British American Tobacco report shows truth behind greenwash

Apr 28 2005

Shareholders attending British American Tobacco's AGM in London on Thursday (28th April) will be asked whether they can trust the company, following the publication of a new report highlighting how the world's second largest tobacco company hides the damage it causes to health, development and the environment behind a mask of "corporate social responsibility".

The report, "BAT in its Own Words", published by Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) uses internal BAT memos, emails and letters to question whether shareholders should trust what the company says.

The report shows how, behind the façade of social and environmental responsibility:

• top BAT executives fought to block the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). BAT used support for AIDS prevention in Africa to try to win political influence and "relegate" tobacco as a health issue.
• BAT campaigned to try to discredit research from the World Health Organisation (WHO). It used scientific evidence from research supported by the tobacco industry to undermine WHO research into nicotine addiction and the health impacts of secondhand smoke.
• BAT tried to use codes of conduct, self-regulatory bodies, public reporting and coordinated corporate giving programmes as tactics to pre-empt higher taxes, tobacco advertising bans and restrictions on smoking in public places.
• Key examples of quotes from BAT internal documents are given in Note 4 of this release

BAT makes profits of more than £2.7 billion a year from a 15 per cent share of the world tobacco market. As about 5 million people die from tobacco-related diseases every year, BAT's 300 brands of cigarettes sold in 180 countries could be causing up to three-quarters of a million premature deaths. The BAT Director responsible for the companies' policy on corporate social responsibility is Ken Clarke MP, former Tory Health Secretary.

Friends of the Earth, ASH, and Christian Aid said the report shows why companies - especially those operating in industries producing hazardous products - should not be left to regulate themselves. The organisations are calling on the UK Government to reform company law so that all UK-based companies are accountable for their social and environmental impacts wherever in the world they operate [3] and to back new international standards to govern corporate behaviour.

Friends of the Earth Director Tony Juniper said:

"This report exposes how companies which have something to hide use Corporate Social Responsibility to deflect attention and discourage regulation. But such CSR should clearly be treated with a pinch of salt. Companies like BAT will not act in the best interests of society or the environment unless legislation forces them to do so. That is why the Company Law Reform Bill due to be introduced in the new Parliament represents such an important opportunity for better regulation."

ASH Director Deborah Arnott said:

"Tobacco firms like BAT hide behind glossy reports and boast of Corporate Social Responsibility. But this report shows the cynicism and deceit behind the public face. It should be read by decision-makers, campaigners and health professionals in every country where BAT seeks sales. Companies like BAT offer the ultimate devil's bargain. When they enter developing countries in search of new markets, they come with a smile a handshake and an open cheque book. But they leave behind nothing but a trail of addiction, misery and death."

Christian Aid Director Dr Daleep Mukarji said:

"BAT and many of its shareholders are based in Britain and it is in this country that many of the financial benefits of BAT's irresponsibility are reaped. "We cannot wash our hands of the impact companies such as BAT have on poor countries whose regulations are weaker than ours. Our Government must enact new laws to hold such companies to account wherever they work."