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.
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
Unilever Convenes Leading Companies to Share Lessons from Achieving Zero Waste
7 years ago - Noted sustainability leader Unilever is spearheading a movement for industrial waste reduction.Last week the CPG giant hosted an event in partnership with 2Degrees, bringing together over 100 representatives from academia, NGOs and companies, including Mars, GSK, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Sainsbury’s. Entitled “The zero waste mindset — new ways of thinking to deliver transformational change,” the event created an open discussion on moving companies to zero waste.
Coca-Cola Enterprises Responds to Obesity Concerns, Sets Most Ambitious Sustainability Targets to Date
7 years ago - Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) published its tenth annual Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability report this week, in which it set its most ambitious environmental and social targets to date.The new commitments include:
Mars, Incorporated to Expand World's Largest Coral Reef Rehabilitation Program
7 years ago - To coincide with World Ocean Day on June 8th 2015, Mars, Incorporated will be embarking on the next phase of a coral reef restoration project on one of the largest single coral reef rehabilitation projects anywhere in the world. Since 2007, Mars Symbioscience has been working to restore the coral reef infrastructure on the island of Pulau Badi in Indonesia, at the heart of the Coral Triangle. This week, over 1200 square meters of new coral reef will be installed to expand the already blossoming rejuvenated reef - which stretches almost 1km along the island reef crest. Following this work, the total area of new coral installed will be more than 8000 square meters - effectively rehabilitating over 2 hectares of coral habitat.
Mars, J&J, P&G and a Dozen Other Consumer Brands Join Investors in Pressing RSPO for Stricter Standards
7 years ago - Today, institutional investors representing more than $4 trillion in assets are joining Mars, PepsiCo, Kellogg Company and a dozen other giants from the food/beverage and personal care industries to call on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to strengthen its standards for certifying the sustainable production of palm oil. Palm oil is found in an estimated 50 percent of all packaged goods, from cosmetics to candy.
Challenges Can Help Foster Innovation in Sustainability, Environmental Protection
7 years ago - There have been many high-profile commitments by corporations to end deforestation in their supply chains and to transition to sources that preserve these valuable forest resources. And while most will agree that deforestation remains one of the greatest contributors to global climate change, not all are in agreement on how exactly businesses will make this transition in a way that continues to meet the demands of their customers.
Mars Agrees with WHO, Promises to List Added Sugars in Nutritional Facts
7 years ago - On Friday, Mars announced it would support two important recommendations designed to help consumers limit their intake of added sugars and achieve healthier, more balanced diets.The candy giant is endorsing recommendations that people should limit their intake of added sugars to no more than 10 percent of their total calorie intake. The recommendations come from leading global health authorities including the World Health Organization, the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.
UC Davis, Mars, Inc. create sustainability partnership
7 years ago - In September 2014, UC Davis and Mars, Incorporated, agreed to a partnership that created the Innovation Institute for Food and Health, managed through the UC Davis World Food Center. In January this collaboration was officially launched.Bruce German, a food science and technology professor as well as the facilitator of the development of the Innovation Institute for Food and Health, said that the goal of the partnership is to bring science into practice in order to create advances in sustainable agriculture, food safety and health.“At the core of this institute is the realization that it is not enough for UC Davis to lead the world in agriculture and food science: we must lead the world in bringing that science to practice,” German said.
Trending: NGOs, Brands, Suppliers Making Deforestation-Free Plantations, Packaging a Reality
7 years ago - Barely a week in and April could very well shape up to be ‘Zero-Deforestation Month’ if the multi-sector momentum around addressing the issue continues. So far, we’ve seen a new commitment from Yum!
Trending: Scorecards Find Unilever, Nestlé Walking Their Talk on Efforts to End Poverty, Deforestation
7 years ago - This week, two scorecards revealed how major brands are stacking up when it comes to living up to their commitments to improve their social and environmental stewardship, with Nestlé and Unilever apparently neck and neck for the lead in several areas.
How to Empower Women in Global Supply Chains?
8 years ago - We’ve heard a lot recently about 2015 promising to be the year of sustainability — with global conferences on sustainable development and climate change, new UK legislation fighting modern day slavery, and the forthcoming UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set to shape the global remit for social, economic and environmental development.One of the key goals of the SDGs is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls around the world. With this in mind, the post-2015 development agenda offers a great opportunity to drive lasting change for women’s rights and equality.
