“For us, in recent years, sustainability has been about the social impact of our products — and that’s where our major transformation stems from. Ten years ago, Philip Morris International was the first company in the tobacco industry to boldly and disruptively commit to the vision of a smoke-free future.

We understood that our products cause a serious social problem, and we chose to offer alternatives that are less harmful. Since then, our entire strategy has focused on this path, and for us, this is what sustainability means. It doesn’t only mean business sustainability or environmental sustainability; it’s about ensuring the long-term sustainability of the business through investment in a new product or a new product category — and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” said Roxana Pîntea, Director of External Affairs at Philip Morris Romania, during the Sustainability in Business Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest and Sustainability Today.

Key statements:

• Romania was chosen as one of the factories where significant investments were made in re-technologization.
  Our production lines are designed exclusively for us because the technological process for smoke-free products is completely different from that of manufacturing cigarettes.
• USD 730 million have been invested in the complete modernization of the factory. We’ve focused heavily on energy efficiency, circularity and waste reduction, and water conservation. We are one of the few companies in Romania certified by Alliance for Water Stewardship since 2020, and we are periodically recertified.
• Our people are an extraordinary source of ideas and have an incredible drive. We are actively involved in the community.
• One of our company’s top priorities is protecting minors. No tobacco or nicotine product should ever be sold to minors. This is a real issue, and we need an entire panel discussion on how to properly enforce the law. We already have a very strict legal framework — the problem is in its application.
• We have a “reduce, switch and compensate” strategy. We assess every process in the factory and look for improvements. Last year, we installed over 6,100 photovoltaic panels in the factory parking area. They produce around 4,000 MWh annually, helping power one of the largest industrial steam boilers. For our new products, we need a lot of steam and water, and this investment has had a real impact on consumption.
• We have replaced our vehicle fleet with hybrid and electric cars. Compared to two years ago, our carbon footprint has been almost cut in half.
• Thanks to all these measures, we have achieved carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions as of 2024. For Scope 3, the effort is greater and doesn’t depend solely on us.