Mars’ US$27m Pledge for Dairy Emissions Reduction

Mars has announced a US$27m investment over five years to slash greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farming.

Dairy is Mars’ fourth largest carbon footprint contributor, so it cannot achieve its sustainability goals without making a difference in the industry.

The Farmer Forward Programme aims to empower dairy farmers to reduce on-farm emissions and is created in partnership with Fonterra, one of the world’s largest dairy suppliers. 

Mars hopes that this initiative will support its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030.

“Dairy farmers are on the front line of advancing climate-smart agriculture, which is why we’re putting them first through the launch of our Farmer Forward program,” says Amanda Davies, Chief R&D, Procurement and Sustainability Officer at Mars Snacking. 

“Through this initiative, we're investing roughly US$27m in Fonterra farming families over the next five years to deliver critical financial support and significant emissions reductions. 

“It’s a true win-win, because we know making dairy more sustainable takes real effort and real investment.”

What is Mars’ Farmer Forward Programme?

The programme is set to revolutionise dairy farming practices across 26,000 hectares of farmland - an area equivalent to approximately 50,000 NFL football fields. 

This vast expanse of land could theoretically produce enough milk to make 20 billion Snickers bars each year.

Around US$13.5m of this investment will be allocated to fund sustainability-focussed tools and tech for around 2,000 Fonterra dairy farmers, and the remaining funds will reward about 165 farmers with an average of US$15,000 each year for demonstrating significant sustainability progress. 

The Farmer Forward Programme is a cornerstone of Mars’ Moo’ving Dairy Forward initiative that aims to drive investment in new technologies and partnerships to cut emissions across its global dairy supply chain. 

How Mars’ programme will impact the environment

Through the Farmer Forward Programme, Mars hopes to cut a projected 150,000 tonnes of its Scope 3 emissions from dairy by 2030 against a 2015 baseline. 

This amount of emissions is roughly equivalent to that of burning 79 million kilograms of coal or charging about 300 million smartphones. 

More than 200,000 cows supply dairy for Mars’ confectionary brands including M&Ms and Snickers, but raw ingredients account for 65% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from its snacking portfolio. 

“Fonterra and Mars have been working together for decades, with sustainability really taking a front seat in recent years,” says Charlotte Rutherford, Director of Sustainability at Fonterra.

"Fonterra has clear ambitions when it comes to climate and it’s through partnerships like this with Mars, that we can support our farmer owners with achieving our targets.

“We are grateful for Mars and its shared commitment to protecting the environment. It’s a true testament to the power of partnership and innovation.”

Poul Weihrauch, CEO at Mars, said on social media: “Part of Mars Moo’ving Dairy Forward, our sustainable dairy plan, the Farmer Forward Program gets us one step closer to our commitment to slash emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve Net Zero by 2050.”

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