Mars makes strides with Sustainable in a Generation project, yet key environmental tests within supply chains remain
Mars is striving to reach its 2050 net zero climate commitments, including reducing supply chain emissions such as those seen through cocoa and palm oil sectors. Pic: Mars
Mars has asserted it remains on track to achieve its 2050 net zero environmental goals, with the release of its 2023 Sustainable in a Generation report part of a $1 billion investment gearing towards achieving its milestone targets, reports Neill Barston.
According to the US-headquartered company’s latest annual analysis, it attained a record level of 8% reduction of its greenhouse gas emission cuts last year, measured against a baseline of 2015, across its complete value chain.
As Confectionery Production has previously reported, the company has acknowledged that around 60% of its emissions stem from agricultural activity, including within key cocoa and palm oil market segments, which it has reported notable overall success on against a mid target of 50% reduction in GHG’s by 2030.
Indeed, as the business noted, since emissions in its value chain have been reduced by 16% (or 5.7 million metric tons — the equivalent GHG emissions generated by more than 1.3 million gasoline-powered automobiles in a year, while growing the business more than 60% to over $50 billion.
Significantly, global policy, including the Paris climate agreement centred on limiting global warming to within 1.5 degrees remains part of the industry’s and governmental commitments to the environment, remains a concerning challenge given disparities between international governments’ approaches to tackling the issue. This was seen at the most recent COP28 event, in which governments made some progress in relation to considering agricultural ecosystems within overall policies for the first time, though a broader, legally binding agreement on an accelerated timetable to cut reliance on fossil fuels could not be reached.
Environmental concerns
Moreover, as Confectionery Production has previously reported, environmental campaign groups such as Mighty Earth have continued to express concern over the fact that large tracts of land in West Africa, including within Ghana and Ivory Coast are continuing to be negatively impacted by deforestation.
This has included not just commercial agricultural chains, but due to illegal gold mining operations known as galamsey. This has proved potentially lucrative, yet excessively damaging to major areas of prime forest that will take decades to restore – with around two thirds of core forest areas thought to have been lost from the two West African nations, underlining the ongoing challenges faced by the region.
Poul Weihrauch, Mars CEO, welcomed its continued progress, but noted that it remained a long-term journey to achieving its objectives. He said: “Last year, we published our Net Zero Roadmap promising to accelerate our carbon reductions, and with this year’s results, we are delivering on our business strategy to continue to grow while reducing our carbon emissions. We still have a long way to go, but we will continue to follow the science and show how a responsible business can both do well and do good.”
Significantly, the company explained that it is now scaling up new climate smart agriculture initiatives to drive continued decarbonisation. These initiatives aim to improve soil health and farm resilience — while providing critical financial support and training for farmers to accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.
Such measures are especially crucial in cocoa supply chains, particularly in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which have been hit with a combination of harsh weather conditions and extensive crop disease, which had continued to impact on yields. Consequently, developing advanced agroforestry techniques, and affording opportunities to diversify income streams and alternate agricultural opportunities has been seen as a vital cog in the overall patter of development within core producing nations.
Barry Parkin, Mars Chief Sustainability and Procurement Officer, said: “Our latest carbon reductions show we are on track to deliver a 50% reduction by 2030. While we’re proud of this progress, we know we have more work to do, and we look forward to continuing to scale our progress. It is critically important to strengthen our programs with farmers to help the transition to climate smart and regenerative agriculture.”
Mars has made progress in reducing its carbon footprint by 8% but faces challenges in supply chains, particularly in cocoa production. Deforestation and climate change impact yields in Ghana and Ivory Coast. The company aims to address these issues through climate-smart agriculture and supporting farmers.