MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Mars, Incorporated today announced its commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its full value chain by 2050, aligning with the most ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 °C.
This stepped-up commitment follows findings in the July Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which reinforced the urgency of achieving net zero globally to prevent the worst impacts of global warming – a critical focus of next month’s COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow. Mars is joining the Science Based Targets Initiative’s “Business Ambition for 1.5C pledge” and the Race to Zero, as the company accelerates its work to achieve net zero emissions by focusing on:
Mars Chief Executive Officer Grant F. Reidsaid: “The scale of global intervention must be bolder and faster. Climate change is already impacting the planet and people’s lives.
“To mitigate this real and tangible threat, the science tells us net zero targets must be broad in their reach, capturing emissions across the entire value chain and plans need to have material, interim targets. We can’t wait decades to see progress.
“However, all too often, this simply isn’t the case – and the gaps that exist in some net zero commitments risks undermining their credibility, and even more importantly, the climate action movement. We can’t allow that to happen.
“To deliver meaningful impact and ensure it is fit for purpose, our net zero target covers our entire GHG footprint, from how we source materials through to how consumers use our products and, we’re mobilizing our entire business around taking action now and hitting interim targets every five years.
“This is going to be a significant challenge, and it we won’t be able to achieve net zero without the collaboration of our associates, suppliers, customers, consumers and industry partners. It’s so important that we work together to drive scale and reach.
“We need to overhaul the supply chains which power global business and put an end to deforestation and the conversion of natural ecosystems to drive meaningful change now.
We can’t use long-term ambitions as an excuse for inaction and delay.”
Mars has been driving climate action on emissions for more than a decade with an existing commitment – set in 2009 – to achieve net zero in direct operations by 2040.
Today’s announcement builds on the company’s existing Sustainable in a Generation Plan, advancing its previous pledge to cut emissions in its full value chain by 67% by 2050 and reaffirming an ambitious near-term target to cut GHGs in its full value chain by 27% by 2025.
Since 2015, Mars has cut emissions in its full value chain by 7.3% despite the business continuing to grow. In its direct operations, Mars has already reduced emissions 31% and is on-track to achieve is interim 2025 target (42% reduction).
The company’s largest brand, Royal Canin, is a global leader in supporting pet health through nutrition. Royal Canin will pursue carbon neutrality for its full portfolio in 2025, with its first product range aiming to be certified carbon neutral in 2022. This will be achieved through: projects financed by an internal price on carbon, a science-based methodology to calculate each product’s carbon footprint, adhering to the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality, a mutual approach with value chain partners to minimize GHG emissions and by supporting high-quality carbon credit initiatives for remaining emissions.
Reid added: “Our brands play a crucial role in driving progress and especially in connecting this issue with consumers. I’m pleased that we can make this commitment to a more sustainable future for people, pets and the planet.”
Delivering net zeroA full net zero roadmap will be developed and published in 2022 to align with the anticipated Science-Based Target Initiative rules on net zero commitments, expected by the end of 2021.
To achieve net zero, some of the numerous initiatives active across Mars include:
Barry Parkin, Mars Chief Sustainability and Procurement Officer, said mobilizing action in the extended supply chain would be critical to delivering emissions reductions in the coming years.
He said: “More than three quarters of our impacts are embedded in the materials that we purchase – so we must change what we buy or where we buy it or, perhaps more importantly, how we buy it.
“It is also clear that further transformation of agriculture is needed. We will push the boundaries of what is possible through regenerative agriculture, and this will require an acceleration of our work, along with deeper and more integrated partnerships with our suppliers, and stronger government frameworks that incentivize sustainable practices.”
Mars is also committed to ensuring that any residual emissions the business cannot get to zero are neutralized with real, durable, and socially beneficial carbon credits based on removing carbon from the atmosphere, aligned with the SBTi Net Zero Foundations paper. This will include identifying and investing in projects that are focused on the highest ecological, social and carbon impact, such as its recent investment in the €150m Livelihoods Carbon Fund 3, along with 13 other investors and companies.
Parkin added: “Our roadmap to net zero clearly prioritizes reducing our own emissions but there is a recognition within the science community that the agricultural sector will be particularly hard to completely decarbonize. Therefore, carbon removal credits will have to play a part in helping us to neutralize any remaining emissions. In doing this, we will apply a high level of rigor so that any credits we buy are removing carbon from the atmosphere and that is tracked with strong science and monitoring.”
Limiting global warming to 1.5C will also require transformational change across industry, government, and wider society. Mars will continue its advocacy for policies to help deliver against the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. For example, Mars will advocate for a simple, clear, and transparent price on carbon. This could make the business case even more compelling and drive a greater number of companies to take more decisive action to reduce emissions.
For further information on the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan and climate commitments, visit www.mars.com/sustainability-plan.
ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATEDFor more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us.
Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, BEN’S ORIGINAL™, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses, including AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, and VCA™.
We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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