Philip Morris managed to reduce six kilo tons per year at its plant in Zapopan, Guadalajara,, but to achieve the equivalent of zero it has had to establish strategies that go beyond the property.

Sustainability has ceased to be a well-regarded strategy to become a commitment on the part of large companies, whatever their branch, for this reason

Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco company producing brands like Marlboro, has been no exception.

Seeking to be a "greener" company, it launched a 30-year strategy called "Smokeless Future", with which it discourages the use of traditional cigarettes to resort to alternatives that do not emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

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But for the strategy to be meaningful, the company has had to focus not only on the product, but also on the site where it is manufactured.

This December they announced that their plant in Zapopan, Jalisco, became the first to be carbon neutral in the entire continent and the fifth for the brand (certified by the Société Générale de Surveillance, SGS).

To achieve this, an investment of 12 million dollars was made in the modernization of the facilities, the implementation of tools to save water and energy, as well as the installation of a biomass boiler, which allows reducing the pollutants produced by using remains of wood for fuel.

The device, for which trees produced in sustainable forests are used, which are cared for for their recovery. The actions made it possible to reduce carbon emissions from 12 kilo tons per year to 3 kilotonnes. To get to zero, the company has had to take actions outside the industrial warehouse.

Irving Cruz, engineering supervisor at Philip Morris, explains that he has also implemented the recovery of cigarette butts together with the company Ecofilter, with which he has recovered 3.2 million remains to be treated and turned into pots, pencils and notebooks.

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In addition, it has had to carry out reforestation in different areas of the country, mainly in the surrounding areas, such as Bosque de Centinela.

The logistics chain also plays a fundamental role for the company to obtain certification in the property, which is why the transition of the fleet of gasoline combustion vehicles to hybrids began, by 40% since 2019.

The actions are aimed at a broader goal. By 2040, the company seeks that all its industrial buildings are carbon neutral and that the one in Mexico becomes the first to have a negative result in the emission of gases. In other words, it absorbs more than it produces.

In Solili you can consult industrial warehouses available in Ciudad de México, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez

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