BAT Recognized in Fight Against Child Labor

British American Tobacco has been awarded “leader” status in the Global Child Forum’s benchmarking report. This report assesses and benchmarks 700 companies across nine industries and tracks the progress on how children’s rights are addressed within the corporate sector.

BAT received a score of 9.2 out of 10, compared to “industry” (food, beverage and tobacco) and “all companies” averages of 5.6. Leader status is awarded to companies who have developed and implemented policies and practices that address the organization’s impact on children’s rights across a number of key areas, and have taken concrete steps to move beyond policies, embedding children’s rights into company practice.

In a press statement, BAT attributed the recognition to the company’s comprehensive approach to due diligence around child labor risk in its supply chain, its founding membership of the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco-growing Foundation and its commitment to responsible product marketing that explicitly prohibits advertising to anyone under the age of 18.