Candy giant aims for small carbon footprint

WASHINGTON, September 13, 2017 - Mars launched its Sustainable in a Generation plan, vowing to invest $1 billion to combat threats of climate change, poverty and resource scarcity. Mars has already reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent through efficiency and renewable electricity use but it hopes to go further. “If we are to help deliver on the targets agreed in Paris and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, there has to be a huge step change. While many companies have been working on being more sustainable, the current level of progress is nowhere near enough,” said Grant F. Reid, chief executive officer. The company set a goal to eliminate 100 percent of the GHG emissions from their direct operations by 2040 in an effort to meet the Paris Accord and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This goal covers the energy use from about 420 sites in more than 80 countries. Mars is already using or purchasing renewable electricity to cover all of its operations in Belgium, Brazil, Lithuania, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2018, it will add 100 percent renewable energy usage in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Spain, Poland and Mexico. Mars is also collaborating with farmers to improve agronomic practices, reduce GHG emissions, and in some cases, sequester carbon.