Their campaign entitled ‘Pledge for Planet’, unveiled to coincide with the UN General Assembly in New York on the 17th of September this year, sees the company encourage consumers, suppliers and its own operations to drastically reduce their carbon footprint. The move comes as Mars’s vice-president of corporate affairs, strategic initiatives & sustainability, Andy Pharoah, suggest companies like Mars now need to make their view on climate change clear.
The first part of their strategy sets more ambitious targets for Mars’s own operations so the company plays it part in ensuring the planet’s temperature doesn’t rise 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (this is the rise scientists agree would limit the impacts of climate change at reasonably safe levels. This includes strict measurement requirements and reducing total green house gas emissions across its value chain by 27% by 2025 and 67% by 2050.
Secondly, it wants to engage suppliers. Mars’s operations only account for 6% of its carbon footprint, with the rest caused by its suppliers. The business is keen to engage with suppliers in a positive way, but Mars says if suppliers won’t adopt science-based targets it will refuse to work with them.
The fact that Mars are looking so seriously at combat climate change, which is a huge issue the world over, is a very encouraging sign for us all. Many companies have environmental policies, but few exhibits this to the extent that Mars has by implementing strategies of this magnitude. This is only more good news for the ‘greens’ among us who value environmentally care and see the current and future state of the planet as a serious concern that must be dealt with.
Here are Mar's Pledges:
Our pledge to the planet.
YES to cutting our greenhouse gas emissions.
YES to switching to 100% renewable energy.
YES to rebuilding coral reefs.
YES to taking action to halt deforestation.
YES to investing $1 billion in a more sustainable future.
YES to doing all we can to stay below the 1.5ºC temperature limit.
Check out the full story here https://www.mars.com/pledgeforplanet