Demonstrating Sustainable Business Practices for a Better Tomorrow: Reynolds’ Partnership with KAB

Overview

Reynolds American Inc. (Reynolds)* and its operating companies conduct the second-largest tobacco business in the United States.

Reynolds’ goals for partnering with Keep America Beautiful (KAB) are twofold:

1. To promote responsible waste management practices and encourage individuals to take action to protect the environment and preserve it for future generations.
2. To demonstrate Reynolds’ sustainability practices, which are a strategic business priority for Reynolds’ long-term success.

Backstory

The partnership between Keep America Beautiful and Reynolds stretches back to the 1980s. However, the partnership strengthened significantly after Reynolds acquired the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company in 2002.

“Both companies had a partnership with KAB, and the acquisition deepened our involvement,” said Kara Calderon, Senior Director ESG & Community Engagement, Reynolds American Inc. “We strengthened our commitment to environmental sustainability and reducing litter.”

Over the past two decades, the collaboration has continued to grow and evolve with campaigns that encourage proper disposal of cigarette butts and recycling.

Strategic Approach

Reynolds supports the national Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP) through Keep America Beautiful. Through CLPP, Reynolds provides monetary donations to KAB's affiliates across the country, allowing them to engage in litter prevention activities, including providing ashtrays, distributing pocket ashtrays, and conducting cigarette butt litter clean-ups.

In addition to supporting the CLPP, Reynolds’ employees volunteer with Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful, a local affiliate of KAB.

Reynolds has adopted three locations in Winston-Salem—a street, a park, and a stream—and works with Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful to conduct clean-ups and beautification activities.

“Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful coordinates with Reynolds' employee champions and ambassadors, who are trained and certified by Keep America Beautiful and work to ensure that clean-ups are done safely and effectively,” Calderon said.

The Keep America Beautiful brand represents so many positive things. They’re national. They’re respected. They’re experts and leaders in their space. People universally admire their mission to Keep America Beautiful.

-Kara Calderon, Reynolds American Inc.

Results

According to Calderon, Reynolds’ ongoing partnership with Keep America Beautiful helps the company advance its philanthropic goals based on its three fundamental pillars: people, planet, and prosperity.

“Working with Keep America Beautiful touches on all three pillars,” Calderon said. “First, Keep America Beautiful clean-ups bring people together. Second, the clean-up efforts positively impact the planet by keeping it more pristine and beautiful. Finally, communities with clean parks and other amenities may exhibit more prosperity than those that are rundown and unvisited.”

As an important benefit, partnering with KAB provides a unique opportunity for Reynolds’ employees to engage with each other while working to clean up local communities.

“The clean-up initiatives bring together employees from different departments to work toward a common goal, fostering camaraderie and community involvement,” Kara said. “The enthusiasm, excitement, engagement, and commitment around Keep America Beautiful events are like nothing else we see. It’s amazing.”

Partner Insights

Reynolds shared the following advice for companies exploring a cause to support and a potential partnership.

• Tackle an issue that is relevant to your business. “Cigarette litter is a concern for the tobacco industry, and we’re actively doing something about it,” Kara said. “We value working with Keep America Beautiful because the organization helps us to address an important issue with effective and scalable solutions.”
• Employee Participation is Key. “You have to choose a cause that resonates with your employees,” Kara said. “Reynolds’ employees are very passionate about Keep America Beautiful, and that enthusiasm is contagious to everyone around them. If you want to know if a cause is the right fit for your company, observe if and how your employees show up for it.”
• Lean into Collaboration. “Partners collaborate with each other to accomplish their goals and make a positive impact,” Kara said. “For example, to make the best of the cigarette waste we are collecting, Reynolds and Keep America Beautiful collaborate with TerraCycle to keep that litter out of landfills and recycle it into fertilizers and usable items like park benches.”

“Our relationship with Keep America Beautiful has spanned four decades because they’re experts at what they do. Their collaboration and engagement with partners and communities is best in class.”

-Kara Calderon, Reynolds American Inc.