Alliance One

The United Nations states that “every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy land becomes degraded” – that’s 100 million hectares per year. Land restoration initiatives and responsible land stewardship are critical to combating issues linked to land degradation and drought, and support the viability of our contracted growers. In alignment with good agricultural practices, we work with growers to implement methods that reduce water consumption and improve soil health, which promote improved crop quality and yield.  In Thailand, we have a program focused on transitioning farmers away from using costly, water-intensive water pipe and flood irrigation methods to instead adopting drip irrigation practices. Participating growers have achieved up to a 37 percent reduction of water usage. The program has also contributed to the growers’ average cost savings of $0.13 per kilogram of tobacco purchased. Through sustainable land stewardship, we aim to mitigate the impacts of climate change while supporting the livelihoods of our contracted growers.  #UNited4Land #sustainableagriculture #growingabetterworld #combatclimatechange

During a signing ceremony earlier this month, our Company extended our commitment to the Chess School Project implemented in Malawi primary schools in tobacco-growing communities. The project, an after-school program executed by the Chess Association of Malawi (CHESSAM), serves as a mechanism to encourage children to stay away from agricultural labor after school while promoting students’ educational and social development. The program, which began in 2020, has grown from benefiting students at two schools to 21 schools, and last year alone, a 460 percent increase in student enrollment was generated compared to the previous year. Through this latest investment, we will continue expanding the project’s impact while contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). #chess #communitysupport #sustainableagriculture #UNSDG #Malawi 

Last month, our SVP of Global Communications & Sustainability Miranda McDaniel Kinney was appointed to serve on the TMA.org board of directors. In this role, Miranda will represent our Company to support TMA in bringing together people, information and ideas to shape the future of our industry. Congratulations, Miranda! #growingabetterworld #tobaccoindustry #boardofdirectors 

Happy International Workers' Day to our employees and contracted growers around the globe. Your commitment and hard work are the foundation for our success. We thank each of you for your contributions to supply responsibly sourced, high-quality, traceable leaf to our customers across 90 countries.  #InternationalWorkersDay #LabourDay #growingabetterworld

Today we recognize World Day for Safety and Health at Work, a day dedicated to promoting the prevention of occupational accidents and creating a culture of safety to reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.  In our operations in Zimbabwe, driving-related accidents were a significant contributor to lost-time injuries, and our leaf and forest technicians were at a higher risk of experiencing an accident given the amount of time they spend driving between farm visits. To promote employee safety, in fiscal year 2023 the local team hosted a safe driving skills training, which was completed by 179 employees. Following the training, only three road accidents were recorded during the remainder of the year, contributing to the local team’s reduced lost-time injury rate, which decreased by more than 31 percent from the prior fiscal year.  #healthandsafety #growingabetterworld #accidentprevention #workplacesafety #safetyfirst 

On #EarthDay and every day, we strive to be responsible stewards of the environment and minimize our environmental footprint. In Malawi, the local team identified that our factory’s coal-fired boilers were contributing to most of our local CO2 emissions. To meet the Company’s emissions reduction goals and protect the surrounding environment, the team endeavored to transition from coal to more sustainable boiler fuel sources. Watch the video below to learn how their efforts will eliminate the need for coal at our Malawi factory, reducing our CO2 footprint while achieving cost savings and improving local air quality. #growingabetterworld #sustainablefuel

On April 7, we recognized World Health Day and the importance of promoting access to quality health services for all. Throughout the years, our team in Malawi has worked to improve community access to healthcare at the Kamuzu Central Hospital, the main hospital for many of our contracted growers and employees as well as their families. Most recently, we collaborated with local artists to create murals in the pediatric ward, brightening the halls for the hospital’s youngest patients while depicting healthy lifestyle information such as proper nutrition. On World Health Day and every day, we strive to positively impact the communities in which we operate. #WorldHealthDay #growingabetterworld #Malawi 

Tobacco processing generates waste, namely in the form of dust. In an effort to reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill, our U.S.-based CRES facility has partnered with Wallace Farm Products to repurpose waste into soil, mulch and compost. Between May 2022 and March 2023, we sent 290 tons of tobacco dust to be composted. Since the initiative's onset, 75 percent of landfill-designated waste has been diverted from the landfill. In recognition of International Day of Zero Waste, we are proud to highlight this partnership and our CRES team’s efforts to reduce their waste footprint.     #BeatWastePollution #wastemanagement #wastereduction 

A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. Whether through increasingly efficient irrigation methods in the fields or through rainwater collection and other conservation initiatives at our factories, we strive today and every day to protect this resource in our value chain and in the communities in which we operate.      #WorldWaterDay #growingabetterworld #sustainableagriculture 

In December, our team in Indonesia partnered with the local organization Trees4Trees to host a tree-planting event attended by contracted growers, Company employees and community members. Approximately 550 trees of varying species were planted during the event, contributing to the 5,000 trees total planted last year through the partnership. The tree-planting initiative aims to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and addressing environmental issues such as water scarcity. It also provides an additional food resource to support the local community. On International Day of Forests and every day, our Company strives to combat deforestation and promote sustainable practices in our growing areas.      Learn more about the initiative in this video: https://bit.ly/492rOKD    #ForestDay #growingabetterworld #reforestation