Mars is not simply the red planet tea party conspiracy theorists fear, it’s also the world’s largest chocolate company, producing favorites like M&Ms, Snickers, and of course Mars Bars. For some time now, the candy company has been very public supporters of fighting climate change and were one of the companies that signed the letter urging Trump to not pull out of the Paris climate change agreement back in June. They have just added even more chocolatey goodness to their progressive position.
Mars, the maker of Snickers, Twix, and M&Ms, has pledged to invest $1 billion over the next few years to fight climate change. The sustainability drive includes investment in renewable energy, food sourcing, cross-industry action groups, and farmers.
Grant Reid, CEO of Mars, explained the rationale behind the investment, noting that “most scientists are saying there’s less than a 5% chance we will hit Paris agreement goals…which is catastrophic for the planet.” He argued that the global supply chain is broken, requiring “transformational, cross-industry collaboration” to fix it.
The company has already been investing in wind farms to help power their business for a few years now and this investment in fighting climate change is just another important step. The company’s chief Grant F. Reid explained the company’s position to CNBC.
The plan, Mars said, would focus on a range of goals. By 2050, it wants to slash greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 67 percent.
In addition, the business said it wanted to "meaningfully improve the working lives" of one million people in its value chain by focusing on boosting income, unlocking opportunities for women and "respecting human rights."
"We're doing this because it's the right thing to do but also because it's good business," Reid said.
Well done.