And the Rodger Award goes to BAT

Finalists: ANZ; BAT (British American Tobacco NZ); Contact Energy; GlaxoSmithKline; Infratil; McDonalds; Rio Tinto Aluminium NZ (nominated under its former name of Comalco); Telecom.

From late night on Monday March 2nd the full Judges’ Report will be available at www.cafca.org.nz, follow the Roger Award links.

Criteria: the transnational (a corporation which is 25% or more foreign-owned) which is worst in each or all of the following: Economic Dominance - Monopoly, profiteering, tax dodging, cultural imperialism. People - Unemployment, impact on tangata whenua, women, children, abuse of workers/conditions, health and safety of workers and the public, cultural imperialism. Environment - Environmental damage, abuse of animals. Political interference - Cultural imperialism, running an ideological crusade. Judges: Geoff Bertram, Wellington, a Victoria University economist; Brian Turner, Christchurch, immediate past President of the Methodist Church and social justice activist; Paul Corliss, Christchurch, a life member of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union; Cee Payne, Dunedin, Industrial Services Manager for the NZ Nurses’ Organisation and health issues activist; Christine Dann, Banks Peninsula, a writer and researcher; Bryan Gould, Bay of Plenty, a former Waikato University Vice-Chancellor. The winners will be announced in Auckland on March 2.

The Judges’ Statement on BAT says: “Its product kills 5,000 people every year and ruins the lives of tens of thousands. It perennially refuses to take responsibility for the social and economic consequences of its activity, while maintaining a major public relations effort to subvert the efforts of the Government to reduce cigarette consumption”. It is “a conspicuously bad corporate citizen”. The Financial Analysis reveals that BAT NZ’s 2007 profit after tax was a staggering 81% on opening shareholders’ funds, and a questionable borrowing and reinvestment arrangement with other BAT companies outside NZ that allows BAT to reduce its NZ income tax liability by $10 million per year, while hypocritically posturing as a socially responsible corporation.

Rio Tinto Aluminium was runner up because of its “single act of political intimidation”, threatening to close the Bluff smelter if the former Government’s proposed emissions trading scheme went ahead. “Business New Zealand and (CEO) Mr O’Reilly merit an Accomplice Award for their major PR contribution to sustaining the New Zealand government’s spineless record on non-regulation of monopolies and failure to control foreign investments into key sectors of the local economy”.

Organised by: Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) & GATT Watchdog


Statement of the Judges’ Decision for 2008


Winner

British American Tobacco NZ Ltd


Runner Up

Rio Tinto Aluminium NZ Ltd


Accomplice

Business New Zealand




Judges

Geoff Bertram

Brian Turner

Bryan Gould

Cee Payne

Christine Dann

Paul Corliss





There were eight finalists for the 2008 Roger Award, all richly deserving to be put in the public spotlight as transnationals whose behaviour fell under one or more of the Award’s four headings - economic dominance, damage to people, damage to the environment, and political interference. There are no particular weights attached to the four criteria, which left the judges facing some difficult trade-offs in making their final choice amongst the top three:


runner up Rio Tinto’s outrageous exercise in political blackmail before the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Emissions Trading Bill in May 2008 – the year’s most conspicuous piece of political interference
ANZ-National Bank’s damage to people by needless outsourcing of 3,000 jobs, and shonky investment advice followed by the decision to drop overboard the investors it had conned into placing their money with its subsidiary ING eventual winner BAT’s longstanding and persistently high scores across all four criteria.

If there was a common theme running through the 2008 finalists it was damage to people; only eventual runner up Rio Tinto escaped condemnation on this count. Evidence showed Telecom, Infratil and Contact Energy rippingcustomers off; ANZ-National fleecing small investors of their wealth; Infratil, McDonalds and ANZ-National Bank mistreating their workers; GlaxoSmithKline exposing users of its thyroid drug to severe adverse reactions; and British American Tobacco profiting from a product that kills people on a grand scale.


Running through the field, starting with the also rans:


McDonald’s


This worldwide purveyor of fast food attracted attention (and nomination for the Roger) during 2008 for paying even lower wages than its competitors, manipulating shift rosters to punish workers, sourcing so-called “sustainable” coffee from a supplier without fair trade credentials, and backing anti-union behaviour by its franchisees. In September an employee of the Kaiapoi branch of McDonald’s was awarded $15,000 by the Employment Court for being constructively dismissed after she joined a union. A month later another employee at the same branch was forced to finish her shift after having her foot run over in the drive-through. Faced with a rising tide of protest over wages and working conditions the company’s head office hid behind its corporate structure and shifted responsibility to its franchise holders. The judges agreed that McDonald’s, as a major employer, is a major exploiter of young New Zealand workers. It has a dominant presence (along with Restaurant Brands) in the junk food market; it generates litter which degrades the urban environment; and it claims credit for serving “sustainable” coffee while refusing to assume fair trade responsibility for the welfare of the ultimate suppliers. As a typical transnational that puts profit ahead of people and seeks to curtail workers’ rights, McDonalds is a worthy finalist. But it lacked the star quality of ugliness that is required to win the coveted Roger.


