Candy Industry names Mars Chocolate North America as Green Manufacturer of the Year
With the company’s 18-acre solar garden in Hackettstown, N.J., acting as a backdrop, Mars Chocolate North America’s Zelda Gray, v.p. – personnel & organization, and Mike Wittman, v.p. – supply, proudly hold Candy Industry’s Green Manufacturer of the Year award.
It’s not easy being green, but there are companies that make a concerted effort in spearheading energy conservation, recycling, management/employee involvement and ongoing sustainability initiatives.
Candy Industry recognizes those accomplishments with its first “Green Manufacturer of the Year” award, conferring the honor to Mars Chocolate North America (MCNA), which, by all measures, has set the standard for the rest of the industry.
From its 14-acre solar garden that supplies up to 20% of the company’s Hackettstown, N.J. plant electrical needs, to the recently LEED Gold Certified headquarters office building (also in Hackettstown), MCNA has embarked on a journey that transforms sustainability from a buzz word to an inherent element of corporate life and the company’s revered five principles.
Be it committing to equitable sourcing practices, such as the Rain Forest Alliance certification initiative, or the long-term cocoa sustainability project in the Ivory Coast and Indonesia, MCNA sees sustainability not only as a good business practice, but part and parcel of being a good corporate, community and global citizen.
In acknowledging MCNA’s efforts to embed sustainability throughout all aspects of confectionery manufacturing, from sourcing of ingredients to manufacturing, from infrastructure improvements to improving plant efficiencies, Candy Industry’s first Green Manufacturer of the Year Award provides a glimpse of what confectionery manufacturing will look like for all in the near future.
In reviewing the various large and small confectionery companies suitable to receive this honor, it quickly became apparent to the magazine’s publishing team that MCNA truly embraced “green manufacturing” as a key subset of its ongoing sustainability commitment.
As a result, after touring the company’s manufacturing facility, solar garden and LEED Certified headquarters facility in Hackettstown, Editor Bernard Pacyniak presented the 2011 Green Manufacturer of the Year Award to Mike Wittman, v.p. – supply; Zelda Gray, v.p. – personnel and organization; and Nick Hastilow, v.p. – commercial Sept. 9.
A complete overview of the company’s sustainability and green manufacturing practices will appear in the magazine’s Oct. 2011 issue.
For more information, visit www.candyindustry.com.
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