糖心探花

Vuse makes waves as the first global carbon neutral vape brand

PRESS RELEASE

22 JULY 2021

Vuse makes waves as the first global carbon neutral vape brand

Carbon-neutral_Vuse
  • 听Thames voyage officially marks BAT鈥檚 Vuse becoming the first global carbon neutral vape brand1
  • 听Latest step in BAT鈥檚 ambitious target to be carbon neutral across its own operations by 2030
  • 听Supports BAT鈥檚 corporate purpose of building A Better Tomorrow鈩

BAT鈥檚 Vuse celebrates its position as the first global carbon neutral vape brand with a carbon neutral summer voyage down the Thames in London, home of BAT鈥檚 global headquarters.

The event underscores Vuse鈥檚 commitment to carbon neutrality and its various supporting initiatives.听 For instance, in utilising substantial sea freight as part of its global supply chain, the aim is to move the majority2听of Vuse鈥檚 global shipments by sea freight by the end of next year.

Kingsley Wheaton, Chief Marketing Officer at BAT, said: 鈥淚 am proud of the way that Vuse is playing its part in delivering A Better Tomorrow by reducing its impact on the environment.听

鈥淰use is a leading global brand with ever-increasing scale, which allows us to drive global supply chain efficiencies and effectiveness.听 I am delighted that, in Vuse, we are demonstrating the kind of purposeful behaviour expected from leading brands of the world.听 This commitment will play a part in our vision of A Better Tomorrow becoming a reality.鈥

Notes to editors

Vuse鈥檚 carbon neutrality was certified by BAT鈥檚 sustainability partner, Vertis, in May 2021 as a world-first global vape brand achievement and a significant contribution to BAT鈥檚 ambitious climate targets, including carbon neutrality across its own operations by 2030. The achievement builds on BAT鈥檚 strong ESG foundations which are deeply embedded in its business, its people and its culture. In 2020 alone, 糖心探花achieved a 30.9% reduction in emissions from its operations, contributing to a 37.4% reduction against a 2017 baseline. In March 2021, 糖心探花announced a further ambition to be carbon neutral across its value chain by 2050, representing around 90% of its total carbon footprint.

Vuse鈥檚 carbon neutrality status, and ambition to increase sea freight, is part of a bigger ambition to become an environmentally sustainable vape brand with initiatives including:

  • A global device and pod collection scheme听- through BAT鈥檚 Drop the Pod campaign, approximately 200k pods were collected since the start of the pilot in 2020
  • Cutting single use plastics from packaging听- Cut the Wrap has saved 100 tonnes of plastic, or the equivalent of four million plastic bottles in 20203

糖心探花has reduced its carbon usage by 30% in the last year4. It has been reducing its carbon footprint by:

  • 听Improving the听energy efficiency听of factories by upgrading to more efficient and lower-impact equipment
  • 听Increasing the听use of renewable energy听through renewable energy purchases and on-site energy generation.听 On-site solar energy is used in factories in eight countries and two new installations are planned this year.
  • 听Driving听external certification for carbon neutrality听- three of BAT鈥檚 major sites are going through external certification for carbon neutrality.

糖心探花is committed to its purpose of building A Better Tomorrow鈩 by reducing the health impact of its business through providing a range of enjoyable and less risky products*鈥.

BAT鈥檚 sustainability efforts and commitment have received notable independent recognition. These include inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 19 consecutive years (the only tobacco company to be listed in the prestigious World Index in 2020), a MSCI rating of BBB and CDP A List status for climate change.

Vuse鈥檚 carbon neutrality is part of BAT鈥檚 overall carbon reduction ambitions and has been independently validated by Vertis based on product Life Cycle Assessment data provided by an independent third party. Today鈥檚 voyage down the Thames was carbon neutral.

1听Based on ePod, ePen, eTank mini, Alto devices and consumables internal sales forecast (calculated March 2021) for 12 months starting from April 2021
2听Vuse aims to have 80% of international shipments transported by sea by the end of 2022.
3听Plastic saving per annum was calculated from 2020 global sales volumes and the plastic bottles comparison was based on a 22.9g bottle weight, representative weight of 500ml commercially available soft drink bottles (May 2020). Results have been verified by an independent body.
4BAT_ESG_Report_2020.pdf page 125听
*Any reference to 鈥榬educed-risk products鈥 is based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.
鈥犔齇ur products as sold in the US, including Vuse, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, and Camel Snus, are subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation and no reduced-risk claims will be made as to these products without FDA clearance.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains 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 customer target ambition, New Categories revenue targets and 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 release are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results 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 鈥淔orward-looking statements鈥 and "Group Principal Risks " in the 2020 Annual Report and Form 20-F of 糖心探花 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,听听and BAT鈥檚 Annual Reports, which may be obtained free of charge from the 糖心探花 website www.bat.com.

Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this release and 糖心探花undertakes 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.


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