For 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.
Mars, Inc.
Mars to Remove All Artificial Colors from Food Portfolio
6 years ago - On Friday, Mars, Incorporated announced that it will remove all artificial colors from its human food products. Over the next 5 years, artificial colors will be phased out of the company's chocolate, gum, confection, food and drink businesses. The company asserts that artificial colors pose no risks to human health or safety, but that the change comes in response to consumer demand for the increased use of natural ingredients.
Mars Partnering to Improve Ag Development, Nutrition, Food Safety in India
7 years ago - Malnutrition remains a significant global problem despite corporate and charitable efforts to fight it. Malnourishment results in the deaths of an estimated 2.6 million children each year – about a third of global child deaths. An estimated 221 million people in India are chronically or acutely malnourished – over 17 percent of the country’s population. Nearly half of children in India are underweight and/or are too small for their age.
COP21: 114 Companies Commit to Set Science-Based Emissions-Reduction Targets, Surpassing Goal
7 years ago - The Science-Based Targets initiative announced Tuesday that 114 companies have now committed to set emissions-reduction targets in line with what scientists say is necessary to keep global warming below the dangerous threshold of 2 degrees Celsius. The announcement was made at the LPAA Business focus event hosted by Caring for Climate at COP21 in Paris.
How Partnerships, Disrupting Business Models, Gamifying Energy Became Cornerstones of Innovation for Brands
7 years ago - The final morning plenary at SB ’15 London brought together a handful of popular household brands with some established and up-and-coming industry innovators, all of which pulled back the curtain on key success factors for bringing sustainability into their business strategy.
Mars Food Partners with the Sustainable Rice Platform
7 years ago - In much of the world, we take rice for granted. We’ve got canisters of it in our cupboards, and it’s readily available in our stores. Indeed, we can take it or leave it as part of our daily meals.But for billions of people around the globe, rice is the only thing standing between a full stomach and going to bed hungry. For millions of farmers, it’s the only difference between a decent wage and destitution – and the only thing keeping their children alive. But with the world’s population expanding towards ten billion in the next 40 years, we face a very real threat: there may not be enough rice to go around.
Mars Catapults to #6 on List of Biggest Green Power Users
7 years ago - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today revealed the 100 biggest green power users in the U.S., and Mars, Incorporated entered the list at number six. The EPA’s National Top 100 ranks companies based on their use of green power – zero-emissions electricity generated from renewable sources like wind and solar. Mars is now an EPA Green Power Partner and a member of the agency’s Green Power Leadership Club – recognizing the company’s commitment to using cleaner energy. Green Power Partners are part of a voluntary movement that includes more than 1,300 partner organizations using billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually.
Mars, FAO Partner to Make Food 'Safe and Sustainable' Worldwide
7 years ago - Mars has signed a new partnership agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to help make food safer across the globe, with a specific focus on the developing regions of the global South.The partners will do this by promoting international standards for food safety and quality, improving food safety management to reduce illness caused by unsafe food and improving global access to information. The plan is to share our expertise and data, helping the FAO to identify food safety issues early, as well as to develop tools that will help support food safety programs in developing countries.
General Mills, IKEA Among Latest Global Players to Join White House Climate Action Pledge
7 years ago - General Mills, IKEA and Best Buy are among the 81 companies to recently join the White House-led American Business Act on Climate Pledge, which sets significant greenhouse gas reduction and renewable energy sourcing goals for 2020 and beyond.The pledges focus on increasing energy efficiency, boosting low-carbon investing and making sustainability more accessible to low-income Americans.
Have an Idea for the Future of Food? Unilever, Cargill, General Mills, and More Want to Hear It
7 years ago - Startups that are innovating around nutritious, sustainable food are invited to pitch for a £3000 cash prize and a three-month mentoring program with the Unilever Foundry. The competition is open to innovators tackling food system challenges such as heart health, obesity, under-nutrition, food waste, and sustainability of the food chain.
Food Companies to Congress: Step Up with Bold, Enforceable Climate Agreement at COP21
7 years ago - The CEOs of 10 global food companies pledged to accelerate business action on climate change and urged U.S. and world leaders to form a robust international agreement at COP21 in December in a joint letter coordinated by Ceres and released yesterday.
