Pakistan Tobacco Company - Managing biodiversity

Our business now and in the future depends on biodiversity because it helps provide resources like clean water, healthy soils and timber.

Companies have a responsibility to try to minimize their negative impact on biodiversity, as species and communities also depend on these resources. In addition, by protecting the biodiversity around tobacco growing areas, we have the opportunity to help make sure our future supplies of tobacco are secure.

Group Biodiversity Statement

Our Group Biodiversity Statement sets out the principles we follow to manage our biodiversity footprint across our operations. The statement is based on a mitigation hierarchy which describes the steps to avoid, minimize, restore or offset biodiversity loss, wherever we operate.

 Group Biodiversity Statement (242 kb) 

Biodiversity Partnership

From 2001 to 2015, we worked with three NGOs in the British American Tobacco Biodiversity Partnership: Fauna & Flora International, the Tropical Biology Association and Earthwatch Institute.

The Partnership focused on some of the challenging issues surrounding the conservation and management of biodiversity within agricultural landscapes and the ecosystems on which we depend.

We’re very proud of this 15-year collaboration and what we collectively achieved. Although the Partnership has concluded, our commitment to biodiversity remains a priority and forms an important part of a new, broader programme that focuses on how we support farmers and their livelihoods.

Biodiversity risk and opportunity assessments

The Biodiversity Risk and Opportunity Assessment tool was developed by the Biodiversity Partnership to help our companies identify, assess and address risks arising from their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and ecosystems in and around their leaf-growing operations. All our tobacco leaf growing operations have completed assessments and initiatives are in place to address the issues identified.

The Biodiversity Risk and Opportunity Assessment tool comprises a ‘how-to’ handbook guide that explains in detail the assessment process and how to follow it. An accompanying spreadsheet helps users to plan, capture information and to complete the assessment process.

Download the Biodiversity Risk and Opportunity Assessment Handbook and spreadsheet.

 BROA Handbook (1,685 kb) 
BROA Spreadsheet (365 kb) 

Biodiversity projects

We joined The EU Business @ Biodiversity Platform  which promotes dialogue on the links between business and biodiversity. We contribute to two of the platform’s three workstreams: Natural Capital Accounting and Innovations for Biodiversity and Business. The third workstream is Access to Finance and Innovative Finance Mechanisms.
We also participate in the Natural Capital Coalition . This is a global multi-stakeholder coalition which brings together leading global initiatives and organizations to harmonize approaches to ‘natural capital’, a way of defining the wide range of benefits we derive from nature.