Rothmans, Benson & Hedges releases 2022 Sustainability Report
Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH) released its 2022 Sustainability Report, Towards a Sustainable Future.
The report outlines the company's leadership in areas such as addressing post-consumer waste, reducing its environmental footprint, and improving employee wellness.
Towards a Sustainable Future details how RBH integrates environmental, social, and governance factors into its daily operations and across its four sustainability pillars: creating a smoke-free future, operating with excellence, caring for people, and protecting the environment.
“Sustainability is at the heart of all of our actions as we undergo our tremendous business transformation and transition to a smoke-free future,” says Kory McDonald, head of external affairs with RBH. “Our ongoing journey has presented an amazing opportunity for positive innovation, growth, and purpose-led outcomes spanning our governance and environmental initiatives.”
Highlights in the report include RBH’s actions advancing the need for a supportive regulatory framework to ensure consumers know about, can access, and can afford all smoke-free alternatives such as heated tobacco, vaping, and nicotine pouches to help enable a rapid transition away from cigarettes. The company’s continuing advocacy that no youth or non-nicotine users should ever use nicotine containing products and providing recommendations to Health Canada as part of the consultation on the first mandatory review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act.
As such, RBH calls for tougher penalties to prevent the sale of nicotine containing products to minors and the strengthening of age verification requirements. As well, RBH emphasized it continues to conduct training with retail partners on youth access prevention requirements and highlighting the increased the number of retail locations participating in RBH's national Smoke-Free Recycling Program to more than 3,500 retail stores nationwide.
“Eradicating cigarettes and creating a smoke-free Canada requires change at every level,” McDonald says. “It requires working with multiple stakeholders to address root causes, build collective responses, and create permanent solutions. Success requires a change in attitudes and behaviors as well as the modernization of Canadian government policies and laws. With the second legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) underway, we encourage government to put their words into action and build on their recognition of the harm reduction potential of smoke-free alternatives.”
The report also provides information on the more than $250,000 in support to various causes across Canada such as Indigenous mentorship and empowerment initiatives, biodiversity and conservation efforts, and women's emergency support services, as well as an investment of $800,000 in employee training programs to help team members upskill and work towards lifetime employability.
