Doing good things and operating successfully

By: Trademagazin editor Date: 2024. 12. 17. 11:39

Mars Incorporated has made great progress in reducing carbon emissions, while also achieving business growth.

The company’s 2023 Sustainability in a Generation report reveals: since 2015 it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions across its entire value chain by 16%, (5.7 million tonnes), and in that time its annual revenue has increased by more than 60% to over USD 50 billion. What is more, Mars realised a record 8% emissions reduction last year, matching its 2015 baseline for the largest single-year carbon footprint reduction. Mars CEO Poul Weihrauch: “We still have a long way to go, but we will continue to listen to science and show how a responsible business can be successful and do good things too”.

Since 2015, Mars Incorporated has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 16% that is 5.7 million tonnes

Sustainability in a Generation

Mars launched its Sustainability in a Generation plan in 2017, which sets science-based targets aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The company focuses on four interconnected areas for purposeful growth. To accelerate the steps taken for a healthy planet, Mars Incorporated launched its “accelerated, affordable and achievable” Net Zero Emissions Roadmap in 2023, which seeks to halve greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain by 2030 – the ultimate goal is net zero emissions by 2050. Mars is adding 300 electric and digitally optimised trucks its fleet across Europe by 2030.

Mars Incorporated launches new climate-smart agricultural initiatives to further decarbonise the planet

Developing circular solutions

Other climate protection measures include investing USD 1 billion over the coming period in the development of circular solutions to enable zero-waste packaging. Mars is focusing on eliminating all unnecessary packaging materials, using packaging that doesn’t pollute the recycling loop, cutting down on virgin plastics use, and designing packaging that can be recycled or composted. With the carbon footprint from agricultural ingredients accounting for nearly 60% of the company’s total emissions, Mars is initiating new climate-smart agriculture initiatives to further decarbonise. Barry Parkin, chief procurement and sustainability officer of Mars: “It is crucial that we strengthen our joint programmes with farmers, to help them make the transition to climate-smart and regenerative agriculture”.

Mars has partnered with a farmer-focused program that supports 1,900 farmers in four states in the US and Poland to apply climate-smart agricultural practices to more than 1.2 million hectares of farmland, for pet food brands such as PEDIGREE® and IAMS®. As part of the Next Generation Soil programme, Mars is working with CIMMYT in Mexico and Producing Right in Brazil. The programme has already provided 100 maize growers with the tools and knowledge. The company recently announced its sustainable dairy programme, Moo’ving Dairy Forward. The Mars Sustainability in a Generation report can be read in English on the official Mars website: https://mars.com. (x)