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Circularity

Circularity

Circularity

Embedding circularity across our products

Transforming the linear economy requires changing how businesses design, manufacture, use, and dispose of products.Ìý


Our ambition - Reducing the use of virgin raw materials.Ìý

We seek to reduce our material footprint across our value chain and to understand and minimise the environmental impact of virgin raw material use.

In the ‘make’ phase, we aim to use more sustainable materials and increase resource efficiency.

In the ‘use’ phase, we encourage responsible consumption and disposal.

In the ‘dispose’ phase, we collaborate with waste management organisations to enhance material recovery.

Targets

  • 100% of our packaging toÌýbe reusable, recyclable or compostable where facilities exist byÌý2025
  • 90% recycling rate ofÌýwaste generated across our operations by 2025
  • 25% reduction inÌýwaste generated acrossÌýour operations by 2025 (versusÌý2017Ìýbaseline)
  • Less than 1% ofÌýourÌýoperational waste going toÌýlandfill byÌý2025

Find out more: Read more in our Sustainability Performance Data Book 2024

How we’ll get there

Addressing circularity across product life cycles.

As we continue to strive towards reducing our use of virgin raw materials, we haveÌýtaken steps to deepen our understanding of the full extent of our material footprint.

Sustainable design

We aim to embed circularity into the early stages of product and packaging design.ÌýIn 2024, we introduced and began testing an initial set of ecodesign principles,Ìýwhich will provide insights to support the reduction of our environmental impactsÌýacross the product life cycle – spanning the 'make,' 'use,' and 'dispose' phases.Ìý

These principles include renewable and recycled materials, efficientÌýresource use, extending product life, and end-of-life product management.

In 2025, we will work to quantitatively assess the environmental impactsÌýof our Smokeless products as part of the ‘design’ phase.

By leveraging these insights, we aim to establish quantifiable design targets, including:

  • Using less CO2e intensive materials
  • Using more recycled materials
  • Using more renewable materials
  • Enhancing durability and product lifespan
  • Greater modularity, disassembly and recyclability

We also aim to understand the full extent of our virgin raw material use and itsÌýenvironmental impact. In doing so, we continue to improve our data quality toÌýinform decisions across the 'make', 'use', and 'dispose' stages of our supply chain.

In 2024, we launched the Green Design Tool, to support our product designersÌýand material scientists understand the environmental impact of current andÌýfuture materials.

Find out more: Read more about our policies and procedures

Rethinking design

How we think about using materials in a smarter and more efficient way:

Diagram showing circularity, Reduce, Rethink, Reuse, Recover, Recycle

What we’re doing

We have undertaking an initial analysis that allows usÌýtoÌýunderstand the full extent of our material use inÌýorder toÌýestablish aÌýbaseline for future reductions.

The diagram below is a visualisation of ourÌýmaterial inflow – or the total amount ofÌýrawÌýmaterials that make up our productsÌýand packaging. Each bar represents the total weight ofÌýmaterials used across our combustibles,ÌýSmokeless products andÌýOther Tobacco Products.

We know that reducing our material footprint is critical to reducing the impact of our Scope 3 emissions.

Areas of focus are:

  1. Paper, pulp and board: used across our products and packaging at an equivalent of 349,084 tonnes.
  2. Plastics: used across our products and packaging at an equivalent ofÌý60,733 tonnes.
  3. Metals1 : used across our product categories at an equivalent of 11,216Ìýtonnes.
  4. Critical Raw Materials2 : used inÌýourÌýNew Category products at anÌýequivalent of 3,050 tonnes.
  5. Electronic components: primarily used inÌýour New Category products at anÌýequivalent of 544 tonnes.

The flow of raw materials into our product categories

Diagram showing the flow of raw materials into our product categories

Our products

  • Vapour products: In 2024, we introduced Vuse Go 2.0, a new single-use Vapour product with a removable battery to facilitate better recycling. We aim to include removable batteries for all our single-use Vapour products, by the end of 2029. We aim to have all rechargeable closed system devices to include removable batteries by year-end 2026.
  • Modern Oral: In France, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and the UK, we recently launched two variants ofÌýVelo cans certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), for using bio-plastic or Post-Consumer Resin (PCR) plastic through a mass-balance approach1 . Used nicotine pouches are currently non-recyclable. We are working to address this challenge and are analysing how to increase the material recyclability and recoverability of our pouches.
  • Heated Products (HPs): We have removed the polypropylene overwrap for our glo devices and starter kits and replaced plastic inner trays with a pulp-based alternative. In 2024, with each iteration of our glo Hyper devices, we have progressively increased theÌýproportion of recycled material in the packaging. Specifically, the recycled content ofÌýthe packaging has increased from 34% in the Hyper Air to 71% in the Hyper Pro. For our HP consumables, we have introduced paper inner bundling to replace aluminium and plastic laminates so that they can be recycled where facilities exist. We also aim for new HP devices to feature removable and replaceable batteries.
  • Cigarettes: For our cigarettes, we have introduced paper inner bundling, where legally permitted, to replace aluminium and plastic laminates so that they can be recycled where facilities exist.
  • Other Tobacco Products (OTP): We are in the process of replacing all non-recyclable plastic laminate pouches with technically recyclable materials.

Shortage in key materials

While we have made progress with mostÌýof our Circularity targets, the global shortage in key materials, such as food-grade post-consumer resin has meant thatÌýwe have withdrawn our target of 30%Ìýaverage recycled content across allÌýplastics packaging.

Addressing this challenge requires collaboration across industries, changes inÌýgovernment policies and investments inÌýnational infrastructure.

Consumer education and awareness

Cigarette littering:

  • Although most consumers dispose of theirÌýcigarette butts responsibly, too manyÌýstill end up as litter.
  • Research showsÌýthat education and awareness campaigns can be effective in encouraging responsible disposal.
  • However, to change consumer behaviour, anti-littering awareness programmes and initiatives need to inform consumers of theÌýnegative environmental impacts of cigarette butts.
  • We continue to support such campaigns with NGOs and the public sector across our markets, for example through the ‘Small Actions, Big Crimes’ initiative

Smokeless products:

  • Our ecodesign principles will quantify theÌýimpact of the materials we use in ourÌýproducts.
  • We know that continued partnerships withÌýwaste management organisations and consumer education campaigns remain key to managing the end-of-life ofÌýour products.
  • This global issue can only be addressed through local interventions and a case-bycase approach contingent on national waste management infrastructure andÌýrequirements.
  • In Nottinghamshire, UK, we have partnered with aÌýwaste management company to pilot a collection and recycling programme for all used vaping products.
  • With the aim of creating industry-wide solutions, we have set up dedicated recycling collection points in public spaces for vaping products, including pods and devices

Notes:

  1. Excludes critical raw materials used in batteries.
  2. While we continue to report on conflict minerals, we are looking to understand our impact across other critical raw materials beyond tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG), based on the list of critical raw materials in the UK.
  3. All numbers are based on 2023 procurement purchased volume data, using proxy data for some product components including batteries due to intellectual property restrictions. Mass material data is extracted from our Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). Packaging only refers to primary with the exception of combustibles which is available by bundle. Wellbeing and Stimulation products have been excluded, as products were not available to purchase in 2023