WASHINGTON -- Mars Inc. has announced that it has joined more than 60 American companies that have signed up to publicly support the American Business Act on Climate. The act, led by the White House, is a commitment to climate action and aims to rally business, government, academic, technical and scientific communities to tackle climate change in the United States and on a global scale.
Coca-Cola, General Mills, Hershey, Kellogg, McDonald’s, Nestle, PepsiCo and Starbucks are among the other companies to support the initiative.
Mars' pledge includes commitments to achieve zero waste to landfill across all its sites by 2015 and eliminate 100% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from across its global operations by 2040.
"Tackling climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our global community. It is simply not an option to stand back and do nothing,” Barry Parkin, Mars' chief sustainability officer, said. “We are proud to join the many other businesses pledging their support to the American Business Act on Climate today. At Mars, we believe that our growth is not only linked to, but dependent on, the protection of the world that we all call home."
Mars' pledge in full:
Mars Inc. has established a set of ambitious, science-based goals designed to drive our global operations toward being Sustainable in a Generation (SIG). Under these SIG goals, and as part of our broader sustainability programs, Mars pledges to:
- Reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and eliminate 100% of GHG emissions from our operations by 2040. We are on track to reduce our 2015 GHG emissions by 25% (from a 2007 baseline);
- Pursue renewable energy projects around the world that are modeled after the 118-turbine, 200mw wind farm we brought online in 2015 and which now provides the equivalent of 12% of our global energy requirements, 100% of our U.S. power needs, and has eliminated 24% of our global GHG;
- Achieve zero waste to landfill across all of our facilities globally by the end of 2015;
- Build all of our new sites globally to the LEED Gold Standard;
- Continue to build on our current deforestation policy, which covers the key raw materials in our supply chain (including palm oil, beef, pulp, paper and soy), and source only from producers and suppliers who agree to our strict sourcing standards;
- Use our voice, our expertise and our position as a leading global company to identify and advance innovative carbon reduction measures within the agriculture and food sectors, and continue to encourage governments to set clear, achievable, measurable and enforceable science-based targets for carbon emissions reductions.
Mars 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. Based in McLean, Va., Mars has more than $33 billion in sales from six business segments: Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.