GlaxoSmithKline


In 2007 GSK was a finalist in the Roger contest on the basis of its Ribena scam, exposed by two Kiwi schoolgirls. In 2008 the company was back in the running for the suffering imposed on hundreds, and probably thousands, of New Zealand hyperthyroidism patients by its unilaterally imposed July 2007 change in the formulation of its drug Eltroxin. The change was not clearly notified to users, and the medical profession was evidently mystified by the wave of adverse symptoms triggered by the change. The switch increased GSK’s profits from its Pharmac monopoly, leaving the public health system to carry the costs. As the New Zealand Thyroid Association noted, “with the introduction of GSK Eltroxin an extra burden has been placed on all aspects of the public health system. Those now unable to work are neither productive nor contributing with their usual tax dollars to funding our public health system”.


Roughly 70,000 New Zealanders take Eltroxin, and throughout 2008 the consequences of the change were coming to light. By September 2008 Medsafe reported that over 1% of users (746 people) had reported adverse reactions to the new formulation. Other sources gave figures of well over 1,000 people. GSK refused to provide an alternative formulation, claiming that the previous version of the drug was no longer in production. No explanation for the adverse reactions was forthcoming, and GSK’s public relations team tried to “spin” its way out of trouble by shifting the blame onto patients’ mistakes and “concern caused by public awareness”. Patients were for a long time unable to change to an alternative, because GSK had the monopoly of publicly funded thyroid medication until the Government finally pushed through approval for two competing drugs at the end of the year. [No evidence was available to the judges on whether GSK had lobbied against approval of its competitors’ products.]


The story is unedifying, not least because of GSK’s response: washing its hands of responsibility – not untypical for the transnational drug industry (see below on British American Tobacco!). The main mitigating factors are absence of evidence of malice (as distinct from simple pursuit of profit via cost savings) in the company’s motivation for switching manufacture of Eltroxin to a different country and formulation; and the fact that the eventual outcome was the loss by GSK of its monopoly position in the local market for publicly funded thyroid drugs.


Infratil


This transnational began as the investment arm of Wellington-based merchant bank Morrison and Co, and has built up a portfolio of utility and infrastructure companies, including its New Zealand Bus subsidiary which enjoys a dominant position in bus services in Wellington, Auckland and Whangarei. The company earned its position as a finalist by three activities during 2008: exploitation of the travelling public via gouging on its fares and services in areas without competing providers; exploitation and intimidation of its bus drivers, culminating in a lockout in Wellington in September 2008; and political interference via a campaign against the Public Transport Management Act.


Profiteering, anti-union behaviour, evasion of information disclosure (especially with respect to the profits from ratepayer subsidised transport operations), and anti-competitive practices make Infratil a typical transnational, notwithstanding its New Zealand origins and substantial local ownership. But it was judged to be in the bunch, not a leader, in the Roger contest.


Telecom NZ Ltd


The 2007 winner of the Roger Award was back in 2008 with more of the same conduct: a focus on profits for shareholders at the expense of Telecom’s customers and competitors. Service quality and new investment performance remained poor while executives collected fat payouts and bonuses. Rural copper wire networks continued to decay, with net investment far below the level required to honour the company’s obligations under the Kiwi Share. Line rentals continued to rise, and captive customers in areas without competing suppliers continued to be charged at monopoly rates. Poor service was epitomised by the Geraldine vicar who was left without a phone for three weeks because Telecom “did not know where the house was” (Press, 30/4/08); by the Commerce Commission study of broadband service that ranked Telecom last out of 13 companies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch; and by the subsequent Consumer NZ study that gave Telecom Xtra bottom place among Internet service providers (Press, 14/11/08).


Under its new supposedly friendlier Chief Executive Officer, Telecom continued to obstruct and subvert New Zealand’s regulatory machinery, playing a leading role in the lobbying campaign to have Commerce Commission decisions made subject to wide ranging appeal in the courts. Obstruction of open access for competitors following local loop unbundling shifted from the lost battle over telephone exchanges to the new roadside cabinets which were designed to restrict access to a single competitor.


Meantime prices for telecommunication services in New Zealand remained among the highest in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the company pressed ahead with plans to outsource 400 call centre jobs to the Philippines.


Contact Energy


Contact is another regular contender for top honours in the Roger Award and 2008 was no exception. It is one of New Zealand’s leading electricity generators and one of the country’s largest listed companies. It attracted media attention during 2008 for its massive unjustified price increases to electricity consumers in October, at the same time as the company’s directors sought to have their fees doubled to a total pool of $1.5 million. As owner of major hydroelectric assets the company stood to profit from the dry winter, no thanks to any actions by the board.


Besides price gouging its customers, Contact was cited for a deceptive promotional campaign in Christchurch earlier in 2008, which misled potential customers by quoting prices exclusive of GST in comparison to GST-inclusive prices for its competitors; and for pushing ahead with an unpopular proposal to construct a liquefied natural gas terminal at New Plymouth.


Contact secures profits of around $300 million per year and has fattened these over recent years by repeated price hikes ahead of the rate of inflation. In 2004 it secured the runner up slot in the Roger contest, partly because it had been caught out falsely attributing price hikes to increased lines costs.


In its behind the scenes lobbying and manoeuvring, Contact has been a major contributor to the failure of electricity sector so-called “reform” to deliver lower prices or better service to the New Zealand economy.


ANZ-National Bank


The four Australian-owned banks that dominate New Zealand’s financial sector have played a leading role in bringing the global crisis to New Zealand, first triggering and promoting a potentially unsustainable boom in home mortgage indebtedness to fund high consumption, and then racing to unload their risk exposures (created by imprudent offshore funding) onto New Zealand taxpayers, via Government guarantees on wholesale as well as retail deposits.


