LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) has once again been recognized as a global leader in sustainability performance and disclosure by CDP—an international nonprofit that collects data to help decision-makers reduce risk, capitalize on opportunities and drive action toward a more sustainable world. In CDP’s most recent rankings, PMI earned a position on the prestigious Water Security A List, recognizing the company as a global leader in water security. PMI has also been placed on CDP’s Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, designating it as a global leader in engaging with its suppliers on climate change, and has achieved a ranking of A- for its Forest disclosure.

Last month, PMI also ranked—for the sixth year in a row—on , recognizing PMI’s work to reduce its environmental impacts, end to end, in the midst of its historic transformation toward a smoke-free future. The company has been recognized for its actions and strategies to reduce emissions and manage climate risks in its supply chain in the past reporting year. PMI’s sustainable commitments have also been documented as part of the initiative.

“Being recognized by CDP for our sustainability efforts is both humbling and encouraging as we continue our transformation,” said Huub Savelkouls, PMI’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “Our work toward achieving a smoke-free future isn’t just about transforming our product, it’s also about completely transforming the value chain and keeping sustainability at the heart of everything we do. We intend to accelerate our efforts for even greater impact.”

PMI’s water strategy accounts for the risks it faces—including from natural disasters, water scarcity and agricultural supply chain instability—and drives action toward responsible use of water as a shared resource, taking into consideration the needs of local communities. As PMI increases its manufacturing capacity for smoke-free products—which requires more water than for cigarettes—the company is evolving its water strategy, with clean technology investments enabling water savings and water recycling. One example of this is PMI’s implementation of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) standard. In 2017, PMI became a member of AWS; just one year later, it certified its first manufacturing site, in Brazil, to the AWS standard. Five additional PMI factories were AWS certified in 2019, and the company is making good progress toward its goal of certifying all factories by 2025.

In addressing the A List companies, Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, said: “Congratulations to the companies that achieved a position on CDP’s A List this year, for leading in environmental performance and transparency. The scale of the business risks from the climate emergency, deforestation and water insecurity are vast—as are the opportunities from addressing them—and it’s clear the private sector has a vital role to play at this critical time. The A List companies are leading the market in corporate sustainability, tackling environmental risks and setting themselves up to thrive in tomorrow’s economy.”

This year also marks the third consecutive year CDP has recognized PMI as a leader in supplier engagement. With more than 36,000 contracted suppliers, PMI’s total supply chain has a significant environmental, social and economic footprint that calls for comprehensive programs to address risks and achieve improvements. These programs have earned the company the distinction of being among the top 3 percent of organizations assessed by CDP, with PMI now included among the fewer than 160 companies on the Leaderboard.

With regard to combating deforestation, PMI has developed a zero deforestation manifesto and aims to have a net positive impact on forests associated with its tobacco supply chain by 2025. Additionally, as part of , the company’s tobacco suppliers are expected to prevent biodiversity loss.

“Our commitment to a smoke-free future has enabled us to make significant strides in our transformation into a more sustainable company,” said Laurence Ruffieux, PMI’s Director of Operation Sustainability. “We’ve given great attention to the roles that water, forest and supplier engagement play within our value chain and are honored to be recognized by the CDP for our work here. The CDP recognition energizes us to further focus our efforts to mitigate climate change, and the scoring process will continue to inspire us and guide our progress.”

A global environmental impact nonprofit, CDP provides a framework of action through which companies can measure and manage environmental risks and opportunities, transparently report on progress and commit to corporate sustainability initiatives. The full methodology and criteria for the Climate Change, Water Security, and Forest evaluations are available on CDP’s website.

Additional information about PMI’s sustainability actions and commitments are available in the company’s annual and on .

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States. In addition, PMI ships a version of its IQOS Platform 1 device and its consumables authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Altria Group, Inc. for sale in the United States under license. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI’s smoke-free IQOS product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of Sept. 30, 2019, PMI estimates that approximately 8.8 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMI’s heat-not-burn product, available for sale in 51 markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand. For more information, please visit and .

About CDP

CDP is a global nonprofit that drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of US$96 trillion, we leverage investor and buyer power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts. Over 8,400 companies with over 50% of global market capitalization disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2019. This is in addition to the over 920 cities, states and regions who disclosed, making CDP’s platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change. CDP is a founding member of the We Mean Business Coalition. Visit or follow us @CDP to find out more.

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