Climate Week: Climate Neutral Now, RE100 Initiatives Recruit Fortune 500 Companies
7 years ago - Two initiatives for reducing businesses’ impacts on the environment have attracted globally recognized brands this week at Climate Week NYC.On Tuesday, the United Nations (UN) announced a new initiative to help businesses and individuals reduce their carbon footprints, Climate Neutral Now. An online platform will facilitate the measurement, reduction, and offset of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Mars, Avery Dennison to Confer with US Forest Owners on Challenges of Sustainable Management
7 years ago - For the first time ever, family forest owners and well-known marketplace brands will connect and discuss their respective needs and challenges related to sustainable forest management. Mars Inc., McDonald’s, Avery Dennison, and Evergreen Packaging are among the participants.
WWF: Food Security Delivers Long-Term Business Security
7 years ago - WWF-UK and the Food Ethics Council recently interviewed senior food business executives to investigate their understanding of sustainable food security and barriers to achieving it. They said the government needs to take bold action to create a food system that serves citizens, the economy and the planet.
Mars, Researchers Reveal Benefits of Cocoa Flavanols, But Not Good News for Chocolate Lovers
7 years ago - The University of Dusseldorf, the University of Reading and Mars, Incorporated have unveiled two new studies revealing that cocoa flavanols can help to keep our hearts healthy. Cocoa flavanols are nutrients found naturally in the cocoa bean.The research, published in the journals Age and the British Journal of Nutrition (BJN), shows that consuming cocoa flavanols can decrease arterial stiffness and increase blood vessel function in healthy people, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease — the number-one cause of deaths worldwide.
Jamie Oliver Proposes Tax on Sugary Drinks in UK; Industry Is Not Amused
7 years ago - UK chef and “Food Revolution”-ary Jamie Oliver teamed up with food lobbying organization Sustain to encourage the UK government to consider a tax on sugary drinks and use the proceeds to help curb childhood obesity.Oliver launched a petition last week that has gained over 129,000 signatures so far. The UK Parliament considers all petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures for a debate.“Studies show that soft drinks with added sugar are the largest single source of sugar in the diets of UK school children & teenagers,” reads the petition page.
Who knew wind could be so sweet? Mars candy and Duke Energy did
7 years ago - Duke Energy Renewables has acquired a 50 percent stake in Mesquite Creek Wind near Lamesa, Texas, through its joint venture partnership with Sumitomo Corp. of Americas -- increasing Duke Energy Renewables' Texas wind capacity to more than 1,200 MW.Global food manufacturer Mars Inc., best known for its candy products, is purchasing the power and associated renewable energy credits from the 211 MW wind farm, which is already operational, over a 20-year period.
365 Companies, Investors Send Letters Announcing Support for EPA's Clean Power Plan
7 years ago - In an unprecedented show of business support for tackling climate change, 365 companies and investor groups sent letters today to more than two dozen governors across the United States voicing their support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan for existing power plants and encouraging the state’s “timely finalization” of state implementation plans to meet the new standards.The letter, organized by sustainability advocacy group Ceres, comes just days before the expected finalization of the rule aimed at reducing U.S. power plant carbon pollution by 30 percent by 2030.
Mars Releases 2014 Sustainability Report
7 years ago - 29 July 2015 – Mars Inc. has released its 2014 sustainability report, Principles in Action. The report highlights the global confectionary giant’s 54% year-on-year increase in renewable energy usage.The new Mesquite Creek Wind farm in Texas, part of a 118-turbine project, has driven this power surge, providing the equivalent of 12% of Mars’ global energy.Across the company, total energy consumption fell by 2% in 2014. Mars credits this improvement to regional actions and investments in new technology.For example, a Mars Chocolate factory in France met 90% of its heating needs by using steam generated by a neighboring waste energy facility.
Would You Want to Read Your Company’s Sustainability Report?
7 years ago - "It's all in our Sustainability Report."That's a phrase guaranteed to strike fear in the hearts of even the hardiest sustainability wonks.
Consumer Goods Industry Commits to Halving Its Food Waste Globally by 2025
7 years ago - Last week, The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) — whose membership includes hundreds of consumer brands from a range of industries around the world, including food giants Campbell Soup, Clif Bar, Hershey, Mars and Procter & Gamble — announced a new resolution to mitigate the roughly 40 percent of food wasted globally by agreeing to halve food waste within the operations of its 400 retailer and manufacturer members by 2025, and to support wider U