Evidence presented to the judges portrayed ANZ-National as the most rapacious, inept and irresponsible of the banks over the past couple of years, which assured it a good chance of securing the Roger Award. This bank was a distinguished finalist in 2007 also, for its despicable role in the saga of Godfrey Hirst and the Feltex carpet business.


The bank collects a $1 billion annual profit, or $250 per head from the New Zealand population of 4 million. Along with the other offshore-owned banks it has engaged in massive tax avoidance by “structured finance deals that IRD argues were devoid of commercial purpose other than to avoid tax” (Press, 16/4/08). Basically the deals involve making loan transactions between institutions in ways that shift their costs and revenues around. It has been outsourcing jobs to India. During the boom, it was conspicuous among the banks for the incentives and pressure applied to its staff to drive customers ever deeper into debt. It has consistently ranked at or near the bottom in customer (dis)satisfaction surveys. As the largest of the banks it epitomises the dominance of overseas institutions in the local financial sector, although its market share is not great enough to make it dominant on its own.


The key charge against ANZ-National in 2008 was its reckless promotion to its banking customers of two investment funds run by its subsidiary ING NZ Ltd, which were then frozen, imprisoning $520 million of small investors’ money (Press, 29-30/3/08). The bank ducked responsibility on all fronts – for giving shonky advice, for misrepresenting ING as “low risk”, for failing to bail out its subsidiary to avoid the need to freeze funds, and for continuing to collect advisor fees during the freeze. While keeping the funds frozen, ING then announced a profit of $36 million (Press, 3/7/08). As a comprehensive case study of the rapacity and unconscionable behaviour at the expense of ordinary investors that have brought the reputation of Wall Street and its local clones to a new low, the ING saga stacks up well. ANZ has also been a central player in the Opus Prime insolvency in Australia, where again small investors were fleeced while the bank initially concealed crucial information and then looked after itself when the crash came (Press, 26/4/08; Australian Financial Review, 1-2/11/08).


Only after the Banking Ombudsman became involved did ANZ-National begin paying off a few individual victims caught in the ING affair, “on a goodwill basis”. “Goodwill” in this context seems to mean good public relations rather than any real relief for the majority of burned investors.


Typical of ANZ-National’s approach to misinforming the public about investment opportunities was the $80,000 fine imposed on it in mid-2008 for grossly misrepresenting the odds in a Bonus Bonds promotion: “The ad represented that people buying bonds before December 31, 2006 and keeping them until January 31, 2007 would be in a draw to win $1m, and $550,000 towards a bach. But the winner got to choose from 100 envelopes with only one having the big prize. The other envelopes had $10,000” (Press, 22/7/08).


Buttressing the case against ANZ-National was evidence from Finsec (the staff union) that the bank’s management lied to staff and customers when it promised to increase branch staff numbers while outsourcing 500 back office jobs to India; the bank subsequently announced sweeping cuts in branch staffing (Press 12/4/08 and 26/9/08).


Only truly distinguished performances by two other contenders saved ANZ-National from the Roger this time around.


Rio Tinto Aluminium NZ Ltd


Rio Tinto (formerly Comalco NZ Ltd) is familiar to Roger Award aficionados as operator of the Bluff smelter and beneficiary of a cut price electricity supply that absorbs over 15% of New Zealand’s total generation. The smelter owners long ago perfected the art of blackmailing politicians into supporting the electricity subsidy by threatening to close down Southland’s main manufacturing industry, but they took political interference to new heights in May 2008 when the familiar threat was deployed in an attempt to block the Labour government’s proposed emissions trading scheme.


Chris Trotter, in his Dominion Post column (16/5/08), put it very succinctly:


“Once again the masks have slipped. Once again we have caught a glimpse of the true faces of our masters. Once again, New Zealand’s acute vulnerability to the power of vast transnational corporations has been brutally revealed.


“As an exercise in raw economic coercion, Rio Tinto’s submission to the Parliamentary Select Committee scrutinising our Government’s proposed emissions trading scheme was chilling. Ranged before the elected representatives of the New Zealand people were the appointed representatives of one of the world’s largest and most profitable corporations….. In its current form [the Rio Tinto Asia/Pacific president] explained, the ETS posed a threat to the economic competitiveness of the Bluff aluminium smelter’s production. Rio Tinto could not, therefore, guarantee the smelter’s long term future if the Government’s scheme (in its present form) was permitted to proceed. And that was that”.


With this single act of political intimidation, Rio Tinto vaulted into the lead bunch of Roger contenders, and has been rewarded with runner up status.


British American Tobacco


BAT has been a Roger Award finalist year after year. Its product kills 5,000 people every year and ruins the lives of tens of thousands. Its impact on the environment via air pollution and litter is part of the daily experience of urban dwellers. It perennially refuses to take responsibility for the social and economic consequences of its activity, while maintaining a major public relations effort to subvert the efforts of the New Zealand government to reduce cigarette consumption in the community. Its persistent subversion of efforts by Government and health professionals to reduce tobacco use marks it out as a conspicuously bad corporate citizen. In 2008 the judges decided that the cumulative weight of evidence against BAT sufficed to tip the balance.


