bat south africa - Environmental management

As part of the British American Tobacco Group, environmental management is a key focus of our operations. Most of the materials needed for the manufacture of our products are sourced from nature. It therefore makes sound economic and environmental sense for us to ensure that our use of raw materials is fully sustainable.

We became a signatory to the South African Energy Efficiency Accord between the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) and the private sector in 2005. The overall objective of the Accord, which was facilitated by the National Business Initiative (NBI), is to reduce the projected demand for energy, based on current growth rates, by 15% by 2015. British American Tobacco South Africa is actively represented in the Energy Efficiency Technical Committee (EETC), a working group made up of representatives from each signatory organization. 

Reducing our impact

We have implemented various programmes and plant design changes based on the "3 R's" principle - Reduce, Recover, Recycle - to reduce our environmental impact. Our programmes cover energy conservation, water, air, and soil protection, afforestation, minimising the use of natural resources, agrochemicals, and raw materials and minimising the generation of waste. A key element of these programmes is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which have been linked to global warming.

For further details about our environmental management system, please visit the reporting download page on our website to download our 2007 Social Report. Alternatively, you can visit the sustainable development section of the British American Tobacco Group website