We are working towards zero child labour in our supply chain. The welfare, health and safety of children are paramount at all times. We recognise that the development of children, their communities and their countries is best served through education.

We support ILO Conventions 138 and 182 which set out fundamental principles concerning the minimum age for admission to employment and for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

As such:

• any work which is considered hazardous or likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children should not be done by anyone under the age of 18; and
• the minimum age for work should not be below the minimum age for work under local law or below the legal age for finishing compulsory schooling and, in any case, not less than the age of 15.

We expect our Suppliers and business partners to align with our minimum age requirements, as set out in our Supplier Code of Conduct. This includes, where local law permits, that children between the ages of 13 and 15 years may do light work, provided it does not hinder their education or vocational training, or include any activity which could be harmful to their health or development (for example, handling mechanical equipment or agrochemicals). We also recognise training or work experience schemes approved by a competent authority as an exception.

We are committed to respecting human rights in our sphere of influence, including our supply chain.

Our business and supply chain covers several industries with inherent human rights risks and considerations, including agriculture, electronics and manufacturing. We want to focus on our industry-specific human rights issues and what matters most to people across our supply chain and business operations. To do this, we undertake a defined process aligned to the UNGPs and focus on strong policies, good due diligence, appropriate monitoring and reporting, and (where required) effective remediation. We engage to understand the views of and impacts upon our key stakeholders and reflect them in our related human rights programmes.

For example, all our Suppliers are expected to meet the requirements of our Supplier Code of Conduct, and this is incorporated into our contractual arrangements with Suppliers.

We have a range of due diligence processes that apply to our tobacco and product materials supply chain, as well as our own business operations, and we report in our Combined Annual and ESG Report. As far as possible, our due diligence procedures enable us to monitor the effectiveness of, and compliance with, our policy commitments and our Supplier Code of Conduct, as well as to identify, prevent and mitigate human rights risks and impacts.

We are committed to fully investigating and remediating any human rights issues identified in our operations or supply chain, and to strive for continuous improvement. If we identify human rights breaches in relation to a Supplier, but there is no clear commitment to corrective action, persistent inaction or a lack of improvement, then our work with that Supplier should cease.

We respect freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Our workers have the right to form and join a trade union of their choice, and to be represented by trade unions or other bona fide representatives, within the framework of law, regulation, prevailing labour relations and practices, and agreed Company procedures. Such workers and representatives should not be discriminated against, and should be able to carry out their lawful activities in the workplace without detriment within the framework of law, regulation, prevailing labour relations and practices, and agreed Company procedures.

Supplier partners are also expected to respect workers’ rights to freedom of association and to bargain collectively, and are expected to consult workers on matters related to their employment and safety.

We are committed to ensuring our operations are free from slavery, servitude, and forced, compulsory, bonded, involuntary, trafficked or exploited labour. Group Companies and Employees (and any employment agencies, labour brokers or third parties they retain to act on our behalf) will not:

• require workers to pay recruitment fees, take out loans or pay unreasonable service charges or deposits as a condition of employment; and
• withhold, or require workers to surrender identity papers, passports or permits as a condition of employment.

Where national law or employment procedures require use of identity papers, we will use them strictly in accordance with the law. Identity papers should only ever be retained or stored for reasons of security or safekeeping and only with the informed, genuine and written consent of the worker. The worker should have unlimited access to retrieve them, at all times, without any constraints.

We seek to identify and understand the unique social, economic and environmental interests of the communities we operate in.

We seek to identify specific human rights risks that may be relevant for, or impacted by, our operations and supply chain. In doing so, we will seek the views of our stakeholders, including Employees and their representatives.

We will take appropriate steps to ensure that our operations do not cause or contribute to human rights abuses, and to remedy any adverse human rights impacts directly caused by our actions.

We recognise we have an important role to play in delivering a positive social impact across our supply chain. For example, we support and work with farmers in enhancing their livelihoods and food security. Our community programmes help to build long-term resilience for rural communities. Our approach is underpinned by our Community Investment Framework.

We encourage our Employees to play an active role both in their local and business communities.

Group Companies should seek to create opportunities for skills development for Employees and within communities where we operate, and aim to work in harmony with the development objectives and initiatives of host governments.