Much of the evidence presented to the judges in 2008 highlighted the role of BAT’s spin machine. A $300,000 donation to the organisation Keep New Zealand Beautiful, plus repeated press statements emphasising compliance with legislation and “working with” the Government, form part of a determined PR strategy of projecting the image of social responsibility while the company goes on pushing New Zealanders into a lethal addiction.


Behind the façade, BAT pays rebates to retailers that stock its products, in contravention of the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990. It provides “power-wall” display cases that make cigarettes prominent among the goods stocked by stores and effectively nullify the legal ban on cigarette advertising. It promoted so-called “light” and “mild” brands until stopped by a Commerce Commission ruling that they contravened the Fair Trading Act (Press, 25/9/08). Its current strategy includes plans to introduce “smoke-free” (but still addictive and cancer-causing) cigarettes to the New Zealand market.


One striking example of political PR in 2008 that was brought to the judges’ attention was the role of the tobacco industry’s front organisation, the New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores (NZACS), in lobbying against a ban on the power-wall cigarette displays. The Association has no independent small retailers among its membership, which comprises mainly petrol station stores and a board that includes heavyweight representation from BAT and Imperial Tobacco (NZ) Ltd.


The accompanying financial analysis by Sue Newberry sets out the company’s use of greenwash to dress up its volume and profit aims in the language of social responsibility.


As the 2007 Judges’ Statement said, in listing BAT as runner up for the Roger:


“Yes, it’s legal. Yes, we have been warned. And … a clear line can not be drawn between tobacco and other dangerous legal products (fast food, alcohol, anti-social media products), as a problem for regulators. However smoking is responsible for more preventable deaths than anything else, and BAT is the worst culprit in New Zealand. The difficulties for regulators do not absolve BAT from its profiteering at the expense of individual and public health”.


BAT has a long history as a Roger finalist and was declared the runner up in 2000, 2003, and 2007. Comments from earlier judges’ reports continue to apply with undiminished force:

“BAT continues the trend of tobacco companies peddling an addictive, destructive product while trying to appear ‘community minded’. In reality, BAT is deliberately and knowingly killing our fellow citizens for profit. It is also promoting consumption of this addictive and deadly product, particularly to image-conscious teenagers…. BAT is a destructive corporation - parasitic upon the human community in all respects” (2003 Judges’ Statement)


“Reliable estimates … show that 101 New Zealanders die each year from exposure to smoke in the workplace ... BATNZ blames deaths and illnesses on individual choice despite nicotine’s addictive qualities. The company continues to lobby against health warning labels on cigarette packets” (2005 Judges’ Statement)


“For lifetime bad behaviour BAT rates highly on most Roger criteria. Its 75% market share makes it a dominant industry player (although this is one product we wouldn’t like to see go down in price), it profits from a product that will kill 50% of its customers, it adds further misery to its target markets in the form of ill health and the high cost of addiction. It finds every loophole it can to promote its brands” (2006 Judges’ Statement).


It has been a long time coming, but BAT’s perennial greenwash hypocrisy, its confusion of addiction with “choice”, its repeated avoidance and subversion of government efforts to reduce smoking, and its profiteering at the expense of the health of New Zealanders whilst its products impose vast costs on the public health system, have at last earned it the ultimate accolade. BAT takes out the Roger Award for 2008.


Accomplice Award:

Business New Zealand


One nomination for the Accomplice Award came before the judges. It cited Business New Zealand and its Chief Executive Officer Phil O’Reilly for relentless lobbying in favour of the policies of deregulation, privatisation and union bashing that are music to the ears of transnationals’ management. The specific statements by Mr O’Reilly that were placed in evidence – particularly relating to free trade agreements – were only tangentially related to the depredations of transnationals within the New Zealand economy. The judges, nevertheless, decided that Business New Zealand and Mr O’Reilly merit an Accomplice Award for their major PR contribution to sustaining the New Zealand government’s spineless record on non-regulation of monopolies and failure to control foreign investments into key sectors of the local economy.











2008 Roger Award Report

British American Tobacco

BAT New Zealand

Historically, tobacco smoking has held, along with beer and racing, a hold over a significant proportion of New Zealand society. So much so, that when then Finance Minister Arnold Nordmeyer’s 1958 Budget increased taxes on tobacco, it was labelled “The Black Budget” by then Opposition Leader, Keith Holyoake. Holyoake also went on to comment that price increases on tobacco and beer would lead to increases on both products and was an attack on the right of the ordinary person to enjoy these pleasures. He also intimated that they were increased as a consequence of Nordmeyer and Prime Minister Walter Nash being non-smokers and non-drinkers. A substantial section of the New Zealand public agreed with Holyoake and Nordmeyer’s “Black Budget” went down to infamy as the budget that penalised the simple joys of the working man.


Fortunately, New Zealand has become a far more enlightened place since 1958 with the introduction of laws governing the placement, publicity and access of and to, tobacco. Since 1990, the Smoke Free Environment Act has banned smoking from most workplaces and public areas. In 2004 the Government went further, banning cigarette smoking in bars, restaurants and nightclubs, despite the opposition of the hospitality industry and the smoking lobby.


These changes in legislation, combined with a more disdainful attitude by the public toward smoking, have led to a decline in smoking rates. As reported in the 2006 Census:

“In 1971, 39.6% of men were regular smokers compared with 31.7% of women.

