Mars, a provider of snacks, food, and pet care products, has announced a set of new climate-related objectives today. These include a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 50% across its entire value chain by 2030 and a commitment to invest more than $1 billion in the next three years to support climate action.
These new commitments were revealed as part of Mars’ recently unveiled Net Zero Roadmap, which outlines the company’s strategy to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions throughout its entire value chain. This ambitious target was initially set by the company in 2021. The roadmap highlights various initiatives and areas of focus that Mars will pursue to attain its net zero objectives. These initiatives encompass transitioning to renewable energy sources, addressing energy usage in farming and by customers, reconfiguring supply chains to combat deforestation through improved transparency and traceability of vital ingredients like cocoa, soy, and beef, collaborating with farmers on regenerative and intelligent agricultural practices, and enhancing logistics efficiency.
Furthermore, Mars intends to integrate climate action into its corporate governance and business planning. This will involve incorporating climate goals into the variable remuneration plans of senior executives, as well as integrating climate action into investment planning and merger and acquisition strategies, and making it a key shareholder objective. Mars has reported that its emissions reached their highest point in 2018 and has already managed to reduce absolute emissions by 8%, equivalent to 2.6 million metric tons, when compared to 2015 levels, despite a 60% growth in its business during that period. Achieving a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 would result in the elimination of approximately 15 million tons of emissions.