Our Approach to Business
Understanding Our Impacts
A company of our size and global scope affects people and the planet in many ways. We must identify the social and environmental impacts most relevant and significant (or “material”) to our business and our stakeholders and focus our efforts appropriately.
In 2010, representatives from across our business segments and functions worked together to formally identify our material impacts for the first time.
We commissioned the Corporate Citizenship Company, an independent consultancy, to assess whether our sustainability programs addressed these impacts, were responsive to stakeholder concerns and in line with best practices. They found that “Mars has transitioned to a more formalized and robust materiality process to identify and address the issues that matter most to the company. All issues identified as being most important to the company are being addressed in some way at present, although some issues are more robustly managed than others.”
The impacts covered on this website are all considered material. This section describes the impacts that are relevant across several aspects of our value chain. They are:
Quantifying Our Impact
Quantifying our impacts across our value chain — from sourcing, manufacturing and product transport, to the nutritional value of our products — is a challenge. These measurements must be done in a scientifically credible and standardized manner because the use of varying methods by different partners can create confusion.
Our work in this area rests on four pillars:
- Basing our business decisions on what is best for people, the planet and business performance
- Ensuring this work is integral to existing business processes, not a separate process
- Understanding, prioritizing and addressing our impacts throughout our value chain — from the supplier to the consumer
- Basing our decisions on scientific data and focusing on outcomes rather than processes. For example, measuring reductions in energy use is more important than measuring investment in energy efficiency.
We have created a structured approach to develop our understanding of each aspect of our value chain, as shown in the diagram. We assess the available science to complete three key tasks:
- Prioritize impacts: identify our greatest impacts at each stage of the value chain
- Develop metrics: identify the most scientifically credible way to measure each impact
- Set targets: identify science-based targets for each metric to improve our performance
Next we assess the feasibility of achieving our targets based on existing knowledge and techniques. If we find that our targets are not feasible using existing approaches, we invest in further research to develop an alternative strategy. Much of that research involves partnerships with others.
Once a strategy is developed, we lay out an implementation plan across our businesses and units. This plan may involve new technologies, practices and training for Associates, which require time and a staged approach.
To measure our progress against these strategies, we track our metrics centrally, aggregating our results based on the performance of each business unit or segment. The results are used to assess the effectiveness of our strategies and define adjustments as necessary.
Our Progress to Date
Our strategy for our factories and offices is clearest in the form of our Sustainable in a Generation (SiG) program. We are committed to achieving zero fossil fuel energy use and zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040. We are developing similar long-term commitments for waste and water use. See Our Operations for details of our progress.
However, sourcing our raw materials leads to greater impacts than our factories and offices. We are beginning to apply the structured approach described above to develop similarly robust programs for each element of our value chain. Some metrics, such as greenhouse-gas emissions, are already well established, and our strategies for specific areas such as cocoa sourcing are at an advanced stage. In other areas, we are helping to define and standardize metrics and methodologies so we can identify ambitious targets. For example, short-term water-use-reduction goals keep us moving in the right direction while we work out the best long-term strategy for reducing our impact on water quality and availability.
