Pulp & Paper Action Plan

Current Situation

As part of the Sustainable in a Generation Plan, Mars recognizes the importance of forests and the role supply chains can play protecting the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our global supply chains. Since 2015, Mars has had a Pulp & Paper-Based Materials Sourcing & Deforestation Policy, which prescribes how we source wood fiber-based packaging. Under this policy, we have steadily increased the volume of wood fiber-based packaging that we purchase each year which is made from certified, recycled, or verified deforestation and conversion-free (DCF)¹ wood fiber. The scope of this policy includes all primary, secondary and tertiary wood fiber-based packaging that Mars buys directly².

While the actions that Mars and other companies and industry stakeholders have taken are important steps, the global demand for paper and other forest-derived products continues to grow. Over the same period, boreal and tropical old-growth forests, rich in carbon and biodiversity, have been cut for pulpwood and timber production.

When forests are managed responsibly and supply chains have transparency, timber can be produced and harvested in a way that preserves these important forest ecosystem and supports the communities that depend on them. Through our Pulp & Paper Action Plan, Mars remains committed to maintaining and expanding our efforts to prevent deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems in our global pulp and paper supply chain. This Pulp & Paper Action Plan articulates our approach to implementing the Mars global Deforestation and Land Use Change Position in our pulp & paper supply chain.

Our Ambition & Supply Chain Solutions 

As part of the Sustainable in a Generation Plan, and taking everything we have learned to date, we are more committed than ever to building a responsible supply chain for all in-scope pulp and paper-based packaging materials sourced by Mars, while helping to foster a sustainable forestry sector.

Mars remains committed to stopping deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems in our pulp and paper supply chain. We work toward this by continuously aiming to increase the volume of wood fiber-based packaging that we purchase each year from suppliers who:

1. Achieve 100% traceability of virgin pulp and paper-based packaging to at least country of harvest annually
2. Source 100% of wood fiber-based packaging from certified, verified or recycled sources
3. Ensure virgin pulp and paper that we source from origins assessed as high-deforestation risk are certified by the  Forest Stewardship Council (Opens a new window)

What is Supply Chain Traceability?

Mars prefers and strives to source virgin pulp and paper-based packaging from suppliers who have systems in place allowing them to trace the wood fiber in the packaging to their country of harvest. Traceability helps us in identifying, evaluating and mitigating deforestation and other risks in our pulp and paper supply chain. Since 2016, we have used this traceability data to take an evidence-based approach to inform our strategic choices. We will update our traceability annually to maintain visibility into the countries of harvest of our virgin fiber, and we intend to increase our sourcing of pulp and paper-based packaging from suppliers who are able to trace the wood fiber in the packaging to their country of harvest.

Our Actions 

Supply Chain Certification and Verification

Given the global, dynamic nature of our pulp and paper supply chain, we ask our suppliers to:

• Provide certification by an independent auditor that the supply chains of our pulp and paper-based packaging supplier comply with the standards of a third-party certification schemes accepted by Mars. We accept third-party certification bodies whose standards align with our Sustainable Sourcing Principles:
  • Mars has a strong preference for FSC Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification (Opens a new window).
  • Mars will accept products certified under national schemes approved by the  Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (Opens a new window), but only from countries of harvest that have robust legal enforcement.
• Monitoring and reporting by Earthworm Foundation who uses grievances, independent indicators and other tools to verify that our virgin pulp and paper-based packaging suppliers are sourcing their wood fiber from forests which are free of deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems after the relevant cut-off date for the country of harvest.

Preference for Recycled Fiber in our Supply Chain 

To reduce our use of virgin fiber, we will maintain a preference for recycled fiber where feasible and where we believe it is a more sustainable alternative to virgin fiber. The final choice of fiber will be determined by quality and food safety requirements, product specification and performance and legal requirements.

Please see our 2025 supply chain update for more information on our progress towards our goals.

Landscape Programs in High-Risk Origins 

Based on the risk assessments carried out with support of  Earthworm Foundation  (Opens a new window)and our traceability back to at least country of harvest, Mars has continued to engage our suppliers in sourcing areas assessed as high risk to support concrete and scalable programs on the ground. We work with stakeholders from local governments, civil society organizations and communities whose livelihoods depend on the forest landscape. These programs are led by credible expert organizations, such as the Earthworm Foundation, that tackle sustainable forestry issues in these high-risk geographical locations. To bring greater scale to this important work, Mars has been an active participant of the  Consumer Goods Forum's Forest Positive Coalition (CGF FPC) (Opens a new window). In addition, Mars is an active member of the Landscapes Working Group within CGF with the ultimate goal of facilitating increased investment and engagement in priority forest landscapes.

