Our A Better Tomorrow™ Awards – the ABTAs – celebrate the achievements of top-performing teams globally in meeting our purpose of delivering A Better Tomorrow™.
There are 12 nominees this year… and YOU can choose your favourite in the People’s Choice Award. You can only choose one winner… a tough choice, we know.
Simply click each nominee to read their story and vote for your favourite.
The closing date is 15 November at 12pm (UK time). We’ll announce all the ABTAs winners on The Hub on Thursday, 16 November.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominations
Exceptional Combustibles Performance in Sudan and Sri Lanka in the most challenging circumstances
Dunhill delivers record-breaking results and innovates with coloured cigarettes
Delivering sustainable growth in Combustibles and Unlocking New Categories
Group Marketing and Nordics Cluster
Outstanding multi-category transformation and profitability
Outstanding THP performance winning a third of the THP category and on the way to leadership
Transforming the Modern Oral Category with BAT Nordics First to a Smoke-Free Today
Winning through innovation in the THP flavour ban disruption in EU markets with veo herbal heating brand
Project Vista – Revolutionising the way we make decisions with insight and analytics delivered in real time
Reynolds is delivering outstanding savings on the cost of goods sold while battling high inflation and combustibles volume decline
Group Finance and
Business Communications
BOOST Programme: Delivering £150m in productivity savings through sharper execution and value-driven simplification across IT Delivery Services and Technology
Project Falcon: Sale of BAT Russia and Belarus: team secures best possible outcome for the Group, in very challenging and ever-changing circumstances
BAT is now a world-class corporate reporter thanks to faster reporting enabling better and earlier decision-making
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
Operating in a country embattled in civil conflict (Sudan) and a country in economic crisis (Sri Lanka), cross-functional teams are delivering for colleagues and the business.
BAT Sudan, in collaboration with global teams, has ensured people’s safety and wellbeing, evacuating and relocating colleagues from a conflict zone and providing financial support in the face of sky-high inflation. In the most challenging circumstances, and despite port and supply blockages, they have delivered Net Turnover (NTO) growth of 115% and 157% in adjusted profits from operations (APFO) in 2023.
In Sri Lanka, the government, bordering on bankruptcy, defaulted on its international debt, creating an unprecedented economic crisis. The local team continues to support colleagues confronted with rocketing prices, import bans, overcoming supply shortages and an exodus of skilled migration. Despite hyper-inflation, the team delivered record-breaking cost savings leading to a NTO increase of 24% and 34% APFO.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
Due to the civil conflict in Sudan, 40% of the country is inaccessible for business operations, including capital city Khartoum, home to our local Head Office.
Employee safety was the priority, so when conflict broke out, the global BAT machine went into overdrive to evacuate colleagues from the city, many of whom were expats and didn’t speak the local language. The local security team risked their own lives from the threat of gunfire. Teams in Globe House in London, Pakistan and the Middle East ensured their swift passage by land, sea and air to their native Pakistan, working with the Pakistan Embassy, to secure visas and their safety.
About 250 local Sudanese colleagues and their families were relocated from Khartoum to Madani, where we have a factory. But expat evacuations mean we now only have a team of three technicians skilled in operating our production lines, down from 15. Working extra shifts, they ensure our machines maintain a steady supply. A monthly financial relief package to combat rocketing inflation caused by supply shortages is supporting colleagues, third-party suppliers in the country and their families.
Our Sri Lanka team faced economic and political crisis (Government overthrown). With the country facing sporadic curfews, nearly 20-hour power cuts and a severe lack of basic necessities, they maintained 100% production. Government bans on some raw materials entering the country threatened our manufacturing capabilities, so the team negotiated with officials to obtain special exemptions on key materials. Hyper-inflation (peaking at 70%) and fuel shortages, which at times saw people queuing in their cars for weeks, didn’t deter the team from ensuring there was no distribution disruption or products out of stock in the market.
Facing challenges sourcing foreign exchange, the team widened its banking network and was successful in ensuring 100% repatriation of dividends to BAT and paying its foreign suppliers on-time-in-full.
