Mars Launches New Policies On Palm Oil And Deforestation

Mars Launches New Policies On Palm OilMars Launches New Policies On Palm Oil And Deforestation PR Newswire MCLEAN, Virginia, March 10, 2014 Mars, Incorporated announced today a new policy to help build a fully sustainable palm oil supply chain. This sees Mars commit to both industry leading standards and develop a fully traceable pipeline back to known palm oil processing mills by year-end 2014. This policy is at the forefront of the business' strengthened commitment to tackle deforestation, and further supported by the launch of its new deforestation policy. In addition to palm oil, Mars will initially focus on its other raw materials that have the greatest impact on forests: beef, pulp and paper, and soy. Barry Parkin, chief sustainability officer, Mars, Incorporated stated, "Rapid expansion of palm oil plantations continues to threaten environmentally sensitive areas of tropical rainforest and carbon-rich peatlands, as well as the rights of communities that depend on them for their livelihoods. We have recognized that even though we have already implemented a 100% certified supply of Palm Oil this is not enough. We believe that these additional measures will not only help build a genuinely sustainable pipeline for Mars, but will also help accelerate change across the industry by encouraging our suppliers to only source from companies whose plantations and farms are responsibly run.