Jack Bowles’ British American Tobacco commits to net-zero carbon emission by 2050

Johannesburg-listed British American Tobacco (BAT) has committed to delivering net-zero emissions by 2050 across its value chain. This will bring its sustainability targets in line with limiting global warming to 1.5C, BusinessGreen reported.

The announcement follows its recent signing of the UN Race to Zero campaign, which aims to gain global support to commit to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The campaign rallies businesses, regions and institutions worldwide to commit to halving global emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050 ahead of November’s COP26 Climate Summit.

BAT scandals in Africa operations

BAT is a London-based multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products.

The tobacco giant is cross-listed on several stock exchanges, including the London, New York and Johannesburg stock exchanges and the Ghanaian stock market through its subsidiary British American Tobacco Ghana Limited.

With operations in about 180 countries led by CEO Jack Bowles, the company has been under fire in Africa at sundry times.

Last month, BAT was implicated in a 2013 bribery scheme involving Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party during the administration of former President Robert Mugabe.

In 2015, the Guardian reported an allegation that BAT had bribed officials in Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya to limit the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in their respective countries.

In a dirty war for the African market, the company and its counterparts were reported to have used a mixture of threats and bullying behavior to stop or lessen the implementation of anti-smoking legislation in at least eight African countries.