Faced also with a 44% increase in excise duty, hot on the heels of two VAT rises, the team engaged with authorities to prevent an excise shock on its biggest-selling product, John Player Gold Leaf.
High attrition rates due to talent migration and the cost of living posed significant challenges. Employees were offered a special financial package and given baskets of rations. Sri Lanka also piloted ‘Culture Champions’, a holistic programme to integrate a culture of simplicity, wellbeing and psychological safety.
Exceptional Combustibles Performance in Sudan and Sri Lanka in the most challenging circumstances
Why this nomination deserves to win.
Colleagues at every level and across functions showed incredible leadership, resilience, spirit and passion to ensure people’s safety and wellbeing and to keep our operations running in the most challenging circumstances.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
Our Dunhill team launched BAT’s first coloured cigarette (black) in Romania in May – just 10 months after the idea was conceived – the result of innovation, collaboration and dedication from teams across Marketing and Operations including Research & Development.
This success is on top of the many ways Dunhill is achieving exceptional volume and value growth – resulting in record-breaking market share globally, including these outstanding results:
- £1.3bn Net Turnover - up +12% vs 2021
- 40bn sticks sold [Latest estimate] – up from 36bn vs 2021
- 2.44% global market share – up +0.22pp vs 2021
- Almost £1bn of gross margin – up 15% vs 2021
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
So, how exactly do you do something never done before and change the colour of a cigarette, in this case to black? A cross-functional team overcame some people’s doubts about changing such a well-established product. Through cooperation, determination and a will to win, they showed you can dream big – and deliver!
The key to success was ensuring everyone who had a role to play, from consumer research to the paper supplier, was involved from day one and given opportunities to have their voices heard and any concerns listened to, building trust. Weekly meetings ensured everyone was focused and the project stayed on track, creating a sense of energy and momentum. There are plans to launch different-coloured cigarettes next year.
Before 2021, overall Dunhill volumes and value trended downwards for five years. Today, the brand is achieving organic growth in markets including Brazil and Romania, has been successfully launched in Germany, Pakistan, Switzerland and Turkey, and has migrated other brands to Dunhill in Brazil and South Africa, cementing its place as a premium BAT Combustibles product.
Why this nomination deserves to win.
Dunhill delivers record-breaking results and innovates with coloured cigarettes
2023 is the third successive year that Dunhill has delivered record results: growing market share, gross margins and Net Turnover, while showing how innovation can redefine what’s possible in offering consumers new choices.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
2023 has been a record-breaking year for BAT Mexico, delivering accelerated growth in both combustibles and New Categories.
BAT Mexico delivered volume growth of +3.2%, significantly outperforming the industry. The team also increased its market share by +1.4pp and Share of Value by 1.1pp (one of the highest in the Group) along with a strong growth in Net Turnover of +9.2% and Underlying Operational Profit of +14.6%. This performance allowed BAT Mexico to pay £72m in dividends to the Group for the first time since 1997.
On the regulatory front, the team overturned several bans on vapour products, allowing it to launch Vuse and unlocking the way for the launch of Vuse Go.
BAT Mexico is also supporting the Group’s sustainability agenda, introducing new sustainable practices in their Monterrey factory, and having already delivered on all their 2025 sustainability targets.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
BAT Mexico delivered these incredible results despite facing an extremely hostile external environment which included challenges from the government, aggressive competitors and organised crime.
The local LEX team successfully reverted several governmental decrees that would have undermined the New Categories' potential to deliver on Tobacco Harm Reduction and created a difficult trading environment for BAT, including a ban on vapour products and a total retail display ban. One of the challenges opened the way for the import of Vuse Go into the country, which is set to boost the already remarkable New Categories growth starting from Q4 2023.
The results are particularly impressive given the actions of local organised crime, which limited the number of channels where our products can be sold, and even targeted some specific variants.
The local team also must navigate a tough market environment, where competitors are deploying a very aggressive strategy, investing heavily to regain market share, particularly in the low and ultra-low segment.
All these accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without an engaged and passionate team which is best-in-class in engaging consumers and customers alike. Our people are always BAT Mexico’s top priority, which is why the local team is one of the most passionate and engaged in the Group.