By 1996, male and female smoking rates had almost converged; 22.8% of all women aged 15 and over were regular smokers compared with 24.8% of men”. 1


Always the Bridesmaid and Never The Bride


The decrease in the numbers of people smoking has been despite the efforts and lobbying of the smoking lobby and in particular, the winner of the 2008 Roger Award, British American Tobacco New Zealand (BAT NZ). When BAT (NZ) was first nominated in 2000, the Judges Report noted that:

“The whole tobacco industry richly deserves the opprobrium it receives for attempting to recruit young people, and particularly young Maori, to smoke this addictive and harmful drug to replace the profits from those wisely giving it up. The industry also continues its propaganda campaign which pretends that tobacco’s harmful effects are less than the evidence clearly shows”.2


“Always the bridesmaid and never the bride” could well be the comment made about British American Tobacco in relation to the Roger Award. It has been a finalist every year (bar one – 2004) since it was first nominated in 2000. It was a Roger Runner Up in 2000, 2003 and 2007 but was always being pipped at the post by a far more loathsome company. But, finally it is the turn of BAT (NZ) to walk down the aisle and embrace Roger.


The 2008 Judges’ Statement referred to BAT (NZ)’s previous finalist status. They noted BAT (NZ)’s devastating effect on the lives of thousands of New Zealanders through its impact on the environment via air pollution and litter as well as its “perennial” neglect to take responsibility for the social and economic consequences of its activities. The Judges observed that while BAT touted its social responsibility through public relations exercises on the one hand, it lobbied hard to subvert legislation and regulation on the other.

“Its persistent subversion of efforts by Government and health officials to reduce tobacco use, mark it out as a conspicuously bad corporate citizen. This year the Judges decided that the cumulative weight of evidence against BAT sufficed to tip the balance”. 3


British American Tobacco Plc: The Octopus And Its Long Tentacles


To better understand the actions of BAT (NZ), one needs to get an understanding of the recent practices of its parent company BAT (Plc). George Monbiot, a columnist for the UK Guardian, labelled British American Tobacco as “morally dubious” in an August 2005 article for the paper.4 Monbiot’s column was principally about the connection between UK Conservative Party front bencher Kenneth Clarke and BAT. However, the article helped to reveal the company’s strategy in the developed and developing world.


According to BAT(NZ)’s 2007 Social Report, BAT is “the world’s most international tobacco group, with its brands being sold in 180 countries, and market leadership in 50 of those countries. Of which New Zealand is one”.5 Monbiot noted in his column that due to the increased emphasis by local and central Governments in developed nations to restrict or halt smoking, international tobacco firms were facing declining profits. Therefore, BAT’s strategy was to 1) halt this decline in sales and 2) to concentrate its efforts on developing nations.


It appeared that Clarke as part of the BAT executive was involved in BAT paying middlemen up to ¤250,000 a year to lobby countries to reject international attempts to put stronger warnings on cigarette packs, lower the levels of tar and nicotine and increase taxes (there were also allegations made as a result of documents which were discovered, that BAT was actually actively smuggling its products to undermine attempts by national governments to discourage smoking).6


In a 2008 BBC2 documentary, Duncan Bannatyne (millionaire host of British TV’s The Dragon’s Den) travelled to Africa to discover why many African children were taking up smoking. His investigations revealed the significant involvement of British American Tobacco. The documentary further revealed BAT’s unethical use of targeted marketing to promote sales. This marketing was so unethical that it appeared to violate BAT’s own company code of ethics and standards (a copy of the documentary is available to watch on Google video). 7


The line taken by Clarke, BAT (Plc) and BAT (NZ) is that the company is a “good corporate citizen”. In its defence, BAT notes its commitment to “good corporate conduct”, “mutual benefit and responsible product stewardship”. BAT (NZ) may further contend that it should not be bound by the actions of BAT (Plc). However, the reality is that many of the actions taken by its parent company to increase its market share are also undertaken (on a smaller scale) by its New Zealand subsidiary. As is noted in the ASH publication: “Trust Us: We’re Socially Responsible” by Dr George Thompson:

“…the distinction between the British American Tobacco parent company (BAT Plc) and its branches is one of legal structures, rather than real independence. BAT (NZ) is wholly controlled and owned by the British American Tobacco parent company, which is legally based in Britain. BAT (NZ) is a tentacle of the BAT octopus. BAT (NZ) social reports are the product of directions from the parent company”. 8 If BAT (Plc) has a “morally dubious” record, it is one that is shared by BAT New Zealand.


The Antipodean Tentacle: BAT New Zealand


In line with the actions and strategies pursued by its parent company, BAT (NZ) is also involved in actively targeting and marketing its products toward the poorer sections of the community, lobbying to reduce restrictions that prohibit it plying its trade and using middlemen to promote its product, while it stays safely in the background. Like its parent company which sponsors sports events and cultural organisations such as the London Symphony Orchestra, BAT (NZ) also uses sponsorship of various groups and charitable trusts to promote an image as a good corporate citizen.


It is this image as a good corporate citizen that BAT (NZ) is keen to communicate to the public through its Social Reports and media releases. BAT (NZ)’s opinion of itself is nicely summed up in the Introduction to its 2007 Social Report by its Managing Director, Peter Henriques:

“Our Business Principles and Guiding Principles guide us as we progress on our Corporate Social Responsibility journey and form an internal measure of our performance and behaviour as a corporate entity.


