply chain
Supply chain
Why we engage
Our supply chain accounts for a significant portion of potential social and environmental risks and opportunities. We are committed to collaborating with our value chain partners in identifying and managing these risks and opportunities responsibly. Moreover, many of the people working in our tobacco supply chain rely on PMI for a substantial portion of their income. PMI aims to treat its suppliers fairly and ethically and is dedicated to acting as a good partner to other companies, large and small, that help us achieve our ambitions. Collaborating with others across our supply chain helps us address social and environmental challenges and progress against our strategic goals.
How we engage
- Compliance, audits, and risk assessments
- Strategic partnerships
- Supplier forums and events
- Meetings, workshops, and training sessions
- On-site visits
- Digital retailer interfaces
Key topics discussed
- Supply and delivery challenges
- Opportunities for growth and innovation
- Working conditions (including wages, health and safety, and other labor-related matters)
- Responsible commercialization
- Performance and expectations
How we are responding
- Grounding supply chain strategy in our Responsible Sourcing Principles
- Transitioning to an increasingly diversified supply chain
- Promoting safe and fair working conditions throughout our supply chain
- Seeking science-based reduction of our scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and collaborating with our suppliers to address other environmental challenges, in particular biodiversity loss, deforestation risk, and water depletion
- Assessing, monitoring, and helping improve the nonfinancial performance of our critical suppliers
Finance community
Finance community
Why we engage
Engaging with the finance community is key to promoting a comprehensive understanding of PMI’s unique value proposition, strategy, and performance and maintaining support for our transformation. Furthermore, commercial and investment decisions increasingly integrate relevant nonfinancial considerations as part of the assessment of risks and opportunities for a client or an investee company. For PMI, this centers on our product transformation and key related business areas such as regulation and our policies and practices on youth access prevention. We welcome the challenge and engagement of our banking partners, insurers, shareholders, and debt investors, and we remain confident that our transformation is creating value for PMI and for society.
How we engage
- Annual shareholder meeting
- Events, conferences, and roadshows
- Earnings calls, Investor Day, and value-creation/nonfinancial performance webcasts
- Presentations, reports, and publications
- ESG ratings and rankings
- Financing framework
- Perception studie
- Investor, bank, and insurer outreach and engagement
Key topics discussed
- Future-proofed business model
- Growth and returns from smoke-free transformation
- Regulatory and fiscal environment
- Governance and remuneration
- Capital allocation
- Sustainability-related priorities, risks, and performance
- Technological advancements to drive product innovation, commercialization, and operational efficiency
- Quality of reporting on sustainability and business transformation
How we are responding
- Continuing to grow our smoke-free business while staying competitive in the cigarette category during our transition
- Periodically refreshing our sustainability materiality assessment
- Providing comprehensive nonfinancial disclosures aligned with international standards and regulations, reporting progress notably via our Value Report and Business Transformation Metrics
- Linking executive compensation to nonfinancial performance, including via our VALUE Index
- Integrating our smoke-free transformation into our financing strategy
- Disciplined investment in product development and commercialization
Policymakers and regulators
Policymakers and regulators
Why we engage
Dialogue with national and local governments and regulators allows us to understand their priorities and concerns and share our views, expertise, objectives, and scientific findings. We engage with policymakers in developing proposed regulations that may impact a smoke-free future and differentiate smoke free products from combustible products. We advocate for regulation that would accelerate the end of smoking, foster innovation, improve enforcement and minimize unintended consequences.
