Abstract
Objective: Previous research has identified that transnational tobacco companies lack transparency and that they hide their harms to health and nature behind environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. Our objective was to find whether independent tobacco supply chain companies similarly lack transparency on tobacco-related activities while prominently displaying ESG.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, mentions of tobacco supply chain activities and ESG company official documentation and websites were explored for independent tobacco supply chain companies (n=80) with identified annual reports included in the Tobacco Supply Chain Database. Bivariable statistical analysis tested for differences in the visibility of tobacco supply chain contribution and ESG within official documents and websites. In depth exploration was undertaken for seven case study companies.
Results: Independent tobacco supply chain companies were significantly less likely to mention their tobacco supply chain contribution than ESG (31% and 80%, respectively p<0.001) in annual reporting. Tobacco supply chain contribution was also less prominent than ESG on websites (29% and 79%, respectively, mentioned on the home page or a home page menu p<0.001). The companies were making median annual profits of over US$2 million (n=76), with a large variation of revenue from tobacco activity (5-100%) where it was reported (n=9).
Conclusions: Independent tobacco supply chain companies undertake ESG activities that they prominently display in official reporting and on websites while often being less transparent about their tobacco supply chain contribution. Potential investors and customers may thus be misled about the companies' true nature. More rigorous reporting requirements are needed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Tobacco Control |
| Early online date | 8 Jan 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 8 Jan 2025 |
Data Availability Statement
Data are available in a public, open access repository. Data are available upon reasonable request. Updated data are available from the Tobacco Supply Chains Database at https://www.tobaccotactics.org/supply-chain/. The 2023 download analysed is available upon reasonable request.This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2024-058978
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to HA for assisting with data acquisition and CJ for assisting with review.Funding
The work was supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use (www.bloomberg.org). This funder had no role in the design, preparation, or decision to publish this manuscript and the opinions expressed are those of the authors alone.
Keywords
- Environment
- Surveillance and monitoring
- Tobacco industry
- Tobacco industry documents
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
