To offset CO2 emissions from the company’s production and operational activities, JTI Vietnam has launched many projects from 2020 under the program “Net-Zero Carbon Emission”. In 2022, the company continues to sequestrate 202 tons of CO2 by burying bamboo to create biochar and tending to bamboo forests. This initiative is implemented by JTI Vietnam in Thanh Hoa.

On July 22, 2022, over 20 volunteers from the Representative Office of JTI Vietnam, its distributors’ office, and Vinataba Thanh Hoa took care of the bamboo plantations in the Friendship Bamboo Garden on grounds of the Thanh Tam Bamboo Ecological Park, Thanh Hoa province. Despite the bouts of heavy rain that occurred before the event, the volunteers were very energetic and enthusiastic. In addition to cleaning and tending the bamboo garden, the volunteers also learned more about bamboo and made some bamboo crafts used in agriculture, fishery, and daily life. After the event, low-quality bamboo was also chopped and buried to fully sequestrate 202 tons of CO2.

The program was originally initiated in 2020 for JTI to fully offset its carbon footprint and become one of the pioneering companies in Vietnam to attain the “net-zero carbon emission” target. The full project is based on the concept of Carbon Capture and Compensation (or C3) and combined with wastewater treatment to invest in biomass production and remove carbon from the atmosphere. While bamboo plantation absorbs CO2 and acts as a carbon sink, bamboo burial will sequestrate carbon, store it underground indefinitely, and transform bamboo into charcoal for Terra Preta production, which can be used for soil conditioning and improvement. In 2020, JTI Vietnam planted 5,756 trees in Xuan Son National Park, Phu Tho and 3 hectares of bamboo forest in Thanh Tam, Thanh Hoa. In 2021, the company harvested and buried 25 tons of low-quality bamboo. Besides helping JTI Vietnam reduce its impact on the environment, this program also creates additional value for local rural communities by increasing the level of biodiversity with indigenous species, creating jobs for locals through maintenance of bamboo plantations, and training community members on environmental issues.

Globally, the JT Group commits to accelerating its efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions across its entire value chain and achieve Net-Zero GHG emissions by 2050. In the upcoming times, JTI Vietnam commits to maintaining this sustainability program and will try to implement more optimal projects to minimize the company’s environmental impact.