The snacking and food brand Mars has launched Moo’ving Dairy Forward, a new initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of its dairy sourcing, with a promised investment of $47 million over the next three years.
It’s the latest move from Mars which, last year, introduced a series of new climate-related goals including a target to cut carbon emissions across its full value chain in half by 2030, and invest some $1 billion over the next three years in climate action.
Mars’ products require the dairy from more than 200,000 cows and 1,00 farms, while raw ingredients account for over 70% of the Mars’ total greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy has been earmarked as the second largest contributor to the carbon footprint of the company’s Snacking business.
Among the efforts it will undertake to address the emissions footprint of the dairy supply chain, Mars will work with dairy producers to develop new feed to help reduce the methane production from cows; pursue manure management projects; and target feed production with regenerative agricultural practices.
Wasting no time, Mars has already partnered with Germany’s DMK Group to launch three pilot ‘net zero’ dairy farms as part of a five year project designed to implement new science and technology to create a scalable and economically viable pathway to net zero dairy.
The corporation has also partnered with Fonterra and Sea Forest to explore sourcing form their SEAFEED seaweed food supplement trial which reduces methane produced from cows digesting.
“Doing our part to keep our planet healthy is an absolute non-negotiable for us at Mars. But our vision for more sustainable dairy will only become a reality with the support and actions of farmers and our suppliers,” said Amanda Davies, chief R&D, procurement and sustainability officer at Mars Snacking.
“Which is why, as part of our Moo’ving Dairy Forward Sustainable Dairy Plan, we’re putting millions of dollars directly back into the pockets of farmers through our contracts to help them make climate smart changes to the way they farm.
“Together, I know that we can forge a path that helps address climate change head on and contributes to reshaping our wider industry for a more sustainable future.”
