Philip Morris International Releases 2021 Integrated Report, Introducing New Sustainability Strategy and Sustainability Index

Today, Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) released its third annual Integrated Report, which includes an updated Statement of Purpose, a new environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework, as well as detailed information about PMI’s strategic vision, performance, governance, and value creation model. The content was informed by a formal sustainability materiality assessment conducted in 2021.

“Sustainability and business performance are fully interrelated and mutually reinforcing. Our actions—grounded in data, science, and facts—speak louder than words. PMI is committed to serving as an agent of change and advocate of positive values. We understand that our business must become a provider of effective alternatives to continued smoking for adult smokers who don’t quit. To achieve this, we are positioning ourselves at the forefront of consumer-centricity, technology, science, and innovation. With an eye to the long term, we are also expanding our business into areas beyond tobacco and nicotine such as wellness and healthcare,” said Jacek Olczak, Chief Executive Officer of PMI.

PMI has expanded its social, human, intellectual, and manufactured capital in ways that allow it to go a step further, shifting focus to its long-term goal from doing less harm to having a net positive impact on society. The changes to the company’s Statement of Purpose ensure it remains a current and fair representation of the company’s strategy, expanding the last horizon from achieving a smoke-free future to also encompassing PMI’s long-term strategic efforts to become a lifestyle, wellness, and healthcare company.

The company’s 2021 sustainability materiality assessment helped identify the ESG issues on which PMI should prioritize and focus its resources. PMI subsequently redesigned our ESG framework, recognizing two distinct topic areas: those related to PMI’s products and those related to its business operations. This distinction forms the basis of PMI’s new approach to sustainability, which consists of eight clear impact-driven strategies that aim to address its most material ESG topics. These eight strategies—four aimed to address the impact of PMI’s products and four aimed to address the company’s operational impact—are accompanied by a robust framework of nine governance-related factors.