Mars, Incorporated has been named “Best Private Company” by the 2013 Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards. Ethical Corporation is a UK-based global business publication focused on global ethical business and exploring how large companies are responding to the sustainable business agenda.
The Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards pay tribute to companies’ commitment to responsible business practices and recognizes global leaders in corporate sustainability, according to the announcement.
Other categories included “Best Employee Engagement,” “Best Supplier Engagement” and “Best Sustainability Report,” which were won by Western Union, Natura and The Co-Operative, respectively.
The “Best Private Company” category acknowledges privately-held companies that have best demonstrated dedication to embedding sustainable business across their operations, the announcement says.
Preserving rice for generations to come through regenerative water-use practices
Hear how Mars and its Ben's Original brand are working with Delta Harvest to greatly reduce water use in rice cultivation while improving crop yields, at the SB Regenerative Ag Summit — Thursday, Oct. 17, at SB'24 San Diego.
“We feel strongly that we have a responsibility to help solve challenges shared by our business and society,” said Barry Parkin, chief sustainability officer at Mars. “As a private, family-owned business, we have the freedom to make long-term choices and investments to help create lasting mutual benefits for our entire value chain. We are proud of the progress and impact we have made on this journey, although we know we still have much work to do.”
Mars was recognized for two of its ongoing sustainability initiatives — the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative and Sustainable in a Generation. The Sustainable Cocoa Initiative is a program that seeks to ensure the future of the cocoa supply chain while increasing incomes and securing livelihoods for future cocoa farmers. Sustainable in a Generation is the company’s effort to eliminate fossil fuel energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing impact on water quality and availability, and mitigating the impacts of waste by 2040.
In 2010, Mars won the U.S. Secretary of State’s 2010 Award for Corporate Excellence for its work in cocoa sustainability, and efforts to improve economic development in the cocoa-growing region of Ghana.
A Mars Petcare subsidiary, Sheba Entrées For Cats, announced earlier this year that by the end of 2013, all of the brand’s U.S. recipes will include only responsibly sourced fish — even adding sustainable salmon to the menu. The action came as part of a 2010 commitment made by Mars Petcare to use only sustainably sourced fish by 2020. Mars agreed to begin sourcing fish from 100 percent sustainable wild catch and aquaculture stocks and making use of sustainable alternatives to marine fish ingredients.
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Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Jun 26, 2013 12am EDT / 9pm PDT / 5am BST / 6am CEST