Sustainability
Pursuing our vision represents a great commercial opportunity as well as a significant contribution to society.
Our focus areas
For best impact and transparency, our sustainability strategy is founded on two basic principles – focus and organizational ownership.
Through this strategy, we emphasize five focus areas – Improve public health, Ensure ethical business practices, Reduce environmental impact, Human rights in our supply chain, and Equal opportunity – areas where we believe we have the ability to directly or indirectly influence meaningful outcomes or where adverse developments could have a negative impact on our businesses.
Our contribution to the UN SDGs
Nine of the UN SDGs align with our sustainability focus areas where we believe we can have a meaningful impact and where we have tangible commitments and goals connected to the detailed targets set by the identified SDGs. We also contribute to seven of the remaining eight goals through our general business contribution and societal engagement.
SBTi has approved Swedish Match's GHG Reduction Targets
Swedish Match has committed to reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions 41 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2050 from a 2017 base year. In 2018, these targets were submitted to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)1) for an official validation and verified against the SBTi criteria. Swedish Match is proud to announce that in March 2019, the targets were approved. This means that SBTi has recognized Swedish Match’s targets as being science-based and thus in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures.
1) The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.
In focus
Swedish Match is a global company made up of largely autonomous divisions. We have ensured that the ownership and action in our sustainability work is strongly supported at the local operating level within each division, where efficient and creative ideas and solutions are most likely to come up and best followed through.
The Code of Conduct represents the commitment of Swedish Match and of all employees to conduct business activities in a responsible manner and consistent with applicable laws and regulations. The Code consists of a number of topics related to the following four areas: our people, our business, our environment, and our job and workplace.
Related
FAQ
Swedish Match most recent materiality analysis was conducted in 2020. Read about the process on leading up to our five focus areas under Stakeholder dialog and materiality analysis.
Our Code of Conduct covers important sustainability topics above and beyond our five focus areas. It includes our policies on practices regarding ethical business, employment and labor, the environment and workplace.
For best impact and transparency, we believe that group-wide efforts and reporting are most effective if concentrated to key focus areas. Through participation in the Sustainable Tobacco Program, STP, we also address a broad array of key sustainability issues in our tobacco supply chain. Some of the specific questions we have received from external stakeholders relate to deforestation and biodiversity, water stress and occupational health and safety. Please read more about these topics and how we approach them under Other topics outside our focus areas.
Nine of the UN SDGs align with our sustainability focus areas where we believe we can have a meaningful impact and where we have tangible commitments and goals connected to the detailed targets set by the identified SDGs. We also contribute to seven of the remaining eight goals through our general business contribution and societal engagement. Please see Our contribution to the UN SDGs for more information.
Swedish Match develops, manufactures, and sells quality products with market leading brands. The Group’s product segments are Smokefree, Cigars, and Lights. With its vision of a world without cigarettes, the Group is dedicated to the improvement of public health by offering attractive alternatives to cigarettes with its smokefree products.
Swedish Match is dependent on having relevance and size to reach new markets. A portfolio of various products is needed to be able to reach markets in the US and to successfully reach out with snus and nicotine products without tobacco.
All products are not for everyone and some consumer groups should not use certain products. This is particularly true for tobacco and other nicotine containing products which are intended for adult use only. Certain other consumer groups are also deemed vulnerable.
For tobacco and nicotine containing products, Swedish Match has an “Adult only policy” which firmly states that all such products shall only be marketed and sold to adults of legal tobacco age in each market. If the legal tobacco age in any market is below 18, Swedish Match shall still adhere to a policy of 18 years of age or over. This means that we shall not direct any marketing, advertising or promotion of tobacco and other nicotine containing products to persons under the age of 18 or the legal tobacco age if it is higher. We are committed to educating, informing and cooperating with retailers, distributors and public officials to prevent the underage use of tobacco and other nicotine containing products. Where it is legal, we may sell and market our products online and use face to face marketing and sampling, but only to age verified adults.
