Mars appoints Alastair Child to expanded role leading sustainability operations

Alastair Child is set to move to a role leading sustainability across the Mars business. Pic; Mars
Mars has appointed Alastair Child, its vice president of global sustainability for Mars Snacking, as the company new chief sustainability officer for the company’s overall operations, writes Neill Barston.
Among his most pressing tasks in taking up his new responsibilities from the start of next month will be taking a lead on its major Sustainable in a Generation plans, which allocated a total of $1 billion to enhance its environmental performance and achievements over the course of several years.
Significantly, the business faces particular strategic challenges for sustainable sourcing of cocoa, against a backdrop of global prices reaching the $12,000 a tonne mark at the end of 2024, and continuing to surge in the opening weeks of this year.
Notably, as part of its Net Zero Roadmap, the company has built a plan to halve full value chain emissions by 2030, enroute to Net Zero by 2050, and has reported strong progress, reaching 16% absolute reductions in greenhouse gas emissions against 2015 measurements across the business’s value chain.
For his part, Alastair will lead a team of 30 sustainability leaders and experts with remits in climate, coral restoration, community, packaging, data and analytics. He will report to Andy Pharoah, VP Corporate Affairs & Sustainability and member of the Mars Leadership Team.
As the company explained, through his more than 23-year career, the company’s new head of sustainability has been known for his performance and passion for his specialist area. For the last seven years, he played a critical role in Mars Snacking, driving a strategy to embed sustainability across the enterprise.
This saw considerable strides in the company’s deforestation-free palm oil and pulp & paper supply chains, doubled incomes for mint farmers in northern India, led a wide range of sustainable packaging innovations such as paper-wrapped bars, and helped Mars decouple Green House Gas emissions from growth with programs such as the Moo’ving Dairy Forward initiative.
Moreover, Alastair Child succeeds the outgoing Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer Barry Parkin, who confirmed he is is set to retire after a four decade journey with Mars. Barry had joined the business in 1985 and during his impressive career he has occupied a diverse set of roles across Commercial, Engineering, Business Development, Supply Chain, HR and Sourcing. Barry was instrumental in the development of the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan and a thought leader for Mars Net Zero Roadmap. Barry will retire from Mars in March and will embark on a range of new challenges, including sailing around the world.
Commenting on his appointment to the company’s lead sustainability post, Alastair Child believed that the business needed to keep its focus on meeting targets. He said: “It’s an honour to take on this role. With average global temperatures exceeding 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels for the first time in 2024, it is imperative that we continue to perform on our promises and in doing so prove that sustainability is good for business. I look forward to collaborating with our partners, Associates and stakeholders to ensure we continue to grow responsibly.”
Andy Pharoah, VP Corporate Affairs & Sustainability and member of the Mars Leadership Team offered encouragement to him in taking up the post. He commented: “Alastair has established himself as a strong, well-respected leader. He brings a wealth of experience to the role and will play a key part in ensuring sustainability is integrated into every aspect of our business to help us build the world we want tomorrow.”