“The Report shows how we are translating our vision and commitment into a tangible community contribution. We are dedicated to contributing positively to the community in which we operate and seek open engagement, participation and partnership…” 9


However, the reality of the situation is different to that vision presented by Mr Henriques and BAT (NZ)’s spokespeople. It is this reality that the judges have concentrated on in terms of their decision. After all, it takes more than charitable sponsorship to redeem oneself for marketing and selling a product that kills approximately 5,000 people in New Zealand annually.


As Dr Thompson states in his report debunking BAT (NZ)’s Social Report, the New Zealand tobacco industry (and its overseas counterparts and parent operation), has a standardised strategy to convince the public of its good intentions. It uses themes to build and then maintain its credibility within society. These themes include: (i) “Good works” and economic contribution (ii) a public stance against youth smoking; and (iii) “social responsibility activities”10. This allows BAT (NZ) to build up contacts and networks in the community and in local and central government from which it can “provide information sources, provide friendly or at least familiar contacts when contact is useful, and to blunt company image problems by the use of charming, personable and intelligent front people”.11


While the tobacco industry is publicly trying to maintain that it is a responsible corporate citizen, it is actually undertaking activities that are the opposite. Appearances can be deceptive.


Through The Looking Glass


The Roger Award judges in their 2000 Report commented that what singled BAT (NZ) out from other tobacco companies, such as Imperial Tobacco, was its virtual market dominance. Since late 2000, after its international merger with Rothmans, BAT has had a monopolistic position in the New Zealand tobacco market. Yet even prior to the Commerce Commission giving its blessing to the merger, the company flouted the legal process by operating virtually as one company.


It is this dominance that has allowed BAT to press ahead virtually unchallenged with its morally dubious strategies in New Zealand. Faced with a declining market for tobacco sales, it has concentrated on marketing itself to specific sections of the community, such as Maori, Pacific Islanders and youth. While claiming that it adheres to Government legislation and regulation, it has spent time and money actively undermining the same legislation.


The Victims


The effects of smoking are borne by the entire community either individually or collectively. Much money is spent on health services to combat and cure the diseases that smoking creates. BAT (NZ) claims that it is committed to “reducing harm” from its odious product.

“We believe that with smoking there are real risks of serious diseases such as lung cancer, respiratory disease and heart disease “.12


However, this is an understatement about the seriousness of the issue. A Ministry of Health Report noted the high health risk for New Zealanders who smoked. It estimated that tobacco smoking killed between 4,300 and 4,700 New Zealanders annually. In addition, smokers or those who die of a smoke related injury lose an average of 14 years of life compared with non-smokers. It has also been estimated that approximately 388 New Zealanders will die each year from exposure to second-hand smoke.13


As noted previously, according to Statistics New Zealand, the rate of women smoking has increased from 1971 to 1996. In 1971, the number of women who smoked was 31.7% as opposed to 39.6% for males. In 1996, the percentages had converged with 22.8% of women smoking compared with 24.8% of men. Hand in hand with the increase in smoking rates was an increase in female lung cancer, with lung cancer mortality rates increasing by 36%, from 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 1986 to 19.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 1995. The report notes that “…although males are still more likely to die from lung cancer than females, the gap between the sexes has narrowed over the last decade”.14


The death rate from smoking is significantly higher amongst Maori. ASH New Zealand estimates that a third of cancer deaths among Maori are from lung cancer which is 3.7 times the non Maori rate. Maori women are more at risk than Maori men with 50% of Maori women continuing to smoke and 80% continuing to smoke during pregnancy.15


In 2006, Associate Professor Tony Blakely from the University of Otago’s Wellington School of Medicine and Health Science, wrote in the medical journal The Lancet that there were approximately 2,000 deaths a year among approximately 100,000 Maori aged 45-74 in the 1990s. 400 Maori and 275 non-Maori could be saved if New Zealand went smoke free. Professor Blakely asserted that;

“Making New Zealand smoke-free will be win-win, preventing a significant number of deaths among all ethnic groups and substantially reducing ethnic inequalities in death rates. It’s a policy no-brainer”.16


The Deceiver


BAT (NZ) has mentioned in its Social Report that people often have difficulty stopping smoking.17 Later in this section in a subsection labelled, Harm Reduction it notes that

“We believe that the only way to avoid the risks of smoking is not to smoke and the best way to reduce the risks of smoking is to quit.


“We acknowledge that there are real risks of serious harm to health presented by smoking. That is why we consider it important to pursue strategies and products that help reduce that harm. Snus, a Swedish style smokeless tobacco, is a potentially reduced risk tobacco plant.


“Currently, New Zealand legislation forecloses on the opportunity to introduce smokeless tobacco products to the local market. We have, however, been engaging with government stakeholders to better understand the potential role of smokeless tobacco in New Zealand”.18


Basis on the previous evidence, there appears to be no desire by BAT (NZ) to reduce harm. Therefore, one can assume that this is simply a cynical proposal to capture another section of the market. There are a number of smokeless tobacco products presently on the market. The most common of these is chewing tobacco. However, despite the fact that it is “smokeless”, it is as deadly and addictive as its smoking counterpart.


