Investors Name BAT as Leader in Sustainability
RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook 2015
BAT has been named an “Industry Leader” and received a prestigious award for its excellent sustainability performance.
The recognition comes from sustainability investment specialists RobecoSAM, who have awarded BAT its highest Gold Class distinction in its 2015 edition of ‘The Sustainability Yearbook’.
The Yearbook is the world’s most comprehensive publication on corporate sustainability and is determined by scores in the annual Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), for which RobecoSAM manage the assessment process.
BAT’s DJSI score in 2014 was, at 89%, its highest ever. The company achieved best scores for the industry in 13 of the 20 categories, including a maximum 100% rating in five key categories – Risk and Crisis Management, Customer Relationship Management, Combatting Smuggling, Environmental Policy/Management System, and Responsible Marketing Policies.
For each industry, the Yearbook names the company with the highest DJSI score as the RobecoSAM Industry Leader. This means it is considered to be the company within its industry that is best prepared to seize the opportunities and manage the risks deriving from economic, environmental and social developments.
The Yearbook is a key resource for helping investors understand the financial materiality of sustainability and to measure the effectiveness of companies’ sustainability strategies.
In its assessment of the key drivers for the tobacco industry, RobecoSAM states: “The industry is constantly scrutinised by legislators, the media and NGOs, which requires well-managed companies and supply chains as well as a high degree of transparency… It will also be increasingly important for tobacco companies to partly move away from traditional tobacco products and explore innovative options.”
Read more about BAT's approach to sustainability at www.bat.com/sustainability.
