Employees of British American Tobacco (BAT) Rothmans' Korean office plant flowers along a Seoul street as part of the company's social campaign to revamp streets littered with cigarette butts through gardening in May. Courtesy of BAT Korea

The Korean office of British American Tobacco (BAT) Rothmans is bolstering community outreach activities by gardening along streets littered with cigarette butts and supporting local artists.

The activities are under the company's two key social campaigns, which involve flower planting and supporting art businesses catered to young adults. These efforts are part of the company's high-profile, nonprofit programs that are driven by its slogan "A Better Tomorrow."

Since 2023, the company has revamped urban areas that tend to attract smokers who leave cigarette butts on the streets. The Korean National Council for Conservation of Nature, a nongovernmental environmental organization, has been working with BAT Rothmans on the program.

Employees of BAT Rothmans and the environmental group have so far spruced up 40 streets across Seoul by planting flowers, while also cleaning up areas reeking of smoke.

The company has also encouraged "plogging," an activity that entails picking up trash while jogging, in the Euljiro area of central Seoul since 2022, when the company moved its office to the area.

Since 2018, the company has supported the arts, with its first program launched in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. The city is where the company's manufacturing plant is located. With the project, the company has been discovering aspiring young artists in the city, providing financial support for their careers.

This year, the company supported selected artists when they put up a photo exhibition and an opera performance.

"Environmental, social and governance (ESG) values have been our key directions to realize our slogan," a BAT Korea official said. "Our local communities will keep witnessing our new, more diverse ESG programs further on."