Concordia

In 2017, PMI led a roundtable discussion called “Disruptive Innovation for Better Business”, where “representatives from both the private and political sectors discussed how regulation can serve as a catalyst to accelerate change”.¹³ It also covered topics related to product innovation.

In July 2018, Concordia organised its first Americas Summit, held in Bogotá, Colombia. Concordia reported that “over 1,000 leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors” attended.¹⁴

PMI led a roundtable at the summit which “centered around encouraging innovation in Latin America to further harm reduction.”¹³ According to Concordia, this:

“…focused on utilizing private sector-driven innovation in unlocking new solutions for governments to provide for the wellbeing of their people…The discussion laid clear that there were a number of regulatory levers that the Colombian Government can put in place to convert existing smokers towards the adoption of harm reduction products, while still working to reduce the nation’s overall number of smokers.” ¹³

In June 2018, PMI supported and led a roundtable discussion called “Inclusivity: The Driver of Innovation” in a lead up to its sponsorship of a session on this topic at the annual summit in September.¹³

According to Concordia, the annual summit in September 2018 “provided a powerful forum to catalyze action through shared value approaches and social impact objectives.”¹⁵

PMI sponsored a “Strategic Dialogue session” at this summit on “addressing inclusivity in multilateral decision making”.¹³ Concordia linked this to its work on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular SDG 17, relating to partnerships.¹³ According to Concordia:

“The two organizations will strive to improve cross-sector dialogue on innovation and regulation regarding reduced harm products, while working towards the common goal of improving the overall health of all people and the planet. Additionally, this relationship seeks to strengthen partnerships with, and within, the multilateral space in order to achieve the SDGs.” ¹³

PMI sponsored the 2019 Americas summit, again held in Bogota, this time with over 1,800 reported participants including “current and former heads of state, international C-suite executives, senior administration officials, and nonprofit leaders.”¹⁶¹⁷

Though barred from participating directly in the UNGA, PMI hosted a parallel event at Concordia in September 2019. In attendance, were officials from the UN’s World Food Program, the UN Foundation and the World Bank, as well as PMI’s Vice President of Global Partnerships and Cooperation, who spoke at the event.¹⁸¹⁹

In 2019, Concordia held events in London, under its  Africa Initiative (launched in 2018), where it “identified innovative opportunities for cross-sector collaboration on the African continent.”¹⁶²⁰²¹ PMI was not listed as a speaker or sponsor at this event.²² However, on 16 November 2019, PMI hosted a roundtable event under the Africa Initiative umbrella focussing on “illicit financial flows”.⁶

PMI’s then chief executive officer André Calantzopoulos spoke at the annual summit in November 2020 highlighting what he described as a “weaponization, politization and distortion of science”. He stated “I experience firsthand how detrimental polarization is to making real progress- in this case, progress in eradicating smoking” and that “innovative products that do not involve combustion offer a better alternative”.²³²⁴

The WHO Director-General pulled out of Concordia at the last minute after discovering the tobacco link.²⁵

In May 2021, Concordia published a blog on its website, described as an “interview with Jacek Olczak, CEO of Philip Morris International, and Matthew Swift”, although it contains no questions.²⁶It quotes Olczak’s statements on PMI’s “smoke-free future”, refers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization of PMI’s heated tobacco product IQOS in the US, and refers to PMI’s targets for these products.²⁶

It also quotes Olczak on a need to “combat misinformation”, and how “this mistrust translates to restrictive regulation that prevents many more smokers from learning about and accessing better alternatives to cigarettes.”²⁶

The content appears to be consistent with PMI’s media strategy, giving the company an opportunity to promote its commercial agenda unchallenged.²⁶

• For examples of PMI’s media statements see PMI Promotion of IQOS Using FDA MRTP Order.

Philip Morris International (PMI) had two speakers on the same program with the UN Secretary General, UNICEF and other government dignitaries.²⁷

CEO Jacek Olczak used the summit to reiterate that the company should be given “a seat at the table”, despite Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), because of its commitment to a ”smoke-free” future.²⁸ The same day, PMI press released an update on its acquisition of three pharmaceutical companies.²⁹

Deepak Mishra, PMI’s President, America’s region, spoke at a session titled “The Future of Foreign Direct Investment”.³⁰

Gregorie Verdeaux, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at PMI, was listed a speaker for two sessions at the Americas Summit held in July 2022. One session was titled “Regional Dialogue on Free Trade Zones, Trade Based Money Laundering and Port Security”. The agenda stated that the objective of the session was to “…address the detrimental effects of illicit trade on ports, economic security, and global supply chains...and the vital importance of creating public-private partnerships in order to combat the problem and boost security and enforcement”.³¹

The other session was titled “Industry Transformation: A Necessity for Public-Private Collaboration in Latin America” which aimed to “explore the necessary innovation and transformation required by a multitude of sectors in order to accelerate collective progress towards an improved consumption model”. ³²

In September 2022, Jacek Olczak, CEO of PMI, was listed as giving a talk titled “Driving Change in the Age of Disruption.” The conference website stated that “Mr. Olzcak will address why it is crucial for companies, regulators, and society at large work together and embrace disruptive innovation.”³³

Donnica Hawes-Saunders, Global Strategic Partnerships and Civil Engagement at PMI, was listed as one of the judges for the “P3 Impact Award”.³⁴ The website states that this was created by Concordia, the University of Virginia Darden School Institute for Business in Society, and the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships “to recognize and honor leading public-private partnerships (P3s) that improve communities and the world.”³⁵

Jill Biden, wife of the US President,  was listed as Keynote speaker on the opening day of the summit.³⁶

Concerns regarding tobacco industry involvement in Concordia had been raised repeatedly,³⁷³⁸ and specifically in the run up to the 2023 Annual Summit,³⁹ with some people and organisations withdrawing.⁴⁰⁴¹ On 16 September, before the start of the summit, Concordia CEO Matthew Swift announced that Concordia would no longer be working with the tobacco industry.¹⁰ PMI CEO Jacek Olczak, who had been listed as a speaker at the event, was removed from the agenda after the announcement.⁴² Concordia also removed PMI from its list of Patron members on its website.¹¹¹²