Mars, Incorporated Receives First Ever 'Shared Value' Award At Third Annual Global Action Summit
Stephen Badger of the Mars board presented with the inaugural award in recognition of Mars’ work around Mutuality
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, November 19, 2014 /3BL Media/ - The Global Action Platform announced today that Mars, Incorporated has been awarded with the first-of-its-kind “Global Shared Value Award” at the third annual Global Action Summit in Nashville. Mars, Incorporated Board Member, Stephen Badger, received the award on behalf of the company, presented by Dr. Fareed Zakaria CNN host and moderator of the Summit.
Mars received special recognition at the ceremony for its objective of creating “Mutuality” for all stakeholders, as one of its Five Principles of the business. This translates into shared value amongst its consumers, customers, supply chain, partners and more than 75,000 Associates around the world
Dr. Scott T. Massey, Chairman and CEO of the Global Action Platform, which organized the Summit and Award, said:“The business sector can play a critical role in addressing the key global challenges of today and Mars exemplifies, demonstrates, and can inspire shared value strategies that address such challenges by applying this principle of Mutuality. This new ‘Shared Value Award’ is unique in that its aim is to serve as a catalyst to advance sustainable, scalable solutions to global grand challenges.”
Stephen Badger, Mars Board Member, said: “I’m grateful and humbled to accept this award on behalf of all at Mars. Generating mutuality in all we do is a rallying cry: for the family and for our associates. Today we have a 25 year vision that states, among other things, ‘Our belief is that a principled business can make the world a better place. Our ambition is to achieve mutuality among our Associates, all stakeholders whom we touch, as well as for the planet. Our behavior demonstrates principled leadership and builds stakeholder trust.’”
Some of the Mars initiatives that were highlighted at the ceremony include:
- Mars’ work to revitalize the cocoa sector in West Africa through CocoaAction;
- The sequencing and publication of the cocoa genome;
- Creating a sustainable rice supply chain in Pakistan;
- The Wrigley Company Foundation’s projects to bring oral care to underserved communities;
- As well as the almost 70,000 hours donated by Mars Associates to volunteering projects around the world through the Mars Ambassador and Mars Volunteer Programs.
The Global Action Summit and Global Shared Value Award ceremony convened 400 world leaders representing the cross-sectors of corporate, university research, finance, media, NGO’s, policy-makers, thought leaders, entrepreneurs and summit fellows from major research universities in order to advance food, health, and economic innovations.
Howard Yana-Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer at Mars, Incorporated hosted a panel session at the Global Action Summit entitled ‘The Freedom Principle: Stories from Mars’. Panel members included Harold Schmitz, Chief Science Officer at Mars, Incorporated and guests Justin Bakule, Executive Director, Shared Value Initiative and Carl Keen, Professor of Internal Medicine and UC Davis.
Justin Bakule, Executive Director, Shared Value Initiative, said: “Mars’ work in Cote d’Ivoire illustrates the power of their mutuality principle in action - a commitment to scale, long-term vision, learning and ultimately a set of public, private, civil society, and community to trigger real on the ground progress with cocoa growers in Western Cote d’Ivoire. In short, their commitment to creating meaningful value for society and their business should serve as an inspiration to other companies starting their own shared value journeys.”
About the Global Action Summit
The Global Action Summit – Nashville is one of the most dynamic, agile, innovative and fastest growing forums for today’s global leaders. Each November, in Nashville, Tennessee, the Summit convenes top senior level decision makers, leaders and student fellows from around the world with a distinctive focus on innovation to create abundance of food, health and prosperity.
As the keystone of the Cumberland Center’s convening activities, the Summit is a neutral forum without bias. The Summit builds on the idea that business is the economic engine of global prosperity and innovation. The Cumberland Center combines this economic engine with the research culture of universities to create a trusted, inclusive framework for action through the Global Action Platform.
About Mars, Incorporated
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars’ first roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the objective of creating a “mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders” – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 75,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance
Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, CESAR®, SHEBA®, DREAMIES® and NUTRO®; Chocolate – M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® AND LIFESAVERS® mints. Food – UNCLE BEN’S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA COMPANY™, KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA® and WISDOM PANEL®.
For more information, please visit www.mars.com. Follow us: facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars, linkedin.com/company/mars
About the Award Sculpture
The Shared Value Award is an original work of art commissioned by the Global Action Platform and created by Tennessee sculptor William Kooienga. The work represents the world as a globe carved with flowing organic forms symbolizing the interlocking forces of shared value and subtly integrating the logo of the Global Action Platform among the forms.
The sculpture is in wood, with the globe carved from the trunk of a 200 year old wild cherry and the base is hewn from black walnut, both reclaimed from south central Tennessee.
Each year, the Shared Value sculpture consisting of a globe cared with organic forms on a wood base will be recreated in a different type of reclaimed wood to assure both continuity of design and unique material to make each award a singular work of art.
