BAT Rothmans strengthens ESG campaign
Chang Yoo-taek, front row center, head of external affairs at BAT Rothmans, poses with participants of the company's business ideas contest during its launching event at company headquarters in Seoul, July 14. Courtesy of BAT Rothmans
By Kim Jae-heun
BAT Rothmans introduced a new environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) campaign to seek out novel ideas for tackling environmental problems and attracting investments to related businesses, a company official said Wednesday.
The company's Green Idea Contest is being held under the theme of creative ideas in environmental fields such as carbon reduction and resource circulation.
“Environmental issues must be addressed with interest by both the business sector and society. Through the contest, we will support young people to bring innovative ideas into reality and further implement them as real environmental businesses,” a BAT Rothmans official said.
BAT Rothmans combined its global investment ideas contest Battle of Minds with another competition, University Eco League, and expanded the scope of applicants to include alumni who have graduated within the past five years instead of only undergraduate and graduate students.
The University Eco League contest will select 10 final teams after conducting evaluations on the originality, feasibility and sustainability of participants' ideas. BAT Rothmans will then provide mentoring as well as educational programs to build expertise until October. Students will also get an opportunity to verify the business feasibility of their ideas through simulated crowdfunding.
Five teams selected at the Local Final Forum to be held in October will win a total of 10 million won ($7,824) and the top three will get to compete in BAT's Battle of Minds competition. The final winner of the global contest will be given the opportunity to launch their business with 80 million won in prize money.
BAT Rothmans is a Korean subsidiary of BAT Group, a global tobacco company that operates businesses in about 175 countries around the world. It carries out various activities to create a sustainable future and practices its vision of A Better Tomorrow proposed by BAT Group in 2020.