Environment

Environment

Environmental issues are of increasing societal concern and have brought many challenges to our society. Today we are facing the consequences of climate change such as melting ice caps, rising sea levels, and changing weather patterns. We all need to address these issues and, as a global organization, we recognize that we have a key role to play in reducing our environmental impact.

As with most industries, the environment has a direct impact on our business. We also know that our operations impact the environment, through resource usage, emissions, and waste generation, and we strive to minimize this impact.

By implementing sustainable business practices, we are able to conserve resources, protect biodiversity, reduce waste, manage costs, and meet the growing consumer demand for more sustainable products - bringing benefits to both the environment and our business.

This approach is explained in the JT Group Environment Policy.

Environment and our operations

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In setting specific goals and initiatives for ‘the JT Group Sustainability Targets’, we placed importance on the relationships and ties with the revised materiality, while also including past initiatives. In pursuing our materiality ‘Living with the Planet’, we set targets related to environmental issues.
Please refer to the following for targets related to ‘Living with the Planet’.

Read more about the JT Group Sustainability Targets and 2025 Results.

Materiality Target topics Targets
Biodiversity impact assessment Each of the JT Group businesses will perform assessments to evaluate its impact and dependency on ecosystem, including biodiversity aspects. Impact assessments of our tobacco business will be performed by 2024, and our processed food business by 2025.
Emissions reduction In response to growing societal expectations for decarbonization, the JT Group is committed to supporting the global transition to net zero, contributing to a sustainable future for both nature and society. Given our reliance on agricultural raw materials that are susceptible to climate change, this transition is critical to long-term business growth and enhanced resilience. By taking a holistic approach that considers the interconnection between climate and nature, we aim to secure value chain stability, ensure regulatory preparedness, and strengthen stakeholder trust.

The JT Group will reduce its emissions and commits to be Carbon Neutral for its own operations by 2030 and achieve Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions across its entire value chain by 2050.
  • By 2030, we commit to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 47% in line with a 1.5℃ reduction pathway against a 2019 base year
  • By 2030, we commit to reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions associated with purchased goods and services (Category 1) by 28% against a 2019 base year
SBTi-validated targets*1
  • Reduce absolute non-FLAG*2 GHG emissions:
  • Scope 1 and 2 by 47% and Scope 3 Category 1 by 28% by 2030, against a 2019 base year
  • Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 90% by 2050, against a 2019 base year
  • Reduce absolute FLAG GHG emissions:
  • Scope 3 Category 1 by 33.3% by 2030 and by 72% by 2050, against a 2019 base year

*1 SBTi-validated targets: Our targets have been verified and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an international initiative on climate change
*2 FLAG: The Forest, Land, and Agriculture sector. FLAG-related GHG emissions include emissions originating from forestry, land-use, agriculture, and other land-based activities. All FLAG emissions in our value chain occur in Scope 3 Category 1

Renewable electricity To support our net-zero commitment and strengthen energy resilience, the JT Group will transition to 100% zero-carbon energy by 2050.
  • We will increase the proportion of renewable electricity that we use to 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050
Protecting water The JT Group will engage in responsible water management and will pursue the following:
  • We will monitor the Group’s use of water in areas with water scarcity. Our tobacco business will reduce water withdrawal in its own operations by 33% by 2030 against a 2019 base year. Our processed food business will pursue efficient water use and wastewater quality management to preserve water stewardship as a member of the local community
  • We will monitor water recycling at the Group’s production facilities
  • We will prevent water pollution based on the Group’s standards, which should be equal to or stricter than local legal requirements
  • Our tobacco business will have 100% of its eligible production facilities certified against the Alliance for Water Stewardship* standard by 2030

* Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS): A global membership collaboration comprising businesses, NGOs and the public sector. Its members contribute to the sustainability of local water resources. It developed AWS certification for sustainable water use in factories around the world

Enhancing biodiversity - No deforestation, no conversion JT Group depends on healthy ecosystems to source key raw materials, such as tobacco leaf, and to secure long-term resilience.

Taking nature-positive action creates a powerful dual benefit: it not only drives innovation, value creation, and investor confidence, but also strengthens risk management by enhancing reputation, operational resilience, and long-term sustainability.

With a view to enhancing biodiversity, the JT Group will contribute further to preserving forestry by pursuing the following in its tobacco business supply chain:
  • No deforestation of natural forests in the operations and supply chains for tobacco leaf, paper and pulp-based materials by 2025 and in our entire supply chain by 2030
  • No conversion of natural ecosystems in the tobacco business’s own operations and supply chains for tobacco, paper and pulp-based materials in high conservation value areas by 2025 and all natural lands by 2030
  • Zero net deforestation of managed natural forests in the entire tobacco business supply chain by 2030
Waste reduction The JT Group will further reduce the environmental impacts of waste associated with its processes and products.
  • Zero factory waste to landfill by 2030 in our tobacco business
  • Our tobacco business will engage trade and consumers on responsible disposal of devices through take-back schemes for Ploom, and through anti-littering campaigns for consumables
  • Our processed food business will pursue waste reduction to contribute to a circular society and will aim to recycle 95% of all waste from its Japanese offices (excluding waste heat recovery)

Designing for circularity - Packaging, product and device The JT Group will reduce its packaging (including plastic) and ensure that the remaining is 88% reusable or recyclable by 2025, rising to 100% by 2030.
  • In total, recycled content will account for 20% of our tobacco business packaging by 2025. The tobacco business will seek to further increase the use of recycled materials in its packaging
  • In our tobacco business, plastic in our packaging mix is only 7% by weight. The tobacco business will aim to further reduce the use of virgin plastic in its packaging. We are also working to develop more sustainable filter alternatives
  • Our tobacco business will take a phased approach in embedding learnings in its circular device development globally, by achieving battery removability & replaceability for 100% of its RRP* devices shipped to the EU by 2027
  • Our processed food business will reduce packaging weight and utilize renewable plant-based resources to reduce the environmental impact of its products

* RRP (Reduced-Risk Products): Products with the potential to reduce the risks associated with smoking

Sustainable agriculture Our tobacco business will complete the elimination of Criterion 1 Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) from its direct tobacco leaf supply chain in 2024 and eliminate the use of all HHPs by 2040. 100% of our directly contracted growers will have adopted the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Protocol of our tobacco business by 2030.


Internal and external collaboration The JT Group actively promotes collaboration within and outside the organization to bring together diverse perspectives and insights, expanding possibilities for creating new value toward achieving our Purpose.

Based on this approach, we will create opportunities for collaboration within the Group and, through partnerships with external stakeholders, aim to foster inclusive and resilient communities. As part of this effort, we target a cumulative total of 300,000 hours of employee volunteer activities between 2015 and 2030.
Community investment Between 2015 and 2030, we will invest 100 billion yen to help make communities inclusive and resilient, with our employees contributing 300,000 volunteering hours.

Read more on our environmental initiatives on the following pages.

  • Climate Change
  • Biodiversity, Water, Forestry, Sustainable agriculture
  • Waste, Packaging & Circularity

For details of other initiatives, please see the Community investment.