Altria Group Inc (MO)

[Street Smart]

This news is bigger than it looks. Going to be very favorable to their relationship with the Biden administration

Altria Recognized with Double 'A' Score for Global Climate and Water Stewardship
6:00 am ET December 8, 2020 (BusinessWire) Print
Altria Group, Inc. ("Altria") (NYSE:MO) today announces that it has been awarded a double 'A' rating for tackling climate change and protecting water security by CDP, a non-profit that runs a global disclosure system on managing environmental impact. Altria ranks among the one percent of companies that achieved a double 'A' out of 5,800+ businesses scored by CDP in 2020.

"We recognize the critical importance of addressing environmental challenges and have set a high bar for ourselves," said Jennifer Hunter, Senior Vice President, Corporate Citizenship. "In pursuit of our 10-year Vision, we established ambitious goals to address climate change and water security, like achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2030, 100% water neutrality annually, and aligning our business with the most ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets."

Earlier this year, Altria announced that its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets were approved for the first time by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The Scope 1 and 2 target covering greenhouse gas emissions from Altria's operations is consistent with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5°C, a goal that the latest climate science says is needed to prevent the most damaging effects of climate change. The Scope 3 target meets the criteria for ambitious value chain goals and current best practice.

CDP's annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency. A detailed and independent methodology is used, allocating a score of A to D- based on the comprehensiveness of disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risks and demonstration of best practices associated with environmental leadership, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets. Those that don't disclose or provided insufficient information are marked with an F.

Altria's Profile

Altria's wholly-owned subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA), U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (USSTC), John Middleton Co. (Middleton), Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. (Ste. Michelle) and Philip Morris Capital Corporation (PMCC). Altria owns an 80% interest in Helix Innovations LLC (Helix). Altria holds equity investments in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (ABI), JUUL Labs, Inc. (JUUL) and Cronos Group Inc. (Cronos).

The brand portfolios of Altria's tobacco operating companies include Marlboro(R), Black & Mild(R), Copenhagen(R) and Skoal(R). Ste. Michelle produces and markets premium wines sold under various labels, including Chateau Ste. Michelle(R), Columbia Crest(R), 14 Hands(R) and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars(TM), and it imports and markets Antinori(R), Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte(TM) and Villa Maria Estate(TM) products in the United States. Trademarks and service marks related to Altria referenced in this release are the property of Altria or its subsidiaries or are used with permission.

More information about Altria is available at altria.com, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE: Altria Group, Inc.