At Mars, we are committed to taking the critical actions needed to address the health and sustainability of our planet, and firmly believe that engaging you – the consumer – in the fight against climate change is an imperative.

That’s why we are proud to announce that all Mars bars sold in the UK, Ireland and Canada will be certified as carbon neutral by 2023. That’s over 220 million chocolate bars a year that will be carbon neutral. 

This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to creating a sustainable tomorrow through how we do business today—and represents tangible climate action less than a month after we announced our pledge to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our full Mars value chain by 2050. 

How are we going to make the Mars bar carbon neutral in the UK, Ireland, and Canada? 

We are deeply committed to operating more sustainably. 

For example, we have already reduced our carbon footprint from direct operations in the UK by 67% since 2015. We’re doing more though—and next year in the UK we’ll be removing a million miles from the roads through a new logistics program.

In Canada, the Mars bar, which has been manufactured in Newmarket for over 30 years, is produced in a factory that is certified LEED Silver, sends zero waste to landfill, and incorporates several energy saving initiatives including recapturing heat from operations to heat the building.

A chunk of the Mars bar’s emissions is from our agricultural supply chains. To reduce these emissions, we’re taking decisive action to tackle deforestation, address land use and transform how we source raw materials.

As a result of supercharging our efforts to sustainably transform supply chain agricultural practices, namely cocoa and cows (and their burps!), the Mars bar will see a carbon footprint reduction of over 20% in the UK, Ireland and Canada by 2023.

This includes using satellite data to geomap cocoa farms and accelerated partnerships with suppliers to produce dairy more sustainably.

For example, by the end of 2022, 100% of suppliers providing dairy for the Mars bar in the UK will have a program to reduce their on-farm greenhouse gas impacts. That’s everything from improving feed to using low emission manure application technology (it really is a thing!). 

Any emissions that cannot be eliminated will be offset by high quality carbon removal credits based on climate solutions like reforestation and land restoration.

We will work with an independent auditor to certify the Mars bar as carbon neutral and will be adhering to the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality, which provides radical transparency and is widely considered to be the leading standard of carbon neutral specification. 

We’re proud that the Mars bar will be carbon neutral in the UK, Ireland and Canada by 2023, but we’re clear that the job isn’t done, and it is certainly not time to down tools. 

We know that we must continue to make purposeful climate interventions. And we know that to create a world tomorrow where the planet is healthy, we must continue to take bold action. 

And we will.