In today’s increasingly interconnected world, the sustainability of supply chains is crucial for the long-term viability of businesses and the planet.
If we at Mars Wrigley, or any other business, are to achieve our net zero ambitions, developing a sustainable supply chain is an absolute prerequisite.
Doing so for what we term Global Emerging Markets – over 140 markets across Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East & Africa, and Oceania and accounting for 65% of the world’s population – presents its own unique challenges and solutions from which others can learn.
Enhancing transparency through ethical practices and advanced technology
Transparency is essential to sustainability, as it builds trust and ensures that operations are ethical, sustainable, and accountable. Clear communication of goals and practices, along with strict adherence to ethical standards, are fundamental to this process. For instance, our Supplier Code of Conduct, guided by international human rights standards, sets out expectations for our first-tier suppliers and strictly prohibits all forms of forced labour, including modern slavery. This code enforces that suppliers share a principles-based approach to business.
Another key facet of this is using technology to make supply chains more transparent. For example, polygon mapping using GPS data is helping to foster a deforestation-free cocoa supply chain. Cocoa is mainly grown by smallholders on plots of less than four hectares and is sourced across multiple markets, making accurate traceability challenging. However, advanced GPS polygon mapping can trace the entire perimeter of farms, ensuring that cocoa is sourced from deforestation-free areas that do not encroach on natural ecosystems. This technology is supporting our sustainable practices, aligning with our overall goal of a deforestation-free supply chain by 2025 and enhancing transparency in cocoa sourcing.
Transparency in partnerships, goals, and progress is vital for businesses aiming to enhance accountability and trust. By openly sharing information about their collaborations and the steps they are taking towards their sustainability objectives, businesses demonstrate a commitment to ethical practices and decision-making. This openness allows stakeholders to better understand the efforts being made and assess the effectiveness of these initiatives. It also fosters a culture of accountability. It holds businesses responsible for their promises and actions. Such transparency can lead to continuous improvements in sustainable supply chain practices, as it encourages ongoing dialogue and feedback, ultimately contributing to more informed and responsible decision-making.
Advancing water stewardship: innovative approaches to efficient water management
Water stewardship is critical to supply chain and manufacturing operations across the world, as changes in climate and increasing demands from growing populations put extra strain on fresh water supplies. Across the markets in which we operate, these challenges can be even more acute, putting extra importance on our need to innovate to preserve water wherever we can.
A key challenge that we have had to address is how we recycle water. In our Taipei factory, we have devised a process which allows us to recycle and resell waste sugar water as fertiliser binder. Not only does this reduce pressure on fresh water supplies, but it also saves 2,550 trees annually and removes 18,000 kilos of carbon emissions each year, directly supporting our goal of reducing greenhouse gases. From a business standpoint, the water recycling in Taipei also has an impact on the bottom line, helping Mars Wrigley save $693,000 annually. We have implemented similar recycling initiatives at factories such as Bengaluru and Pune, ranked as some of the most water scarce cities in the world, and in Egypt where we have used waste and grey water recycling methods to reduce the amount of water needed to produce snacks such as Twix and Snickers by 20%.
Adopting advanced water management and recycling techniques can greatly enhance sustainability. These practices not only benefit the environment but also provide practical economic advantages, highlighting that effective water stewardship is essential for creating a sustainable future for communities and businesses alike.
Reducing carbon emissions: Combining renewable energy and innovative technologies
It is clearly impossible to talk about sustainability in supply chains without addressing carbon emissions. Recognising that many of the markets we operate in are on the frontline of climate change, we have implemented various initiatives under our Net Zero Roadmap, to cut our greenhouse gases by 50% by 2030 and be net zero by 2050.
For example, in Mexico, we have reduced carbon emissions by 8,000 tons annually by switching to 100% renewable energy in our factories. Moreover, a team of engineers across GEM has developed a cost-effective, 3D-printed solar-powered chiller. The chiller keeps chocolate products safe in high temperatures, doesn’t require electric power as it uses solar power, and is low-cost and durable, requiring minimal maintenance for retailers. At a cost to produce of just $50, this scalable solution not only reduces emissions but makes sustainability accessible, helping small retailers to keep products cool without relying on electric power.
The work that we are doing to switch to renewable energy and the development of the solar chiller demonstrate perfectly how it will be innovations both large and small that will be key to reducing emissions across our supply chain. Making it possible for small businesses to take action on sustainability is key not only to reducing emissions, but it also helps them demonstrate to increasingly climate conscious consumers that it is important to them too.
For large businesses, clearly these small innovations cannot replace the large and complex task of energy transition and decarbonisation in the supply chain, but they should nonetheless be part of how we think about supporting our partners. Working across emerging markets around the world, we see how important this is not only for our business but also for the communities that we serve to create a better future for us all.
- Sustainability
