Pulp & Paper Action Plan
As part of the Sustainable in a Generation Plan, Mars recognizes the importance of forests and the role supply chains play to remove unsustainable pressures on the environment and tackle our greenhouse gas emissions. With our 2015 Pulp & Paper-Based Materials Sourcing & Deforestation Policy, we set a policy to source paper-based packaging that is free from deforestation and degradation. The scope of this policy includes all primary, secondary and tertiary fiber-based packaging that Mars buys directly.
While the actions that Mars and other companies have taken over the last few years are important steps, the fact remains that global demand for paper and other forest-derived products continues to grow. Over the same period, old-growth forest, rich in carbon and biodiversity, have been cut for pulpwood and timber production, from the boreal to the tropical forests. However, when managed responsibly, forest fiber materials can also be the reason forests remain standing and healthy. With these insights, Mars remains committed to our Pulp & Paper Action Plan and to maintain and build on our efforts to prevent forest degradation or deforestation in our supply chain. This Action Plan articulates our approach to implementing 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 in the past few years, we are more committed than ever to building a responsible supply chain for all pulp and paper-based packaging materials sourced by Mars, while fostering a sustainable forestry sector.
Mars remains committed to stopping deforestation and forest degradation in our pulp and paper supply chain. We will work toward this by continuously aiming to:
- Achieve 100% traceability of virgin pulp and paper-based packaging to at least country of harvest annually.
- Source 100% of fiber-based packaging from certified, verified or recycled sources.
- Ensure virgin pulp and paper that we source from origins assessed as high-deforestation risk are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
What is Supply Chain Traceability?
Traceability enables us to define country of harvest risk our suppliers have in their value 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 on the countries of harvest of our virgin fiber and our supply chain partners, while making business decisions about the supply chain partners who do not maintain traceability.
Our Actions
Supply Chain Certification and Verification
Given the global, dynamic, nature of our supply chain, we will assure compliance using:
- Certification to a credible, independent standard that demonstrates compliance with our Sustainable Sourcing Principles:
- Mars has a strong preference for FSC Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification.
- Mars also will accept products certified under national schemes approved by the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, but only from countries of harvest that have robust legal enforcement.
- Verification tools and approaches together with our partner, Earthworm Foundation, that use grievances and independent indictors to verify that wood fiber we use originates from responsibly managed forests.
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 2024 supply chain update(Opens a new window) 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 and our traceability back to at least country of harvest, we continue 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 Mars partnership with Earthworm Foundation) that tackle sustainable forestry issues in these high-risk geographical locations. To bring greater scale to this important work, we are very active in the Consumer Goods Forum's Forest Positive Coalition (CGF FPC). Particularly, we are providing strong support to the Landscapes Working Group in order to facilitate increased investment and engagement in priority forest landscapes.
Earthworm Foundation and the Tsay Keh Dene Nation (TKDN) Partnership
Since 2019, Mars has partnered with Earthworm Foundation, 3M, Nestlé and the Tsay Keh Dene Nation (TKDN) in British Columbia, Canada, to protect intact forest landscapes and High Conservation Value (HCV) forests by supporting Indigenous stewardship and promoting implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
The TKDN’s 3,217,307 hectare core territory is home to intact forest landscapes, critical caribou habitat and the ecologically and culturally important 110,535 hectare Wədzih Yinè' (Caribou Song) Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area(Opens a new window) (IPCA) in the Ingenika and Mesilinka watersheds. It also overlaps with the Mackenzie timber supply area where the forest industry operates.
This partnership helps amplify 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 protect conservation areas. Ongoing engagement with forestry companies and suppliers is taking place to help ensure the Nation’s expectations for sustainable forest management within their territory are respected. Degradation in the territory has been monitored annually using Starling since 2020. To date, the partnership supported development of the TKDN’s Forest Stewardship Framework which has been shared with forestry companies operating in their core territory, completion of an HCV assessment of Chuyaza(Opens a new window), a 24,716 hectare area of cultural and historical significance to the Tsay Keh Dene people, and contributed to the successful signing of agreements with two of the three major forestry companies operating in their core territory to protect the Wədzih Yinè' (Caribou Song) IPCA.
In 2023, the partnership supported TKDN’s development of FPIC guidance for forestry companies, forest product suppliers and downstream brands. Additional research and stewardship activities are taking place within the IPCA through the TKDN’s collaborations with partners in provincial and federal governments and industry. The Tsay Keh Dene-led landscape was recently discussed 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).
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, and each of our strategic choices.
Our Paper-Based Packaging Sourcing Requirements(Opens a new window)
Our Supplier List(Opens a new window)