Mars Achieves 100% US Renewable Electricity and 42.6% Scope 1 and 2 Reduction Since 2015

Mars, Incorporated has announced that all its US operations including factories, offices, veterinary hospitals and diagnostic laboratories are now powered by 100 percent renewable electricity, coinciding with the release of its 2025 Sustainable in a Generation Report which shows a 42.6 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions against a 2015 baseline. The company delivered a 6.4 percent reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions across its full value chain in 2025, its largest single-year reduction to date, bringing its cumulative absolute emissions reduction to 16.9 percent against the 2015 baseline while growing the business by approximately 75 percent over the same period. Mars also announced a Mars Sustainability Investment Fund with a total capital commitment of up to $250 million and the Mars Impact Fund to complement existing sustainability and philanthropic efforts.

 

The Renewable Electricity Achievement and RAcc Programme

 

The US renewable electricity milestone was achieved through a combination of wind and solar projects generating Renewable Energy Certificates equivalent to the electricity used in direct US operations, alongside the company's Renewables Acceleration programme launched in 2025. The RAcc programme represents an innovative strategy designed to extend renewable electricity beyond Mars' direct operations and into its broader value chains, with an estimated potential to reduce emissions by around 3 million tonnes by 2030, representing approximately 10 percent of the company's 2025 footprint. The latest US RAcc contract with Enel North America to support three new solar projects in Texas is expected to generate approximately 1.80 terawatt hours of renewable electricity annually, supporting both Mars operations and its suppliers.

Poul Weihrauch, Mars Chief Executive Officer, said reaching the milestone of 100 percent renewable electricity in direct US operations from factories to offices and from veterinary hospitals to diagnostic labs is something to celebrate and be proud of. He described building a resilient business as requiring access to clean and accessible energy, farmers not at the mercy of extreme weather events and thriving communities across the full value chain, framing renewable energy as a business resilience investment rather than purely a sustainability commitment. Alastair Child, Mars Chief Sustainability Officer, said delivering impact at scale requires collaboration across industries, suppliers, governments, NGOs and local communities and that the company remains focused on turning ambition into measurable progress across its value chain.

 

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Climate-Smart Agriculture and Scope 3 Progress

 

Mars continued to expand its climate-smart agriculture projects globally in 2025, growing its portfolio to approximately 77 projects across 26 countries and 12 crops, addressing the Scope 3 agricultural emissions that represent a substantial portion of its total value chain footprint. Key programmes include a $5.2 million five-year investment in drought and disease-resistant peanut variety development under the Protect the Peanut initiative and a $20 million investment between 2020 and 2030 in the Raising Rice Right programme to scale climate-smart agriculture practices in rice production and support farmer training and resilience. Mars also partnered with PepsiCo and ADM to launch a regenerative agriculture programme in Poland, supporting 24 farmers across more than 5,450 hectares including 3,450 hectares of regenerative wheat production for WHISKAS and PEDIGREE brands to improve soil health, enhance biodiversity and strengthen climate resilience.

The 6.4 percent full value chain emissions reduction in 2025 represents the largest single-year absolute reduction Mars has achieved and demonstrates that Scope 3 progress is accelerating alongside the Scope 1 and 2 reductions driven by renewable electricity. For a company with a $65 billion combined business spanning confectionery, food, pet care and veterinary services across global supply chains, achieving meaningful Scope 3 reductions requires systematic engagement across thousands of agricultural suppliers and ingredient producers, making the climate-smart agriculture portfolio a core operational sustainability tool rather than a peripheral programme.

 

Manufacturing Investment and Decarbonisation Capital

 

Mars announced significant capital investments in 2025 to strengthen its manufacturing base and support decarbonisation, including plans to invest an estimated $2 billion in US-based manufacturing and €1 billion in EU operations by end 2026. These manufacturing investments are positioned as dual-purpose commitments that simultaneously strengthen the company's production infrastructure and advance the decarbonisation of its operational footprint, demonstrating that sustainability investment and commercial investment can be structured as complementary rather than competing priorities. The Mars Sustainability Investment Fund with up to $250 million in capital commitment provides a dedicated vehicle for sustainability-focused investments beyond the core capital expenditure programme.

The combination of operational renewable electricity achievement, climate-smart agriculture portfolio expansion, manufacturing investment and dedicated sustainability funds represents a comprehensive multi-lever approach to corporate decarbonisation that addresses emissions across the full value chain simultaneously. For institutional investors and ESG analysts evaluating Mars' sustainability trajectory, the combination of a verified Science Based Target delivery on Scope 1 and 2 alongside demonstrated Scope 3 progress and growing capital commitment to climate-smart agriculture provides a more complete picture of genuine decarbonisation progress than single-metric reporting alone.

 

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Outlook for Mars Sustainability Progress

 

The 16.9 percent cumulative absolute emissions reduction against a 2015 baseline while growing the business by approximately 75 percent demonstrates that Mars has successfully decoupled revenue growth from absolute emissions across its operations and value chain, one of the most important tests of genuine corporate sustainability progress. Whether Mars can sustain and accelerate the pace of full value chain emissions reduction as it continues to grow following the Kellanova acquisition, which has substantially increased the business scale and associated emissions footprint, will be the defining test of its sustainability ambitions over the next several years. The RAcc programme's extension of renewable electricity procurement into supplier value chains and the continued scaling of climate-smart agriculture projects provide the most commercially significant levers for sustaining Scope 3 progress at scale.

Sustained delivery against the company's Science Based Targets while continuing to grow the business would establish Mars as a reference case for how large privately-held consumer goods companies can integrate sustainability into commercial strategy rather than treating it as a separate agenda. The convergence of renewable energy cost competitiveness, growing consumer and retailer demand for sustainable supply chains and the business resilience benefits of reducing fossil fuel exposure creates conditions in which Mars' sustainability investments are increasingly aligned with commercial value creation rather than representing a cost of responsible business operation.

 

Source: Mars, Incorporated