Philip Morris International Receives Second Consecutive “Triple A” Rating from CDP

Acknowledged by CDP as a Global Environmental Leader for Demonstrable Progress on Climate, Forests, and Water in 2021

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2021-- Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) today, for the second year in a row, announced it has been recognized as a global environmental leader by CDP, a not-for-profit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, and regions to manage their environmental impacts.

PMI has been honored by the CDP’s “Triple A” score, recognizing the company’s best-in-class environmental performance and leadership in tackling climate change, as well as protecting forests and water security. The ranking places PMI among the select few to achieve the prestigious Triple A score and among the world's most pioneering companies leading on environmental transparency and performance.

“External validation from organizations like CDP encourages us to continue on our journey to create a net-positive impact on society. We are humbled PMI has received CDP’s ‘Triple A’ distinction for a second time,” said Jennifer Motles, Chief Sustainability Officer. “As we continue to transform our business, clear and transparent disclosure of our progress remains paramount. This helps us get ahead of regulatory and policy changes, identify and tackle growing risks, and find new opportunities for action that our investors, consumers and other key stakeholders worldwide are demanding.”

PMI is proud to be a full supporter of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which the company has been fully aligning with via its Integrated Report and CDP submissions. Further, PMI has engaged on the development of the parallel Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), recognizing the importance of protecting ecosystems and promoting biodiversity conservation to tackle climate change.

Earlier this year PMI published its Low-Carbon Transition Plan (LCTP) to provide a transparent and detailed view on how the company aims to achieve its climate ambitions, measure success, and report on progress. The LCTP fully aligns with TCFD requirements, including the need to disclose actual and potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities on our organization's strategy and related governance around climate-related risks and opportunities.

“As a company with a multinational environmental footprint, we have a role to play in protecting our planet and are determined to remain at the forefront of the climate-neutral agenda,” said Massimo Andolina, SVP, Operations. “By recognizing PMI as a climate leader, CDP encourages us to persist on our endeavors. We define and execute strategies and initiatives that help us to reduce the environmental impact across our value chain and we believe that working collectively with tobacco growers, suppliers, retailers, NGOs, and governments is crucial, implementing adaptation and mitigation measures across our value chain to strengthen its resilience to climate risks.”

PMI’s best-in-class performance on environmental issues is part of its broader sustainability strategy that centers on addressing the impact of its products and successfully phasing out cigarettes to accelerate the end of smoking. This strategy is shaped by the company’s formal sustainability materiality assessment, which PMI uses to reassess which sustainability topics should be prioritized, help meet stakeholders’ expectations, and focus efforts in areas where it can create value and have the greatest impact.

Additional highlights around PMI’s efforts to reduce its environmental footprint include:

• Five PMI factories have received carbon neutrality certification, with the aim of having all factories certified by 2025
• Eleven factories have been certified by the Alliance for Water Stewardship standard, with the aim of having all factories certified by 2025
• PMI has developed a Zero Deforestation Manifesto to combat deforestation and protect biodiversity, with the aim of having a net positive impact on forests associated with its tobacco supply chain by 2025

The biggest positive impact PMI can have on society is to transform its business, and thus the company places this atop its sustainability priorities. As PMI progresses toward achieving its vision of a smoke-free future, it continues to enhance its sustainability efforts and embed sustainability into every aspect of its business. As reaffirmed by its Statement of Purpose, PMI continues to focus its resources on developing, scientifically substantiating, and responsibly commercializing smoke-free products that are less harmful than smoking, with the aim of completely replacing cigarettes as soon as possible.

The full list of companies on this year’s CDP A List, along with other publicly available company scores, is available here: www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores.

Additional information on PMI’s sustainability activities is available at PMI.com/Sustainability.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains projections of future results and other forward-looking statements. Achievement of future results is subject to risks, uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions. In the event that risks or uncertainties materialize, or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements. Pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, PMI is identifying important factors that, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements made by PMI.

PMI's business risks include: excise tax increases and discriminatory tax structures; increasing marketing and regulatory restrictions that could reduce our competitiveness, eliminate our ability to communicate with adult consumers, or ban certain of our products in certain markets or countries; health concerns relating to the use of tobacco and other nicotine-containing products and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke; litigation related to tobacco use and intellectual property; intense competition; the effects of global and individual country economic, regulatory and political developments, natural disasters and conflicts; changes in adult smoker behavior; lost revenues as a result of counterfeiting, contraband and cross-border purchases; governmental investigations; unfavorable currency exchange rates and currency devaluations, and limitations on the ability to repatriate funds; adverse changes in applicable corporate tax laws; adverse changes in the cost, availability, and quality of tobacco and other agricultural products and raw materials, as well as components and materials for our electronic devices; and the integrity of its information systems and effectiveness of its data privacy policies. PMI's future profitability may also be adversely affected should it be unsuccessful in its attempts to produce and commercialize reduced-risk products or if regulation or taxation do not differentiate between such products and cigarettes; if it is unable to successfully introduce new products, promote brand equity, enter new markets or improve its margins through increased prices and productivity gains; if it is unable to expand its brand portfolio internally or through acquisitions and the development of strategic business relationships; or if it is unable to attract and retain the best global talent. Future results are also subject to the lower predictability of our reduced-risk product category's performance.

PMI is further subject to other risks detailed from time to time in its publicly filed documents, including the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. PMI cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not a complete discussion of all potential risks and uncertainties. PMI does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that it may make from time to time, except in the normal course of its public disclosure obligations.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company, its shareholders and other stakeholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products, associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. In addition, versions of PMI's IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables have received marketing authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway; the FDA has also authorized the marketing of a version of IQOS and its consumables as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI's smoke-free product portfolio includes heat-not-burn products, nicotine-containing vapor products and oral nicotine products. As of September 30, 2021, PMI's smoke-free products are available for sale in 70 markets in key cities or nationwide, and PMI estimates that approximately 14.9 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

About CDP

CDP (formerly known as the Climate Disclosure Project) is a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 590 investors with over $110 trillion in assets, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Over 14,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2021, including more than 13,000 companies worth over 64% of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and regions. Fully TCFD aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive investment and procurement decisions towards a zero carbon, sustainable and resilient economy. CDP is a founding member of the Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.

The full methodology and criteria for the A List is available on CDP’s website at: https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores.

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Philip Morris International
David Fraser
T. +41 (0)58 242 4500
E. david.fraser@pmi.com

Source: Philip Morris International