The smokeless tobacco (Snus) that BAT (NZ) is referring to as a “potentially reduced risk” is a form of snuff. Presently, it is outlawed in the European Union due to a 1985 World Health Organisation report which classed it as being possibly carcinogenic to humans. The New Zealand Ministry of Health undertook a review of Snus in 2007 and concluded that while it was lower in nitrosamines, the cancer causing agents found in tobacco products, that “there are still many unanswered questions about its long term safety and the role it might play - if any - in reducing smoking”.19 The Ministry of Health concluded that it had no intention of lifting the ban against modified smokeless tobacco products.


A similar step of cynical propaganda by BAT (NZ) occurred with the branding of “mild” and “light” cigarettes. The cigarettes were claimed by the tobacco industry to be safer for smokers due to their lower yield of tar (12 milligrams of tar or less). However, the Commerce Commission found that this was deceptive as the smoking behaviour of people changed when they smoked “light” or “mild” cigarettes. Often people inhaled more deeply, used filters differently or smoked more cigarettes to get the same buzz as they would from a “standard” cigarette. The Commerce Commission concluded that the terms “light” or “mild” were deceptive and a possible breach of the Fair Trading Act. The Commerce Commission Director of Fair Trading, Andrew Sparrow, commented:

“The bottom line is that smoking causes many diseases, including cancer. There is no such thing as a safe, or safer cigarette. If you smoke ‘light’ or ‘mild’ cigarettes believing these to be less harmful to your health then you are probably fooling yourself”.20


But, probably the most deceptive of all, is BAT’s avoidance in relation to the addictive nature of its products. BAT has consistently dressed up cigarette smoking as a person’s “choice” or “right”. However, medical studies on tobacco products constantly reveal that there is no choice in smoking as people become increasingly addicted over time. In a new study it was noted that US smokers were more addicted to nicotine now than they were two decades ago.21 Dr George Thompson notes that the use of the term “choice” is commonly used by BAT (NZ) to provide credibility to its description of consumers as being rational and informed individuals while denying or downplaying the addictive properties of tobacco. BAT claims that while there is an “understanding of nicotine addiction”. Most smokers continue to smoke because they want to.22




The Front Men


Internationally, BAT has used middlemen or companies to lobby and act on its behalf. In New Zealand, it has done so through organisations such as the New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores (NZACS). NZACS hit the headlines in 2008 when it informed Parliament’s Health Select Committee, which was considering proposals to ban retail tobacco displays, that retailers received incentives from tobacco firms to promote their products in stores. NZACS Chairperson, Bryce Taylor, stated to the media that “if you agree to sell so many brands of their products, they give you certain rebates…the rebate is associated with the decision to purchase a particular brand”. 23


Unfortunately for NZACS, Section 28 of the Smoke-free Environments Act (1990) was very clear about banning any gift or cash rebate as an inducement or reward to any retailer for the purchase, sale, advertisement or placement of tobacco products. Disingenuously, David Killen, the NZACS Executive Director, attempted to claim that such displays did not encourage people to smoke and that any reimbursements that retailers received from the tobacco industry were the same as that received from the confectionery industry24.


There were three problems with the NZACS response. One was that it flew in the face of the legislation which was very explicit about cigarette displays. Killen’s claim that the Act did allow such displays did not go down well with the Ministry of Health. It immediately launched an investigation into the matter, specifically “the issue of tobacco companies providing incentives to retailers to sell and display tobacco”.25 Secondly, it flew in the face of research that showed that there was a clear link between displays of cigarettes and young people taking up smoking. Four researchers from ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) had confirmed international evidence that such displays did have an effect on youth taking up smoking. One of the researchers, Dr Janine Paynter, addressing the 2008 Public Health Association Conference, said that an ASH Survey of 27, 000 year ten students in 2007 had demonstrated a “clear link between the number of times children visited dairies, supermarket or service stations and the likelihood that they are susceptible to smoking or had experimented with smoking’. 26


The third problem was that David Killen had not disclosed that BAT (NZ) was a member of NZACS. Indeed, it was not just a member, but a “premium” member. Whilst claiming that the Association represented small retailers, it transpired that NZACS had no independent small retailers among its members and was a representative of the petrol station stores as well as being a front organisation for large companies, such as BAT (NZ).27


Killen’s claim also caused New Zealand’s largely lacklustre news media to start digging into the issue. A report on TVNZ’s One News demonstrated a direct link between rebates to retailers and the tobacco companies, especially BAT (NZ). A document obtained by reporters “discussed the rebates for volumes [of cigarettes] sold [by retailers] and the money [which would be provided to retailers] for compliance with rules, including BAT’s share of visible space”. 28 Incongruously, at the same time BAT was claiming that in the case of any Ministry of Health review between the “commercial arrangements between tobacco companies and retailers”, it would “make sure it [met] all its legislative and regulatory responsibilities”.29


The Environmentalist


BAT (NZ) has made much of its relationship with Keep New Zealand Beautiful. BAT justifies its involvement by commenting that:

“Environmental management is a key element of our business activities and we continue to focus on minimising our impact on the natural environment”. 30

In 2008 it was revealed that Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) had received $300,000 from BAT (NZ). BAT had previously provided money to KNZB toward the Butt Litter Toolkit which KNZB had developed in partnership with Smokin’ Station and was distributed to business owners and councils.31 A BAT (NZ) representative also sits on the KNZB Board as an industry rep.


