Philip Morris set to achieve and retire carbon neutrality goal

Spokesperson says achieving the goal has given firm ‘further confidence’ in meeting its near-term science-based targets

Philip Morris International (PMI) will drop its focus on ‘carbon neutrality’ after 2025, and refocus on direct decarbonisation, it has said.

Since 2019, the tobacco and vape giant has been combining emissions reductions with carbon offsets to fulfil a promise to become carbon neutral.

This week, the firm said it would achieve the goal by the end of 2025, and will then change strategy to focus exclusively on decarbonising its own business and its value chain operations.

A spokesperson for PMI told Real Economy Progress that its carbon neutrality target had “acted as an enabler for further action on decarbonising our value chain and helped us to build knowledge, experience and refine our skills in the carbon market as well as in maintaining a sound decarbonisation glidepath until 2025”.

“Achieving it in 2025 gives us further confidence to reach near-term science-based targets, and allows us to transfer resources and focus on Scope 3,” he added.

Instead of buying carbon offsets to achieve its next set of targets, PMI will focus on greening its operations, engaging with its suppliers, and finding different ways to use nature-based solutions.

In its latest climate transition report, published this week, PMI also revealed plans to drop a pledge to halve the emissions of its tobacco supply chain by 2030, and replace it with a broader 33.3% reduction target for forests, land and agriculture.

PMI’s spokesperson said the change was “not necessarily a reduction in ambition, but a shift to a more comprehensive, science-based, and externally validated target” in line with the Science Based Targets initiative.

The new figure covers tobacco, paper and other agricultural inputs, and will sit alongside a 27.5% reduction target for Scope 3 industrial emissions.