Why this nomination deserves to win.
Delivering sustainable growth in Combustibles and Unlocking New Categories
Continuously delivering accelerated and sustainable growth is remarkable on its own, but it is particularly so for BAT Mexico. The team consistently delivers despite being in such a harsh external environment, a true testament to the resilience, passion and resourcefulness of its incredible people.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
Group Marketing
and Nordics Cluster
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
The launch of the first Modern Oral (MO) product in Sweden in 2017 kicked off a monumental transformation in our BAT Nordic businesses and served as a stepping stone in BAT’s global MO journey.
The innovative product has fundamentally reshaped the New Categories portfolio, becoming a fundamental part supporting our smoke-free ambitions.
Fast-forward to 2023, and BAT Nordics is the Total Nicotine Leader in net turnover and profit across all its markets driven by MO. The MO category now accounts for 56% of total revenue in the Nordic markets.
Scandinavia is at the vanguard of the movement towards a smoke-free future and BAT Nordics is spearheading this transformation in the region. It is no coincidence that our flagship MO product, Velo, is the biggest nicotine brand in Sweden, the first country in the world to go smoke-free (with smoking prevalence below 5% as defined by the WHO).
Sold in more than 35 countries, Velo is now a global powerhouse and MO is the fastest-growing category in BAT – and for the second consecutive year, MO has delivered profitability. In 2023, the category is set to surpass all projections, delivering more than half a billion pounds in revenue, of which £361m comes from BAT Nordics.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
The introduction of Velo has created a third New Category, adding consumer choice to our worldwide portfolio. A category created in Sweden, then launched in Nordics and now exported to the world, MO continues to outperform consumer expectations across Europe and beyond. Our main MO brand Velo is delivering huge consumer and commercial growth, adding significant value to our purpose of building A Better Tomorrow™, fast.
Improvements in product quality, sensorial satisfaction, speed and longevity of the flavour experience, alongside new, improved core flavours, are helping us to maintain leadership in our most developed MO markets in Europe while winning new consumers in new markets.
The MO team is building Velo into a global powerhouse brand with accelerated development and deployment of its new brand expression ‘Weirdly Wonderful’ – delivered six months ahead of schedule – and new winning brand architecture and pack expression.
In 2023, the team used learnings from Sweden, UK and South Africa to successfully deploy a new entry-range product formulation globally to accelerate consumer acquisition. They also developed and launched over 20 new flavours.
Exceptional collaboration globally has paid off, with incredible results from Velo in the Nordics and beyond. BAT Nordics has fully transformed, with 100% of colleagues now working directly in the smoke-free business. Their expertise has created the blueprint for a smoke-free future to the whole Group, supporting BAT’s Tobacco Harm Reduction goals.
Why this nomination deserves to win.
Transforming the Modern Oral Category with BAT Nordics First to a Smoke-Free Today
Modern Oral continues to surpass all expectations, delivering incredible results. The category not only drives profitability for the Group, but it supports the delivery of a smoke-free future, with the Nordics leading the way.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
Our Central Europe (CE) team has become a highly profitable multi-category business – achieving Net Turnover (NTO) of £2.2bn in 2023 – 19% more than the same period last year.
This year’s performance continues a growth trend of about 7% NTO year- on-year since 2019, and the DRBU expects to break through the £1 billion-profit mark in 2024, after achieving £900m in profit this year – a record 30% growth.
Its Traditional Categories market contribution hit £1.1bn this year – the highest ever. By driving sustainable Combustibles value, the team has invested in acquiring New Categories (NC) consumers to switch adult smokers and turn CE into a multi-category powerhouse.
NC NTO is growing at a record 70% in 2023 and crossing the £500m milestone. Our Modern Oral and Vapour businesses are both profitable, and by the end of this year, the DRBU expects to have three million NC consumers, which are growing at twice the rate of previous years.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
In a world of rapidly rising inflation, getting price levels right is incredibly important to achieving revenue growth. The last thing you want is an aggressive excise duty increase on Combustibles, forcing large price hikes.
