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It takes time, energy and resources to maintain the properties and facilities that support our businesses. Doing so sustainably adds an entirely new layer of thinking.

At Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company’s (SFNTC) Oxford, N.C. campus, considering environmental impact and resource usage is deeply embedded in the culture with new ideas and approaches being implemented on an ongoing basis. From becoming a 100 percent LED-lighted campus in late 2018 (resulting in an approximate 300,000 kWh decrease in energy use for the year) to adjusting shifts and schedules to reduce natural gas use, finding ways to make a positive difference is a way of life.

SFNTC’s water capture and irrigation project has been several years in the making. Even with a moderate watering schedule, maintaining the grounds around the campus can take around 1 million gallons of water a year. While captured rainwater has been used to water parts of the property since 2017, SFNTC had set a goal to have captured water account for 100 percent of the water used for irrigation of the property.

Over the last few years, a system of pipes, water reservoirs, pumps and solar panels has been put in place to efficiently and effectively capture, store and use rainwater coming off the facility roofs and paved surfaces to irrigate the grounds. As of 2019, all the pieces are in place to keep the grounds properly irrigated using only captured rainwater.

Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company moves to captured rainwater for irrigation

Hundreds of North Carolinians who live in and around Granville County are leading better lives thanks to the care, compassion and community commitment of the men and women at Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company’s (SFNTC) facility in Oxford, N.C.

“Neighbors helping neighbors is what it’s all about,” said Ann Squires, an HR business partner at Oxford.

“Here in Oxford, we don’t just talk the talk; we also walk the walk.”

The folks in Oxford are helping and connecting with many of their neighbors, whether it’s:

Providing, preparing and packaging meals for shut-ins through the Penn Avenue Church Soup Kitchen;
Offering financial support and helping hands to implement on-site projects at the local Boys & Girls Club;
Giving the Granville County Beekeepers Association access to the SFNTC Apiary to provide education and hands-on training to local beekeepers; or
Donating money to fund scholarships for deserving students at Vance Granville Community College.
SFNTC also supports a program that helps the hungry and reinforces the company’s long-standing commitment to protecting the planet by promoting and supporting sustainable agriculture. Since 2013, SFNTC has donated $2,000-worth of fresh organic vegetables each week to Area Congregations in Ministry (ACIM), a non-denominational organization that runs The Food Bank in Granville County.

ACIM works with Eastern Carolina Organics (ECO), a local cooperative that distributes fresh food produced by local farmers using Earth-friendly farming practices.

Care, compassion and community commitment drive SFNTC’s Oxford employees

Richard Joshua Reynolds lived less than a year at Reynolda House and Gardens, the country estate that he and his wife Katherine built in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 1917. But if R.J. could visit Reynolda today, he would no doubt be both proud and amazed by the legacy his family left for the public, which the company he founded in 1875 continues to support today.

In 2017, Reynolda House Museum of American Art marked its centennial as an estate and its 50th anniversary as a public museum that today features the Southeast’s finest collection of American art – a premier collection of masterpieces that span three centuries.

Continuing the strong spirit of community support that R.J. himself established during his lifetime, Reynolds American has long been a strong corporate member of Reynolda House, including contributions in 2017 to help revitalize Reynolda Gardens and to support the Centennial Ball, which helped fund Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern, a major exhibition celebrating the American modernist’s life, sensibilities and art. Other well-known artists’ work that the museum has exhibited in recent years includes Frederic Church and J.C. Leyendecker.

“RAI and Reynolda share the same roots. Doing good work in the community was always at the forefront of the Reynolds’ minds—from teaching the latest agricultural techniques to local farmers to building a school to educate the community’s youth. Our community strength stems from Richard Joshua and Katharine Reynolds. A century later, RAI’s community support continues this support and they are a wonderful corporate partner.”

__– Allison Perkins, executive director, Reynolda House Museum of American Art__

Reynolda House

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s Right Decisions Right Now: Be Tobacco Free (RDRN) program has long partnered with the Boy Scouts of America and continues to gain momentum in increasing awareness among teens of the dangers of tobacco use.

In 2012, the Boy Scouts created a new patch, earned by scouts who complete the organization’s Trail of Courage program and take the Right Decisions Right Now: Be Tobacco Free pledge. Scouts pledge to not use tobacco products, illegal drugs or alcohol. In addition, they promise to “do my best to educate my friends and my family about the dangers of using these products. I commit to living every day by the Scout oath and Scout law. I will make the right decision, right now and choose to refuse when offered dangerous substances.”

RDRN’s partnership with the Boy Scouts of America continued in 2019 with outstanding results. In 2019, 24,029 Scouts heard RDRN’s anti-tobacco youth message at Philmont Ranch.

The Trail of Courage program has also expanded to troops in the Nashville, Tenn., area, the Raleigh, N.C., area and Winston-Salem, N.C.

News and Features

Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company moves to captured rainwater for irrigation

Care, compassion and community commitment drive SFNTC’s Oxford employees

Reynolda House

RDRN and Boy Scouts of America

Latest tweets

News and Features

Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company moves to captured rainwater for irrigation

Care, compassion and community commitment drive SFNTC’s Oxford employees

Reynolda House

RDRN and Boy Scouts of America

Latest tweets

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