British American Tobacco bought fictitious carbon credits to offset its global warming activities

In 2021, British American Tobacco (BAT) purchased carbon credits to offset the 130,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 28,000 cars – associated with the manufacture and distribution of its Vuse e-cigarette brand.[1]. However, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that these were unnecessary credits that had no effect on greenhouse gas emissions.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reveals that a carbon offset project set up by Harvard University’s endowment fund has sold millions of fictitious credits to major international companies. EasyJet, British American Tobacco and Ernst & Young are among the biggest buyers of credits from the project.[2].

Carbon offsets allow companies to compensate for the carbon emissions they create by paying to avoid or eliminate emissions elsewhere. Each carbon credit represents one tonne of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere or prevented from being released into it.

A useless project for the environment, even counterproductive

Each project is rated. A score of 0 means that no emissions were removed from the atmosphere in connection with the program, equivalent to the fact that the program had no utility

The project in question, a eucalyptus farm in Uruguay created by Harvard University’s endowment fund, received a zero rating in 2022 from an agency that evaluates the effectiveness of carbon offsetting systems: Renoster. The rating means that the credits, which should each represent one ton of emissions avoided or removed from the atmosphere, have not resulted in any change

Renoster has made some criticisms of the project. In particular, it has pointed out that the project's "basic assumptions" were flawed. The project was considered inappropriate for the region, where large areas of surrounding land had already been converted from pasture to eucalyptus plantations. Furthermore, according to the agency, the project was also unlikely to be completed in its 100-year term.

A second agency, BeZero Carbon, also assessed the project and raised similar concerns, saying the project had a "low" likelihood of avoiding or eliminating the claimed emissions.

The project has also been criticized by the World Rainforest Movement, an organization that monitors Uruguay's forestry industry, which said: "Industrial tree plantations in Uruguay have led to a concentration of land by a small group of companies and investment funds. They are replacing an extremely important ecosystem - grasslands - to plant monocultures of trees, destroying biodiversity and watersheds."

A carbon-neutral vape, a marketing argument for the cigarette manufacturer

Since December 2020, British American Tobacco has purchased over 500,000 carbon credits from various offset projects, most of which have been assessed by rating agency BeZero Carbon. The agency found that over 390,000 carbon credits have a “moderately low”, “low” or “very low” probability of achieving the target of one tonne of avoided or eliminated emissions. The Uruguayan project in which BAT was involved was rated as having a “low” probability.

To promote Vuse's carbon neutrality in July 2021, BAT also sailed a yacht on the Thames in 2021, which generated an additional 10 tonnes of emissions, offset by credits from the same Uruguayan project.

A BAT spokesperson said following the assessments that all Vuse communications relating to carbon neutrality had ended in December 2023. However, according to The Bureau, Vuse's website still displays this claim as of November 2024.

Yet another BAT spokesperson added: “Our strategy now focuses on eco-design and reducing our material footprint to progress towards our net zero goals by reducing and eliminating greenhouse gas emissions across our entire value chain.”

On the BAT France website, we can read that the manufacturer is also committed to carbon neutrality by 2030.

The disastrous environmental impact of the tobacco industry

Khaled Diab, communications director at independent watchdog Carbon Market Watch, said: “In the case of tobacco products, carbon neutrality claims are particularly problematic given the enormous climate and ecological impact of tobacco production, consumption and waste.”

In 2022, the World Health Organization reported that the tobacco industry contributes to the felling of 600 million trees and the release of 84 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. The industry’s carbon footprint is equivalent to a fifth of the CO2 produced by the commercial airline industry each year. When it comes to vaping products, 360 million disposable vapes are thrown away each year in the UK alone – that’s 11 every second. These devices contain lithium, a material used in electric car batteries and which requires huge amounts of energy and water to produce.

In 2021, BAT won a sustainable product award for Vuse even though, according to the company's statements, it was responsible for nearly 7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of 1.5 million cars.

No tobacco industry product should ever claim to be "carbon neutral", Mr. Diab said. "This is inaccurate, misleading and deceptive."

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Fin Johnston, Tobacco giant's 'carbon neutral vape' was offset with junk credits, TBIJ, published November 20, 2024, accessed November 21, 2024

[2] Fin Johnston, Harvard set up worthless carbon offsetting scheme that sold millions of junk credits, TBIJ, published November 20, 2024, accessed November 21, 2024