The Central Europe (CE) team engaged the authorities on potential excise changes in key countries such as Germany and Poland, giving BAT clarity and the ability to better plan its pricing strategy to strengthen combustibles revenue.
It’s not in many years that you make three major FMC product introductions, but that’s what the team did to sustain revenue, launching Dunhill in Germany and Switzerland and Kent in Poland, the biggest and most profitable markets for Combustibles in CE to compete for market share. This required major resourcing and cross-functional collaboration to ensure it was mobilised effectively across the DRBU.
The CE team also supported the growth trend behind NCs in existing markets and through geo expansion. Poland THP business is growing year on year reaching record share of +34% in 2023, trending towards category leadership, Modern Oral is growing and is undisputable leader in all CE markets and finally vapor business is more than doubling its revenue with the successful rollout of Vuse GoModern Disposables, especially in Germany.
Why this nomination deserves to win.
By extending their brand portfolio into key markets and getting clarity on potential changes to excise duty to better inform pricing, the Central Europe DRBU generated about £200m from net pricing (what the consumer pays for the product) in 2023.
Delivering an outstanding, profitable multi-category transformation
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
The glo Hyper project team in Poland delivered remarkable growth in the THP category across all key metrics. In just two and a half years since its launch, glo captured a third of the total THP category in the country (over 1 million active users), quadrupling THP gross margin and growing THP net turnover by +55% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Among the incredible results, glo Hyper grew from 0.08bn sticks in 2020 to an estimated 2.7bn sticks in 2023, (a jump in consumables market share from 3% to 34.3%) and growing market share from 0.2% in 2020 to 4.2% in September 2023. To top these incredible results, glo Hyper also increased its net turnover from £6m in 2020 to £116m in 2023, according to the latest estimates.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
Poland’s competitive landscape is extremely fierce, with consumers presented with options from all major competitor THP products. This makes glo’s performance in the country even more remarkable.
These outstanding market results were achieved by four key success factors:
- A great product mix that perfectly fits consumers’ needs;
- Disruptive online and offline brand positioning, bringing back some limited marketing activity for THP. This enabled the team to build glo locally as a lively lifestyle brand that is loved by consumers;
- A mass scale direct-to-consumer business model which is unlocking quality consumer acquisition; and
- Value for Money price positioning, easing consumers’ move from combustible products to THP.
Most importantly, glo’s accelerated growth in Poland was driven by an incredibly dedicated cross-functional team working seamlessly at all levels – end market, area, regional, and global – to strive toward achieving category leadership.
Why this nomination deserves to win.
Outstanding THP performance winning a third of the THP category and on the way to leadership
In a must-win THP category, BAT Poland showed how we can deliver outstanding results to accelerate towards leadership in THP with a winning formula and an incredible team working together to deliver it.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
When the European Commission (EU) triggered the Tobacco Products Directive, TPD 2, for Tobacco Heating Products (THP), it banned characterising flavours (a clearly noticeable smell or taste) for THP which came into effect in October this year, impacting about 45% of THP volume in the EU.
This put at risk more than 300m Net Turnover (NTO) from our flagship THP brand, glo™. It also presented a £1.7bn NTO growth opportunity if we could be the first to market with a new heated product that did not contain tobacco to comply with the directive.
The AME regional and global cross-functional ‘ready for regulation’ project team grasped the opportunity and developed veo™. Launched in Sept this year they brought a new product to life in just nine months from discovery to market. Unlike our neo™ brand of tobacco sticks, veo™ are herbal-based sticks made from the Rooibos plant, infused with nicotine in a range of flavours, with capsules.
Compatible with our glo heating device, veo™ is the second-fastest new product introduction (NPI) after Vuse Go and the first of its kind from a major industry player.
Already available in 10 markets before 23 October, with plans in place to launch veo™ in one more by the end of this year and a further eight in 2024, veo™ is being supported by full multi-channel marketing.
In parallel, the team developed a tobacco-based range of sticks under the neo™ brand and factory-made cigarettes (FMC) with non-characterising flavours, to compete in a TPD environment.
