Mars, Incorporated Publishes 2014 “Principles in Action Summary”

July 31, 2015 /3BL Media/ - Mars, Incorporated has published its fifth annual “Principles in Action Summary,” which reports on its progress on commitments to people and the planet.

The Summary updates several key areas of focus, including how the company is addressing the global challenges of health and wellbeing, climate change, and respecting the lives of all those who play a role in the food supply chain.

Sustainable In A Generation - The ‘Sustainable in a Generation’ (SiG) initiative, launched in 2007, commits Mars to eliminating fossil fuel use and GHG emissions from its operations by 2040.

Supply Chain & Sourcing - Mars is tackling the greatest environmental and social impacts in its supply chain.

Health & Wellbeing - Mars is working to find real solutions to health and wellbeing challenges – including delivering more healthy foods, advancing nutritional research, promoting oral health and supporting programs that encourage active lifestyles and healthy diets.

Food Safety - Mars is deeply committed to quality and food safety. Its new Global Food Safety Center, opening in 2015, will expand global knowledge in food safety management by capturing, generating and sharing knowledge in a pre-competitive environment.

2014 Highlights

• Mesquite Creek Wind Farm, a 118-turbine renewable energy operation in the US, now provides the equivalent of 12% of Mars’ global energy requirements or all its US power needs.
• Mars reduced its fossil fuel-based energy use by 9% and GHG emissions by 5% between 2007 and 2014.
• 86 of Mars sites achieved their zero waste to landfill goals in 2014.
• Mars now sources 100% of its coffee and black tea from certified sources.
• Mars established a consortium with IBM Research to use genetic data to better understand and improve food safety.

Continued Progress in 2015

• Mars partnered with the World Food Programme (WFP) to improve the provision of safe, locally-sourced food to those in need in Africa.
• Mars announced its support for the recommendation by the world's leading health authorities that people limit their intake of added sugars to no more than 10% of total calories.

Grant F. Reid, Office of the President, Mars Incorporated: “As a society weare faced with immense challenges, including climate change, water scarcity and deforestation. As a business, we recognize these challenges and our ability to be able to make a difference in tackling some of them, at the same time as we continue to grow as a successful business. In the summary we have published, we discuss our progress in addressing these challenges, what is working and where more work is needed.  We know we have work to do, but our successes along the way motivate us to improve. The aim is that through collaboration with critical partners, including governments, NGOs, scientists, academics and our communities, we can not only be a better business, but a better citizen of the world.”

Barry Parkin, Chief Sustainability and Health & Wellbeing Officer, Mars Incorporated: “At Mars we aim to operate in a way that ensures a win-win for Associates, our suppliers, our farmers and the communities where we live and work. To achieve this, we are integrating sustainability and health and wellbeing into our core business objectives, an approach that is supported at all levels of the business. We are improving sustainability by using our resources more responsibly, and looking at our products from development to marketing to ensure that we continue to provide great-tasting products that contribute to the health and wellbeing of our society.”

Download the 2014 Principles in Action Summary here

About Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned business with more than a century of history and some of the best-loved brands in the world including M&M’S®, PEDIGREE®, DOUBLEMINT® and UNCLE BEN’S®. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars has more than $33 billion in sales from six diverse business segments: Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. More than 75,000 Associates across 73 countries are united by the company’s Five Principles: Quality, Efficiency, Responsibility, Mutuality and Freedom and strive every day to create relationships with stakeholders that deliver growth we are proud of as a company. 

For more information about Mars, Incorporated, please visit www.mars.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.