Along with junk food wrappers, cigarette butts are a major form of litter. ASH, in its nomination of BAT (NZ) for the Roger Award, noted that approximately three billion cigarette butts are littered in New Zealand each year. As part of a clean up of the region’s beaches, Environment Waikato issued a media release which reinforced that point:

“Waikato beaches are being treated like giant ashtrays. A recent report to Environment Waikato’s environment committee showed school groups removed 2,414 cigarette butts while cleaning up 11 Coromandel and west coast beaches earlier this year”.32


The release noted that many of the butts would not have come from bathers but would have come through the storm water system which empties into rivers and the sea.

While it is easy to congratulate BAT (NZ) on its initiative in this area, it should be remembered that it is the main cause of the pollution. BAT (NZ) uses its connection with KNZB to great public effect, as it allows the company to maintain the charade that it is a good corporate citizen.


Yes, I’m The Great Pretender


BAT has undertaken a considerable media and public relations campaign to win popular appeal. Its annual Social Reports, media statements and charitable and community sponsorships provide the public with the impression that it wants to rectify the harm that its products do and, that as a company, it wishes to benefit the wider community. However, as has been shown above, this is mostly deceit and hype. While BAT (NZ)’s media statements talk about “partnership” with Government and other “stakeholders”, its actions have been to undermine policy and direction to benefit itself.


Nowhere is this deceit and hype at its most pronounced that in BAT’s Social Reports. At first glance these Reports give the impression of a dynamic and progressive company. However, its Social Reports should be read in the same manner that reports used to be read from Maoist China, which spoke of bumper harvests. The Social Reports are simply exercises in public deception, providing people with half truths or misleading comments. As Sue Newberry observes in her Financial Analysis on BAT (see below) there is an appalling use of “spin doctoring” to promote and provide support for more market expansion for its products as well as to gain public understanding and sympathy.


Of course, BAT (NZ) is not alone in this sordid business. It has companions like Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco, who are also involved internationally and domestically. However, BAT has proven to be more nefarious in its dealings in New Zealand then they have. This more than likely, has a lot to do with its dominant stake in the New Zealand market (75%). Equally, it is also a result of British American Tobacco’s larger international corporate strategy to grow and maximise market share for its product. It is the same strategy that has seen it deceive and subvert governments and communities worldwide. Unfortunately, New Zealand is just another part of that strategy.


For its deception, dishonesty and disregard for human life, British American Tobacco richly deserves to “win” the 2008 Roger Award.



Financial Analysis


British American Tobacco


Sue Newberry




British American Tobacco (New Zealand) Ltd (BAT NZ) is a subsidiary of the world’s second largest quoted tobacco corporation, British American Tobacco PLC (BAT PLC), of London. BAT PLC conducts its global operations through regions, and operates in the Asia Pacific region via BAT Australia (BAT Aust), which owns BAT NZ’s shares. In the Asia Pacific Region, BAT is the largest international tobacco company.


This financial analysis begins with the 2007 Group Annual Reports of BAT PLC to give an overview of the size of this tobacco giant, and its global strategies. It then links these strategies to the information available in New Zealand about BAT NZ. BAT NZ publishes on its Website a voluntary publication called a “Social Report”, but does not publish financial information there. BAT NZ is required to lodge Financial Reports with the Companies Office, and these Financial Reports are available to the public. A company that does not issue shares or other financial securities to the wider public is deemed to be not publicly accountable, and may choose to take advantage of reduced Financial Reporting requirements. BAT NZ does not issue shares or securities to the wider public and the financial information drawn from the Companies Office source takes advantage of the reduced financial reporting requirements. The Financial Reports are those for British American Tobacco Holdings (New Zealand) Limited and Subsidiaries.


BAT’s Global Operations (From BAT PLC)


In 2007, BAT PLC reported that worldwide more than five trillion cigarettes are sold annually (p.11). Corporate operators have only limited access in China, where the State plays a significant role, and this reduces the size of the global cigarette market for corporate operators to about 3.4 trillion cigarettes annually.


Depending on whether BAT PLC’s activities through associate companies in the United States are included in the global cigarette market for corporate players, BAT PLC has either 27.4% of that global market (including US operations) or 20.5% (excluding US operations). BAT PLC provides summary regional information about its volumes, but that summary information appears to exclude US associate company volumes (p. 32). These figures therefore understate BAT PLC’s global volumes.


BAT PLC Regional volumes of cigarette sales

Volume
(Billions)

2007
Europe 245.0
Asia-Pacific 145.2
Latin America 150.5
Africa and Middle East 101.0
America-Pacific 42.3
Totals 684.0

BAT PLC’s Annual Reports provide financial information about BAT’s global operations that may be compiled to estimate the extent of BAT’s global financial activities, whether conducted directly or through associate companies and joint ventures.


Revenue (direct)
Billions (£)

Revenue (BAT’s share of associates, joint ventures)
Billions (£)

Total Revenue Billions
(£)

2007 2007 2007
Europe 3.846 0.763 4.609
Asia-Pacific 1.896 0.547 2.443
Latin America 2.564 0.001 2.565
Africa and Middle East 1.239 0.009 1.248
America-Pacific 0.473 1.888 2.361
Totals 10.018 3.208 13.226
Gross Revenues (including excise and other taxes) 26.634 4.436 31.070

The £13.226 billion total revenue figure reported in the table excludes all the taxes included in the price of cigarettes. Companies are required to report their gross turnover (including such taxes), and for 2007, with those taxes included in that turnover.