Innovation like these are offering a smoke-free alternative to smokers and glo users in Europe, where the EU THP flavour ban might otherwise limit growth opportunities.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
A global category and cross-functional team was determined to create a viable, tobacco-free, flavoured product for heating that complies with regulations while offering adult consumers smoke-free alternatives to smoking.
The science behind veo™ sticks involved bold and fast collaboration across our Research and Development function, requiring in-depth chemical assessment of the rooibos plant, in-vitro biological assessments in line with our product stewardship standards. The science generated was essential for robust toxicological risk assessments, claims substantiation, end market engagement to drive the product classification, enabling the movement of goods and drive appropriate excise regime(s) for this new product category.
The result? We were able to make strong claims about veo, including that it produces 90-95% fewer toxicants than smoking cigarettes, supporting our A Better Tomorrow™ purpose to reduce the health impact of our business.
Why this nomination deserves to win.
Winning through innovation in the THP flavour ban disruption in EU markets with veo herbal heating brand
From conception to first to market in just nine months, the veo launch shows what can be achieved through the appliance of science and bold and fast cross-functional innovation and collaboration.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
The Group Finance team delivered Vista, a digital solution developed in-house at zero cost to the Group and powered by Power BI, Microsoft’s Business Intelligence tool, that provides real-time volume and financial insights across multiple areas of the business.
This comprehensive digital solution is a one-stop-shop for senior management to quickly access Group-wide data on volume, share and financials to make critical business decisions efficiently.
Among the several benefits of Vista are a harmonised data lake, standardised and dynamic reports, insightful visualisations and automated presentations. Together, they empower users to conduct richer financial analysis to pinpoint areas of opportunities across different categories and geographies. This has enabled the streamlining of the planning process resulting in the availability of key financials to senior management a week earlier.
Vista is also driving consistency of reporting across the Group, eliminating a multitude of reports to deliver consistent visibility and actions across the organisation. The analytics behind the tool have created more effective resource allocation across geographies and categories.
Since the integration of TaO, the Group’s reporting platform, many attempts were made to develop and deploy a reporting solution that covered the needs of the organisation, but these attempts always fell short given the continuous Group transformation.
To deliver this solution, the Central Finance team had to upskill and improve the way it handles a huge amount of data. Combining learnings from past experiences, business acumen and technical skills were crucial to building a future-proof solution that would address the key business questions at the top levels of the organisation.
Prompt delivery, coupled with dynamic and appealing visuals, generated high levels of adoption from top management and a new leadership attitude – open to new approaches, insights, and data analytics to effectively change and sharpen our ways of working.
Additionally, a multi-layered set of permissions was introduced to ensure that data is only available to selected audiences, guaranteeing the right levels of control.
Project Vista – Revolutionising the way we make decisions with insight and analytics delivered in real time
Vista is a game-changer for the organisation, adding a new dynamic to the decision-making process that empowers senior leaders to fast-track our transformation.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
Why this nomination deserves to win.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
Our US business has delivered £360m in cost savings between 2021 and 2023 – despite soaring inflation and declining Combustibles volumes.
Through its Fuel for Growth programme, Reynolds has implemented more than 250 productivity initiatives, over-delivering against “extended rule 1” three years in a row (which means more than compensating overall inflation, volume decline, portfolio mix and specification changes, ultimately improving profitability).
Among the largest initiatives was the consolidation of factories from seven to two in the biggest factory consolidation project at BAT, saving £36m. This consolidation ensures our US operations footprint is future fit as we transform from production focused on one traditional category to the capabilities required for a multi-category future.
Another initiative focused on accelerating profitability was the transition of Vapour manufacturing to a different company of origin. Today, a new Vapour manufacturing facility in Indonesia is more efficiently managing exports to the U.S. Vapour profitability has improved significantly with a 46% cut in the cost of sales over the past three years.
In addition, almost all Vapour shipments are now made via sea rather than air, saving £62m while also reducing our environmental impact.
