Mars, the world’s biggest chocolate maker, has pledged to invest US$1 billion in renewable energy, food sourcing, cross-industry action, and farmers over the “next few years” as part of its fight against climate change, Fortune Magazine reports.
“Most scientists are saying there’s less than a 5% chance we will hit Paris agreement goals,” said CEO Grant Reid, “which is catastrophic for the planet.” He added that the company’s global supply chains are broken, and it will take “transformational, cross-industry collaboration” to fix them. Mars is taking this step, he said, “because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s good business.”
- The climate news you need. Subscribe now to our engaging new weekly digest.
- You’ll receive exclusive, never-before-seen-content, distilled and delivered to your inbox every weekend.
- The Weekender: Succinct, solutions-focused, and designed with the discerning reader in mind.
“We believe in the scientific view of climate science and the need for collective action,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Barry Parkin, noting that the consequences of climate inaction will produce “significant challenges and hardships in specific places around the world, whether that’s oceans rising or crops not growing successfully.”
Mars is a $35-billion company that employs 80,000 people around the world, “relies on farmers to produce the raw materials for its products,” and was one of the signatories to a letter last June urging the Trump administration not to abandon the Paris agreement, Fortune notes. The company already powers its U.S. and UK operations with electricity from wind farms in Texas and Scotland, and plans to promote its latest campaign with M&Ms mascots holding windmills. (h/t to The Energy Mix subscriber Diane Beckett for first pointing us to this story)
