[Intl-tobacco] BAT Report Shows Truth Behind Greenwash

[Robert Weissman]

Press Release
British American Tobacco Report Shows Truth Behind Greenwash
April 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 publ=
ication
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 ma=
sk of
"corporate social responsibility" [1].

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, email=
s and
letters to question whether shareholders should trust what the company says=
.

The report is available at:

http://www.ash.org.uk/html/conduct/pdfs/bat2005.pdf

The report shows how, behind the fa=C3=A7ade of social and environmental re=
sponsibility:

-- top BAT executives fought to block the Framework Convention on Tobacco C=
ontrol
(FCTC). BAT used support for AIDS prevention in Africa to try to win politi=
cal
influence and "relegate" tobacco as a health issue.

-- BAT campaigned to try to discredit research from the World Health Organi=
sation
(WHO). It used scientific evidence from research supported by the tobacco i=
ndustry
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 report=
ing 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 t=
his
release

BAT makes profits of more than =C2=A32.7 billion a year from a 15 per cent =
share of the
world tobacco market. As about 5 million people die from tobacco-related di=
seases
every year, BAT's 300 brands of cigarettes sold in 180 countries could be c=
ausing
up to three-quarters of a million premature deaths. The BAT Director respon=
sible
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 comp=
anies -
especially those operating in industries producing hazardous products - sho=
uld not
be left to regulate themselves. The organisations are calling on the UK Gov=
ernment
to reform company law so that all UK-based companies are accountable for th=
eir
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 Corpora=
te
Social Responsibility to deflect attention and discourage regulation. But s=
uch 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 S=
ocial
Responsibility. But this report shows the cynicism and deceit behind the pu=
blic
face. It should be read by decision-makers, campaigners and health professi=
onals 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, the=
y come
with a smile a handshake and an open cheque book. But they leave behind not=
hing 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 co=
untry
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 coun=
tries
whose regulations are weaker than ours. Our Government must enact new laws =
to hold
such companies to account wherever they work."

NOTES

[1] The report is draws on internal BAT documents, which are stored at the
company's depository in Guildford but are available for scrutiny following =
the
tobacco industry's 1998 legal settlement with the State of Minnesota in the=
 United
States. These were accessed with assistance from researchers at the London =
School
of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

[2] BAT's AGM is held at 11am at the Mermaid Theatre, Puddle Dock, Blackfri=
ars EC4V
3DB

[3] For more information see www.corporate-responsibility.org

[4] Key quotes from internal BAT papers include (page numbers given refer t=
o
report):

"`The recent award to BAT's Managing Director in Hungary demonstrates the g=
roup's
sympathetic handling of local aspirations. Among the projects are a clinic =
for the
diagnosis of disease; accommodation for the homeless, as well as arts and
educational projects. For BAT, such programmes not only win allies in local=
 markets
but open the doors of politicians and regulators' (page 13).

After BAT's 1992 donation of HK$300,000 to repair the Haizhou Bridge in the
Guangzhou province of China "[this is] the sort of gesture to which officia=
ldom
will be obligated, and can benefit 555 and BAT more ways than advertising a=
lone"
(page 13)

"Support of growers [tobacco farmers in developing countries] will be inval=
uable in
our continued battle with critics of the industry. Indeed we have already u=
sed them
to help us brief both delegates to the WHA and to the FAO. The only hope of=
 them
being able to operate effectively is with funding help." (page 16)

"The ITGA [International Tobacco Growers Association] agreed to support ful=
ly a
proposal for a pan African aids conference =E2=80=A6. The ITGA is going to =
present what
their grower associations have been doing to support government and NGO eff=
orts in
combating AIDS in Africa and through that highlight the importance of tobac=
co to
the economy while relegating it as an issue in the health priorities of the=
se
countries. The idea is to use the forum to challenge and ridicule the WHO
convention." (page 17)

Although BAT claims to "proactively promote juvenile prevention smoking cam=
paigns
in cooperation with the Government" it wants to ensure that "early progress=
 would
be measured via end-market activities and campaigns rather than any reducti=
on in
under-age smoking". (page 20)

A senior BAT executive described CSR as offering "air cover from criticism =
while
improvements are being made. Essentially it provides a degree of publicly e=
ndorsed
amnesty".(page 28)

BAT tried to get round South Africa's tough new laws on tobacco advertising=
 by
tactics including the recruitment of stylish young people as "Brand Amplifi=
ers"
driving Lucky Strike Volkswagens.

"Rumours were generated through a combination of Brand Amplifiers `leaking =
out'
information to a carefully selected few contacts and through pre-event
communications materials".

"BAT in its Own Words" is available to media at
www.ash.org.uk/html/conduct/pdfs/bat2005.pdf