WHO accuses tobacco industry of 'greenwashing' in new report

And not only is tobacco harming humans, it is also damaging the environment.”The report says its goal is to call on governments to ban tobacco industry greenwashing and to avoid partnerships with cigarette companies engaged in environmental activities that could promote the industry as an environmental partner.The website of British American Tobacco (BAT), for example, promotes news releases with headlines such as, “BAT in Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 20th Consecutive Year” and “BAT recognized as Climate Leader by the Financial Times.”Philip Morris International (PMI) has a full sustainability landing page on its website that outlines everything from a low-carbon transition plan to “achieving a smoke-free future” that the company says can be done in a sustainable manner.But critics have pointed out that many environmental, social and governance (ESG) rankings and accreditations, like the ones BAT and PMI promote on their websites, rarely consider a company’s end-product or service, in this case, ignoring the fact that tobacco products are harmful to human health, according to the report.The report says there are more than 600 different ways to assess corporate ESG activity and there are no global, standardized disclosure requirements for companies to follow, which means businesses can edit sustainability data to promote a favorable outcome.PMI declined to comment on the report because the company said it had not reviewed it yet."Some well-funded anti-tobacco lobbying groups with strong links to WHO are committed to shutting down debate and closing doors to cooperative efforts that can drive better outcomes for the world.