Reynolds is delivering outstanding savings on the cost of goods sold while battling high inflation and combustibles volume decline
Significant declines in U.S. Combustibles volumes over the past two years, combined with rapidly rising operating costs from inflation, put intense pressure on our Reynolds team.
Responding to these twin challenges required radical collaboration across the business and creativity to explore and implement new ways of operating. From blue-sky workshops to multiple cross-functional workstreams, the team responded with agility and courage to take calculated risks in implementing solutions. This effort fostered a spirit of continuous improvement, supporting the ongoing focus on effective cost base management and resource optimisation into 2024 and beyond.
These achievements would not be possible without the dedication, collaboration and ownership of colleagues in the US and global functional colleagues in Operations, Science Research & Development, Marketing and Finance, which helped to quickly reduce our cost base over the past three years, more than compensating for overall inflation, volume decline, and changes to the portfolio mix, improving profitability.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
Why this nomination deserves to win.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
The BOOST programme is a game-changer – transforming our Digital Business Solutions (DBS) function over the next five years. DBS has boldly embarked on this journey by breaking the norm on how we engage with our vendors and operate our technology estate.
The programme will deliver around £150m in productivity savings through a 40% reduction in current operational spend across 200+ services. It is also streamlining our partner ecosystem and strengthening our organisation by investing in leading-edge technological capabilities and enhancing our DBS Hub capabilities.
A unique and disruptive partnership has been established with ITC Infotech as a strategic partner. The partnership is structured as a 'Virtual Joint Venture' with a dedicated BAT Delivery Unit of around 1,500 resources, an extension of DBS, reporting to the ITC CEO. DBS will have a presence in the ITC Infotech leadership to influence and shape the partnership's evolution.
The programme is leveraging three levers of transformation:
- An Industry-leading partner strategy: Moving from using more than 600 vendors across a fragmented landscape, with no standard service levels, to a streamlined, more strategic partner ecosystem of fewer vendors utilising industry best practices.
- Simpler standardised service: Consolidating diverse services across regions and DRBUs to standardised global services.
- Faster Information Digital Technology (IDT) Operating Model: Transitioning from a traditional “one-size-fits-all” delivery and services model to a more agile, faster, flexible, and integrated end-to-end model.
Furthermore, the BOOST programme is modernising our technology by decommissioning obsolete legacy systems and implementing state-of-the-art solutions that align with our company objectives, such as environmentally friendly cloud servers that support our sustainability agenda.
In 2023, the BOOST programme has already achieved remarkable cost savings of approximately £40m in IDT spend, while simultaneously exiting over 260 contracts with more than 20 vendors, and maintaining seamless operations across over 175 end markets and 100+ business capabilities.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
The BOOST programme’s key challenge is its sheer scale and scope and the change management which involves more than 100 initiatives and over 800 colleagues worldwide.
As well as implementing new ways of working, a new operating model and a unique commercial model, it has required the transition of over 130+ applications from more than 20+ current providers. To achieve this, the team had to onboard 1,500 dedicated resources from our strategic IT partner in just six months.
Delivering something of this scale requires close integration with the new strategic partner. To deliver it to the optimal level, the team had to establish a framework of clear accountability and robust governance from the start, ensuring a culture of open communication and trust. This approach fostered better problem-solving, reduced conflicts and more employee engagement, guaranteeing a dynamic and harmonious partnership set-up for success.
BOOST Programme: Delivering £150m in productivity savings through sharper execution and value-driven simplification across IT Delivery Services and Technology
Why this nomination deserves to win.
The BOOST programme has boldly established a disruptive and industry-leading strategic partnership. It ramped up rapidly in 2023, substantially contributing to the Indirect P&L challenge. By focusing on value-driven simplification, the programme is laying a strong foundation for DBS, significantly reducing future operating costs and complexity while modernising the IT organisation.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
Group Finance and Business Communications
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
We were the third-fastest company listed on the FTSE 100 Stock Exchange in 2023 to announce our audited results – up from 65th just four years ago, all while publishing our first “Combined Annual and ESG report”. Next year, we will publish on 9 February – 45 days earlier than we published our results in 2020.
