BAT Romania employees donated 1,400 kg of clothes for reuse and recycling, in a partnership with Romanian Red Cross

As part of the internal campaign “From ReUsed to ReLoved” carried out in partnership with the Romanian Red Cross – Sector 6 Branch in March, the employees of the 3 BAT entities active in Romania donated for reuse and recycling a total quantity of 1,400 kg of clothes. After sorting and sanitizing, they will either go directly to reuse by needy families, or to recycling, in the case of damaged items.

Daily consumption makes each of us directly responsible for the impact generated on the environment. BAT Romania dedicated March to activities regarding the responsible use of resources and, implicitly, clothes. The employees of the BAT factory in Ploiesti (BAT Investment), of the local distribution entity (BAT Trading) and of the service center in Bucharest (BAT Global Business Solutions) contributed to the clothes collection campaign and to activities aimed at raising awareness of the individual impact on the environment, in the form of internal communications and trainings on the principles and tactics of responsible use of resources.

“At the Red Cross, we created a system for collecting and reusing donated clothes for the benefit of needy families. The clothing donated by our partners will reach those in need with the support of volunteers, who are in charge of sorting, sanitizing and distributing clothing aid. At the same time, we want to jointly contribute to increase responsibility for the resources used in the production of clothing and the length of time the clothes are used. Thank you for your involvement!”, says Ana Derumeaux, Director, Romanian Red Cross – Branch Sector 6 Bucharest.

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“We are happy to extend, through this campaign, our impact message launched in 2019, Choose Responsibly for a Clean City, through which we highlight the relevance of seemingly small, everyday gestures on the environment and the communities in which we live. The clothing collection campaign is a continuation of our efforts to develop responsible behavior regardless of the resources we use. Through our sustainability campaigns, we address both consumers and our commercial partners, as well as our employees, who are actively involved in supporting the principles and objectives of the company to reduce the impact on the environment”, says Ileana Dumitru, Legal and External Affairs Director, South Eastern Europe Area at BAT.

From 1996 to present, the volume of clothes purchased by the average person in the EU has increased by 40%, as a result of the considerable decrease of prices, which in turn reduced the lifespan of clothing items. Europeans consume almost 26 kg of textiles and throw away around 11 kg of textiles every year, most of which (87%) are incinerated or landfilled. *

BAT has recently presented the company’s first annual combined Business and ESG Report, announcing outstanding results in achieving ambitious environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. Through this report, new or updated objectives were announced, such as achieving 30% renewable energy target by 2025 two years early, resulting in revised target of 50% renewable energy by 2030; increasing the initial target of 15% reduction in waste from BAT’s operations by 2025, to 25%; expanding the scope of BAT’s 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging commitment, beyond just plastic, by 2025 and setting a new target of zero conversion of natural ecosystems in its Tobacco Supply Chain by 2025.**