Hershey Promises GMO-Free Kisses by the End of the Year
8 years ago - U.S. chocolate giant Hershey has announced that it “will transition some of its most popular chocolate brands, including Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars to simpler ingredients." The shift comes in response to tens of thousands of Facebook posts, emails and telephone calls from consumers who took part in a recent campaign spearheaded by GMO Inside, calling on Hershey's to move to non-GMO ingredients.Hershey's confirmed that as part of its commitment to simpler ingredients, its two iconic products, Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars, will be non-GMO by the end of the year.In their recent statement, Hershey’s outlines three key principles for moving forward:
Mars and Fairtrade Extend Sustainable Cocoa Partnership for UK and Ireland
8 years ago - Mars Chocolate UK and Fairtrade Foundation have extended their partnership to source Fairtrade-certified cocoa for MARS® Bars in the United Kingdom and Ireland by October 2015.Mars is the first UK company to announce a commitment under the new Fairtrade Cocoa Sourcing Programme, which aims to deliver more opportunities for cocoa farmers to sell on Fairtrade terms and connect them with businesses that actively support efforts to improve farmer livelihoods.In 2009, Mars committed to certifying its entire cocoa supply as being produced in a sustainable manner by 2020.
Danone, Unilever Among 6 Major Companies With Comprehensive Deforestation Policies
8 years ago - Only six major companies and one investor — Danone, Unilever, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Kao Corp., Reckitt Benckiser Group, and financial services giant HSBC — have comprehensive policies in place to protect tropical forests, according to a new ranking by Global Canopy Programme (GCP).
All of Mars' Chocolate Facilities are Now Certified Landfill-Free
8 years ago - Mars Chocolate North America announced last week that all 10 of its manufacturing facilities are now certified landfill-free, a significant step towards achieving Mars’ company-wide goal of zero-waste-to-landfill by 2015. The Henderson, Nevada site was the tenth and final chocolate manufacturing facility to achieve this milestone.Since announcing this goal in 2007, Mars has reached an overall reduction of approximately 4,500 tonnes of waste each year. To do so, Mars zeroed in on three key focus areas: efficient operating processes, recycling programs for multiple waste streams, and mutually beneficial partnerships with disposal vendors and local farm reuse programs.
IBM, Mars Launch New Data-Driven Effort to Advance Global Food Safety
8 years ago - Scientists from IBM Research and Mars have established a new collaborative food safety platform aimed at leveraging advances in genomics to further the understanding of what makes food safe.The Consortium for Sequencing the Food Supply Chain will conduct the largest-ever metagenomics study to categorize and understand microorganisms and the factors that influence their activity in a normal, safe factory environment. IBM and Mars say this work could be extended into the larger context of the food supply chain — from farm to fork — and lead to new insights into how microorganisms interact within a factory ecology and be better-controlled by new data and science-driven practices.
WRI Guide Helps Companies Report Emissions From Low-Carbon Electricity Purchases
8 years ago - The World Resources Institute (WRI) has unveiled new guidance for companies to measure emissions from purchased electricity.The first major update to the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard responds to the rapid growth of renewable energy and other major shifts in the electricity market, WRI says. The GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance provides a consistent, transparent way for companies to show how different types of electricity purchases count toward their emissions targets, and will inform corporate decisions on what kind of energy should power their business.
Trending: How Mars, Wilmar Are Making Good on Their Zero-Deforestation Commitments
8 years ago - The devastating effects of deforestation and efforts to end it are at the forefront of the sustainability conversation, and global corporations across a variety of industries have responded with zero-deforestation commitments. And, as both PepsiCo and Asia Pulp and Paper have learned in the last few weeks alone, there are plenty of NGOs and other stakeholders on hand to hold companies accountable if it appears they aren’t following through.
Report: Consumer Products, Manufacturing Sectors Enjoying Best Financial Returns on Solar
8 years ago - Consumer products, manufacturing and heavy industry sectors are getting the best financial returns on solar power—the most popular renewable power technology for corporates—according to a new report by RE100, an initiative of The Climate Group in partnership with CDP.
Mars, UC Davis Launch Innovation Institute for Food and Health
8 years ago - Mars, in partnership with UC Davis, launched the Innovation Institute for Food and Health, part of the university's World Food Center, at a day-long symposium on Wednesday. Laureates and other leading scientists discussed major challenges relating to improving global food security, sustainable agriculture and health for a growing world population.The Innovation Institute is being supported over the next 10 years with a pledge of $40 million from Mars and $20 million from UC Davis and aims to advance new discoveries in sustainable food, agriculture and health.