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March 22nd – World Water Day
In 2022, BAT recycled 22,6% of the water volume used globally
BAT factory in Ploiesti, certified by the prestigious Alliance for Water Stewardship

22 March 2023

BAT announces outstanding results in reaching its ambitious targets related to strategic management of the water used in its production process.
BAT goals by 2025 include Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification of all its operation sites, 30% of water recycled and 35% reduction in water withdrawn by 2025 vs 2017 baseline
BAT is engaged in building A Better Tomorrow™ for consumers and society and sustainability is an essential pillar in the company strategy.

Bucharest, March 22nd, 2022 – In its first Combined Annual and ESG Report, BAT announced important results in achieving environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives. Regarding the management of the water used in its production processes in 2022, BAT`s report shows that:

24 own operation sites are certified by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS)**, including the BAT factory in Ploiesti, which obtained the AWS certification last year;
22,6% of used water volume was recycled;
33% reduction in water withdrawn vs 2017 baseline was registered, which means a 7% reduction in water withdrawn vs 2021;
82% of tobacco hectares in our Tobacco Supply Chain have best practice soil and water management plans in place.

"Efficient water management is vital for the responsible use of resources, both at the individual and organizational level. Consistency and perseverance are needed in this endeavor and the theme of this year's World Water Day is "accelerating change", complemented by the slogan "Be the change you would like to see in the world", a message that we have also supported through the years within our "Choose Responsibly for a Clean City" campaigns. BAT is engaged in building A Better Tomorrow™ for consumers and for the society, both by fulfilling our business sustainability objectives, towards which we are taking decisive steps, as well as through campaigns related to the responsibility of our individual choices," says Ileana Dumitru, Legal and External Affairs Director, Central Europe South Area at BAT.

In 2020, BAT announced ambitious targets for reducing the health impact of its business, reaching environmental protection excellency, generating a positive social impact and its engagement in correct and responsible commercial practices. BAT`s targets include reaching 50 million consumers of its non-combustible products by 2030; reaching net zero CO2 emissions across its value chain by 2030; 100% renewable energy by 2030.

In water management, BAT aims by 2025:

35% reduction in water withdrawn by 2025 vs 2017 baseline;
100% of operations sites Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certified by 2025 - this globally recognized independent certification will contribute to the validation of the sustainable use of water by BAT;
30% of water recycled by 2025.

BAT's efforts and commitment to high sustainability standards have been recognized by prestigious independent institutions. Among them are BAT`s inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 21 consecutive years (BAT is the only tobacco company listed in the prestigious World Index in 2022, being ranked among the top 3% of evaluated companies), an MSCI BBB rating and the CDP A List level.

About BAT Romania

BAT, the local tobacco market leader, generated an impact of over 125 billion euros to the Romanian economy in its first 25 years of activity on the local market. Out of this amount, BAT paid close to 24 billion euro directly, mostly as excises and other taxes.
In 2020, BAT became the largest contributor to Romania’s budget, after paying over 9.6 billion RON in taxes and excise.
BAT remained the largest contributor to the state budget in 2021, with close to 11 billion RON paid in taxes and excise.
BAT is the leader of the tobacco industry in Romania, with over 50% market share.
BAT has over 3.000 employees in Romania, and it creates another 30.000 jobs on its supply and distribution chain.
In 2019, BAT launched in Romania the „Choose Responsibly a Clean City” campaign, a consumer information campaign regarding the responsible management of waste and use of resources, with the aim of public awareness to the simple gestures that each of us can do for protecting the environment and the community.

About BAT

BAT is a leading, multi-category consumer goods business with a purpose to build A Better Tomorrow™ by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky products for adult consumers.

The company continues to be clear that combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks, and the only way to avoid these risks is not to start or to quit. BAT encourages those who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch completely to scientifically substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives*. To deliver this, BAT is transforming into a truly consumer-centric multi-category consumer products business.

BAT’s ambition is to have 50 million consumers of its non-combustible products by 2030 and to generate £5billion of New Categories revenue by 2024. BAT has set stretching ESG targets including achieving carbon neutrality for Scopes 1 & 2 by 2030 and eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic and making all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

BAT employs over 50,000 people. The BAT Group generated revenue of £27.65 billion in 2022 and profit from operations of £10.5 billion.

The company’s Strategic Portfolio is made up of its global cigarette brands and a growing range of reduced risk* New Category tobacco and nicotine products and traditional non-combustible tobacco products. These include vapor, tobacco heating products, modern oral products including tobacco-free nicotine pouches, as well as traditional oral products such as snus and moist snuff. In 2022, we had 22.5 million consumers of our non-combustible products, a rise of 4.2 million on full year 2021.

* Combined Annual and ESG Report 2022
** About the alliance for water stewardship
*** Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.