Through the merger in 1999 with Rothmans International, British American Tobacco moved closer to achieving the vision of becoming the world's leading international tobacco group. However, British American Tobacco is not a new business as it was founded almost 100 years ago and has since grown internationally.

Today, British American Tobacco is the world's most international tobacco group. It has an active business presence in more than 180 countries, manufactures in 66 countries, and employs almost 90,000 people world-wide.

British American Tobacco has a long standing reputation for producing high quality tobacco products to meet diverse consumer preferences, and is recognised as a major international Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company with a strong portfolio of international, regional and national brands.

British American Tobacco is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and to following the best international standards of environmental protection. The company believe that major global businesses, like themselves, can contribute in many practical ways towards sustainability.

This is now recognised by the Biodiversity Policy Statement, which was launched in 2007 to set out the company’s commitment to understanding and managing its impact on biodiversity. This milestone is an important product of significant engagement between the company and the NGO partners. Please read the Statement here.

To find out more about British American Tobacco, visit www.bat.com