Protecting Forests through the recognition and advancement of Indigenous Rights: The Earthworm Foundation and Tsay Keh Dene Nation (TKDN) Partnership 

Since 2019, Mars, 3M and Nestlé have collaborated with Earthworm Foundation and the Tsay Keh Dene Nation (TKDN) in British Columbia, Canada, to protect Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) and High Conservation Values (HCV) by empowering Indigenous stewardship and promoting robust implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The TKDN’s 3,217,307 hectare core territory is home to IFLs, critical caribou habitat and the ecologically and culturally important areas including the 110,535 hectare Wədzih Yinè' (Caribou Song) IPCA in the Ingenika and Mesilinka watersheds. You can learn more about the IPCA here(Opens a new window). The core territory also overlaps with the Mackenzie timber supply area where forest industry operates including Canfor pulp and paper that has been identified in the supply chains of EF’s members.

This collaboration amplifies TKDN’s vision for sustainable landscape management by funding baseline ecological research and the development of community-led management and monitoring plans to identify and manage areas for conservation. A key feature of this collaboration is the engagement with forestry companies and suppliers to ensure the Nation’s expectations for sustainable forest management within their core territory are respected.

Our collaboration has supported development of the TKDN’s Forest Stewardship Framework which has been applied to their forestry practices as well as shared with other forestry companies operating in their core territory. This work has contributed to the successful signing of agreements with the two major forestry companies to protect the Wədzih Yinè' (Caribou Song) IPCA. TKDN also commissioned a HCV assessment of Chuyaza(Opens a new window), a 24,716 hectare area of ecological, cultural and historical significance to the Tsay Keh Dene people. This was the first HCV assessment conducted globally by an Indigenous community to inform conservation planning at the landscape scale.

Since 2023, the collaboration has supported TKDN’s development of Free, Prior, and Informed (FPIC) guidance for forestry companies, forest product suppliers, and downstream brands. Additional research and stewardship activities are taking place within the IPCA through collaborations with like mined organizations in provincial and federal governments and industry. The Tsay Keh Dene-led landscape was also recently featured in two best practice reports, Respecting Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Landscape Initiatives A Guide (Opens a new window)for Practitioners on Minimum Safeguards and Evolving Best Practices and Beyond Supply Chains (Opens a new window): Pulp, Paper and Packaging Companies Take Landscape Action for Sustainability at Scale. You can learn more about the TKDN-led landscape here(Opens a new window).

In 2026, Mars supported TKDN’s official application to become a recognized landscape program as part of the Consumer Goods Forum’s Forest Positive Coalition’s and Landscape portfolio. The application was accepted by the Consumer Goods Forum and will allow TKDN to further demonstrate its impact and invite additional potential investments to advance its mission.

Engaging in Collaborative Action to Protect Sweden’s Biodiversity Hotspots and Improving Supply Chain Resilience. 

Sweden is a key sourcing origin for MARS. At the same time, it faces challenges with its current forestry model, the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), and the impacts on biodiversity. In 2025, Mars joined Earthworm Foundation’s Collaborative Approach to Protecting Sweden's Biodiversity Hotspots (Opens a new window)to support and collaborate other companies to address these challenges . In May 2025, our team visited Northern Sweden with other global brands to better understand the challenges and opportunities for sustainable sourcing. This visit has laid the foundations for our support of the region and actions in 2026 with Earthworm Foundation to build resilience of this landscape. Understanding the complexity of northern Sweden’s forests is key to promoting positive long-term outcomes for the Sami Reindeer Herders and their ecosystem services. We look forward to communicating more in the future on the impacts and contribution of these projects we’re committed to supporting.

What’s Next 

As we move forward in implementing this Action Plan, Mars will continue to work with government, industry, communities and civil society stakeholders. Each year we will compare our ongoing progress against our commitments, including the  Pulp & Paper CGF FPC Roadmap(Opens a new window), and each of our strategic choices.

Our Paper-Based Packaging Sourcing Requirement

Our Supplier List