Mars out to ‘push the boundaries’ in supply chain sustainability

Sustainability has long been more than a buzzword at companies around the globe. Corporations like Walmart, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and others regularly issue Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reports offering transparent updates on their progress and future goals around protecting the planet.

Recently, Mars (through its snacking division) announced its ambitious Unreasonable Food initiative, a three-year partnership with Unreasonable Group aimed at not just elevating sustainability measures within the company, but also at transforming the global food supply chain, and beyond. To learn more about the efforts, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery connected with Greg Hocking, vice president of global R&D for new innovation territories at Mars.

Jenni Spinner: Mars and its various brands have been committed to sustainability for some time—could you please share some of the history, and the more notable milestones/achievements?

Greg Hocking: Mars thinks in generations, not quarterly financial results. This enables us to invest in long-term science and technology, which is why last fall we announced that Mars is on a path to Net Zero by 2050, cutting our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

At Mars, we’ve been able to decouple emissions from growth. As of 2023, Mars reduced emissions by 8% while growing the business 60% since 2015. We want to push the boundaries of what’s possible to help transform the supply chain and protect the future of the planet. As of 2022, we sourced 58% renewable for our global electricity usage. And through our Palm Positive Plan, we’ve been leaders in addressing deforestation so that we can ensure deforestation-free palm oil.

These are just a few of the many proof points that demonstrate the credible path we see to Net Zero. And while these milestones are critically important, we as a company are proud of the strength of Mars’ partnerships with key stakeholders around the globe helping us achieve these ambitious goals.

JS: What are some of the challenges companies like Mars typically face when balancing profitability and growth, with sustainability and social responsibility?

GH: It’s costly to implement new systems to replace the old, but it can also be costly not to. That’s why Mars is committed to investing more than $1 billion over the next three years on our road to net zero.

Besides resource allocation, what has worked well for us was transforming our culture and our management systems including sustainability at the heart of it.

Our purpose at Mars is to create the world we want tomorrow by how we do business today. Sustainability requires change, which is easy to resist and can be difficult to finance in the short term. But it also isn’t optional.

Change includes adjusting our thinking around how sustainability and social responsibility relate to profit and growth—not as mutually exclusive, but as working together. At Mars, we believe that sustainability and social responsibility truly work hand-in-hand with profitability and growth.

JS: Your latest initiative, Unreasonable Food, is a partnership with the org Unreasonable Group—can you please share some insight into how Mars and UG joined forces, and why they’re a good choice of partner in taking your sustainability, social responsibility, and other related goals to the next level?

GH: Unreasonable Group, like Mars, is intentional about the work they do and the impact they want to make. Together we have formed Unreasonable Food - dedicated to a more sustainable and equitable future.

Working with partners across the supply chain creates multiplier benefits. That old adage of “if you want to go fast, go alone…if you want to go far, go together” applies here—a sustainable and just food supply chain is a marathon and not a sprint.

To meet ambitious goals, we need ambitious partners. We aren’t after small changes here. We’re redefining the future of food.

JS: Please talk about some of the specific areas and targets you’ve established in the early stages of this partnership.

GH: There are innovative, driven entrepreneurs on the front lines reimagining how our global food system can work better, without having a negative impact on the planet. And I can’t tell you how energized I am having worked on the team to hand-pick the inaugural cohort that we’ll announce later this spring. Our first cohort of entrepreneurs is best positioned to help future-proof and solve key sustainability challenges. They’ll join our first Unreasonable Food program for a week-long intensive alongside members of our Mars Snacking leadership team and some renowned Unreasonable mentors. There is a vast community of mentors from around the world with different areas of deep expertise who will help guide our entrepreneurs to maximize their impact.

JS: Specifically, you’ve set forth four ‘pillars’—could you please share why each of these is important?

GH: If you look at the global picture of sustainability work, the challenge is overwhelming. But taken in pieces, the problems we face are not insurmountable. That’s why we’ve broken our work into four pillars: Shaping the Future of Food, Improving Farmer Livelihood, Transforming Food Supply Chains, and Reimagining Sustainable Packaging.

These four focus areas are designed to identify and then accelerate the areas we can make a meaningful and differentiated impact given our Mars business footprint and operations.

JS: How do you see Mars’ sustainability and responsibility efforts in general, and this partnership specifically, evolving over time?

GH: We don’t yet know the climate solutions we’ll need in 10 years. We must remain nimble, always willing to innovate. Innovation is at the heart of our heritage and forms the foundation of our future. As a family-owned business, we have the freedom to invest in sustainable innovation. There is a strong foundation for the next three years that we’ll continue building upon, bringing in more partners and more entrepreneurs, creating better sustainable systems.

JS: Do you have anything you’d like to add?

GH: We’re the first generation where we can’t say we didn’t know about the impacts of climate change, and we’re the last generation that can act on it before it’s too late. It’s vital that sustainability and purpose sit at the core of everything we do so that we can pass the baton to the next generation. At Mars, the next generation of owners and executives will see our 2030 and 2050 commitments through to completion, which is a very different level of accountability and personal involvement.

Mars Snacking is one of the world’s largest food companies, and we’re positioned to make one of the world’s largest positive impacts. With Unreasonable Food, we can take our unique position as a global food company and create the world we want tomorrow—starting with how we do business today.