CSR in the Tobacco Industry

If you thought that big tobacco wouldn't dare claim CSR on its corporate websites, think again.  Both Altria and R.J. Reynolds dedicate space on their CSR websites to discussions of steps they are taking to protect society and the environment.  The latter even boasts using the Global Reporting Initiative framework (the GRI is the most accepted framework for reporting on environmental, social, and governance impacts) to drive its environmental reporting.

All this seems particularly striking during a month when cigarettes have been in the headlines.   On February 18th, the NYT ran an article about the FDA's effort to ban words like "light" and "mild" on cigarette packages ("Coded to Obey the Law, Lights Become Marlboro Gold", by Duff Wilson).  Big tobacco companies had come together with a collective solution of replacing words with colors.  According to their plan, smokers will now identify cigarettes known as lights by the color gold, ultra lights by silver or orange, and red or dark green for regular and menthol.

The FDA is trying to block the industry's response but is naturally getting pushback from the industry, which is pleading violation of constitutional rights surrounding commercial speech and property protections.  All this is happening at a time when the government is seeking $300 billion from the industry, using racketeering charges as the basis for lawsuits that have gone all the way to the Supreme Court.

So how can a big tobacco play defense?  Apparently, showcasing all the good things they are doing for society is one solution.   Certainly, emissions reductions help our planet, regardless of the core business of the company.   But is it wrong to pass judgement on CSR in this context?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superfantastic/ / CC BY 2.0