Every market and thousands of colleagues have supported this single greatest process change in how we report. Called ‘Fast Close’, it had a bold ambition, has been pivotal to BAT acting responsibly in meeting a rapid rise in regulations, including ESG requirements, while helping to secure earlier, more affordable investment.
Fast reporting not only ensures we focus on the future earlier, but also gives us greater flexibility when it comes to securing finance, which can be increasingly tough to access in the tobacco industry. A change in just a few basis points of interest is equivalent to millions of pounds, so getting investment at the right time and the best rates is vital. Earlier reporting also means we can make our investment case at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, a key investor event previously out of reach.
Ensuring everyone across the Group plays their part is like conducting a large orchestra. An orchestra that increased in complexity as the team further challenged itself to combine annual financial reporting with ESG reporting.
Teams were less well coordinated before 2019, but Fast Close has driven a massive behavioural and cultural shift, empowering colleagues to play their part as part of a well-drilled, coherent and consistent approach.
This was all achieved while our reporting burden has risen in volume by about 25% in recent years. This means efficiency and discipline are critical if we are to report fast and have our performance audited and published on time.
Collaboration is key, especially in a global business like ours. Well-established deadlines throughout the year, and regular, clear communication between teams enables a diverse range of views to be heard and any issues addressed so that the project stays on track.
But collecting and coordinating such a vast amount and array of data required the team to be bolder in its innovation. So, the team set about digitalising its processes, embedding the Workiva-Desk tool to populate and update reports, speeding up ways of working.
BAT corporate reporting has been transformed into a world-class model, enabling us to focus on future performance earlier, combine our financial and ESG results into a coherent narrative, realise savings in net finance costs and secure our financing needs, enhance our communication with a range of stakeholders – all while meeting increasing demands from regulators.
BAT is now a world-class corporate reporter thanks to faster reporting enabling better and earlier decision-making
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
Why this nomination deserves to win.
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A Better Tomorrow™ Awards 2023 - Nominee
What outstanding results did this project deliver for the business?
Project Falcon delivered the orderly separation and sale of the Russian and Belarusian businesses from the Group. The sale reflected BAT’s preferred transaction structure and included favourable financial and non-financial terms.
The successful transaction also supported the protection of BAT’s reputation given the external environment and pressures to exit those markets.
Through collaboration, professionalism and resilience, the project team delivered the optimal outcome for the Group, while safeguarding the employment of around 2,500 colleagues impacted by the transaction.
What challenges did the team overcome and how did they achieve these results?
Following the Group’s announcement in March 2022 of its intention to leave Russia, the project team embarked on one of the most complex and demanding projects the Group has ever undertaken.
Over the course of 18 months, a team of more than 150 colleagues from all functions and multiple markets painstakingly sought a compliant and effective solution for the Group. The project team had to deal with a difficult external environment and numerous and novel challenges that included a dynamic geopolitical situation, restrictive regulatory conditions and a complex international banking system.
One of the project’s main challenges involved navigating through an enormously broad and complex framework of sanctions, including 11 packages of sanctions introduced by the EU and 20 sanctions regulations introduced by the UK.
The complexity of the separation of the Russian and Belarusian businesses meant 69 different agreements had to be executed to assign IP rights and terminate existing IP arrangements, all of which had to comply with local legal requirements and relevant Group governance.
Additionally, the separation required significant work in relation to supply chain and systems infrastructure. There were two components to this: first, delinking these markets from various internal supply chain and Operations arrangements and, second, putting in place new manufacturing arrangements for markets that were previously supported by the St. Petersburg factory.
DBS also played a crucial role by migrating or terminating all IT systems from BAT's cloud infrastructure to dedicated local solutions, all while ensuring uninterrupted operations. This covered more than 114 critical applications and more than 9.2 billion business records.
Why this nomination deserves to win.
Project Falcon: Sale of BAT Russia and Belarus: team secures best possible outcome for the Group, in very challenging and ever-changing circumstances
The Project Falcon team delivered the optimal result for BAT under a unique and extremely complex set of circumstances, all while ensuring the work was done with professionalism, integrity and empathy to impacted colleagues.
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