How we engage
- Ongoing dialogue
- Forums and events
- Public consultations and hearings
- Reports and publications
- Trade associations
- Training and presentations
Key topics discussed
- Risk-proportionate regulatory and fiscal framework for smoke-free products based on scientific and real-world evidence
- Quality, safety, and performance standards for smoke-free products
- Responsible marketing and commercialization, including youth access prevention
- Illicit trade prevention
- Environmental and social risks and impacts, including regulatory frameworks for product waste management and circularity
- Fiscal and regulatory compliance
- Standards for transparency and quality reporting
How we are responding
- Transparently publishing our scientific findings on smoke free products at PMIscience.com
- Deploying youth access prevention safeguards across retail channels
- Implementing and monitoring compliance with internal codes and standards ensuring responsible marketing practices, especially PMI’s Code of Conduct
- Preventing illicit trade via tracking and tracing systems and other technologies including security features, AI-powered online monitoring tools, supporting law enforcement against illicit products, and funding PMI IMPACT
- Provide comprehensive nonfinancial disclosures aligned with international standards and regulations
- Deploying a comprehensive strategy to improve the environmental performance of our products (from product design, to tailored end-of-life solutions for different product categories)
Public health community
Public health community
Why we engage
Engaging with the public health community is of utmost importance. Our business transformation and expanded purpose present an immense opportunity to advance public health. By conducting our R&D with scientific rigor, sharing our findings, and asking the community to scrutinize our products and the growing body of scientific evidence surrounding them, we aim to engage constructively on this topic and collectively seize the immense opportunity smoke-free products present for adult smokers. By leveraging our expertise and investment in aerosol chemistry and physics, device technology, clinical research, and best-in-class preclinical safety and inhalation models, we aim to move from a value proposition of doing less harm toward one where we can seek to have a net positive impact on society in the longer term.
How we engage
- Conferences, forums, and events
- Reports, publications, articles, white papers, and studies
- Dedicated scientific website PMIscience.com
- Online platforms for data transparency and reproducibility in science
- Applications and submissions
Key topics discussed
- Product innovation to reduce health impacts at individual and population levels
- Scientific research, including scientific methods and protocols, data and results
- Business transformation strategy and progress in phasing out cigarettes
- Youth access prevention
- Research transparency and data
- Product environmental impact
How we are responding
- Developing science-based, less harmful alternatives to continued smoking and expanding our smoke-free product portfolio
- Investing in smoke-free product innovation R&D
- Publishing findings and other scientific publications on PMIscience.com
- Acquiring like-minded, science-driven companies to lay the foundation for a broader lifestyle, consumer wellness business
- Initiating studies such as real-world evidence studies analyzing the impact at the population level of the introduction of smoke-free products
Civil society
Civil society
Why we engage
From exchanging information and best practices to forging close partnerships, engaging with civil society actors helps inform our strategy, define our priorities, and advance sustainable solutions to common challenges.
How we engage
- Partnerships and memberships
- Social contributions
- Open dialogue
- Independent academic case studies
- Media interviews, opinion pieces, social media, and articles
Key topics discussed
- Nonfinancial performance
- Sustainable business value strategy and nonfinancial reporting
- Business transformation
- Product innovation
How we are responding
- Partnering with leading civic organizations to improve our performance and implement impactful solutions
- Joining leading corporate sustainability membership organizations
- Sharing data and progress with academic organizations, enabling them to write case studies analyzing our progress, challenges, and opportunities
- Leveraging a range of media channels to promote open dialogue and discussions about business impacts and corporate strategy
- Transparently disclosing our nonfinancial performance, sustainability materiality assessments, progress, challenges, opportunities, and aspirations
Memberships and alliances
We believe that participating in collective efforts can help foster meaningful impact as we work to address challenges that are often systemic. As such, we participate in various selected groups, organizations, or initiatives globally including, among others, those listed below.
Advocacy
Please click on the tabs below for an overview of various advocacy efforts we engaged in over the past several years.
Nature
Non-financial reporting
Climate
Other
This online content about our Value Report should be read in conjunction with PMI’s Value Report 2025. This report includes metrics that are subject to uncertainties due to inherent limitations in the nature and methods for data collection and measurement. The precision of different collection and measurement techniques may also vary. This report includes data or information obtained from external sources or third parties. Unless otherwise indicated, the data contained herein cover our operations worldwide for the full calendar year 2025 or reflect the status as of December 31, 2025. Where not specified, data comes from PMI financials, nonfinancials, or estimates.
Unless explicitly stated, the data, information, and aspirations in this report do not incorporate PMI’s Wellness unit, Aspeya. Regarding the Swedish Match acquisition, completed late 2022, unless otherwise indicated, this report includes information pertaining to its sustainability performance. Please also refer to "About this report" on page 3 of the PMI’s Value Report 2025 for more information. Aspirational targets and goals do not constitute financial projections, and achievement of future results is subject to risks, uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions, as outlined in our forward-looking and cautionary statements on page 142. In PMI’s Value Report 2025 and in related communications, the terms “materiality,” “material,” and similar terms are defined in the referenced sustainability standards and are not meant to correspond to the concept of materiality under the U.S. securities laws and/or disclosures required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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