Mars to power all UK operations with wind energy

Mars, Inc. recently announced that in the next decade, all of its 12 operating sites in the UK will be fully powered by Eneco's Moy Wind Farm, aiming to achieve "zero carbon" emissions. By then, many well-known brands including Extra®, M&M's®, Pedigree®, and Whiskas® will be produced in the UK using clean renewable energy.

The Moy Wind Farm, which was put into operation in April this year, is located in the south of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands and was built and maintained by Eneco. The entire wind farm is equipped with 20 wind turbines with a power of 60 megawatts, which can output more than 125,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year. This electricity is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 34,000 households in the UK, enough to produce 80 billion pieces of Extra® chewing gum, or 1.8 billion bags of Whiskas® cat food, or 5 billion cups of brewed beverages for Fenya® hot beverage machines.

The 10-year partnership between Mars UK and Eneco is not only one of the largest long-term renewable energy projects in the UK, but also the latest step in Mars's "Sustainable Development in a Generation" plan. Previously, many environmental protection actions, including the Mesquite Creek Wind Farm in Texas, USA, have effectively helped the company reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, successfully achieving the phased emission reduction target from 2007 to 2015, and also laid an important foundation for eliminating the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions in all operations by 2040.

Barry Parkin, Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability and Health & Wellbeing, Mars, Incorporated, said: “The renewable electricity from the wind farm will significantly reduce the carbon emissions of our operations, allowing us to run all of our UK operations using completely natural, sustainable energy. We are delighted to be working towards Mars’ global goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions, creating lasting mutual benefits for Mars and the planet, and achieving growth that we can be proud of.”

Mars has never stopped its efforts to utilize renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2015, Mars participated in the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference and promoted the parties to reach the Paris Agreement. In China, Mars' energy conservation and emission reduction measures have also been effective: Wrigley's Shanghai factory, Yonghe factory and Royal Pet Food Shanghai factory have achieved zero waste to landfill ahead of schedule; Wrigley's Go Green project sounded the rallying cry of "Starting from the Heart of Green", reducing office paper consumption by 8% throughout the year; Mars Chocolate Jiaxing Factory won the "Jiaxing Environmental Protection Award"; Mars Chocolate Huairou Headquarters Office won the US Building Energy Saving Gold Award LEED GOLD certification; Mars Pet Care Food Factory won the honorary title of "Beijing Water-Saving Enterprise"; Royal Pet Food Shanghai Factory reduced water consumption by 11%, natural gas and electricity consumption by 5% per ton of product produced in 2014, and the company was awarded the honorary title of "2014 Advanced Pet Food Enterprise" by the Shanghai Municipal Agriculture Committee.

Mars has always been committed to creating a successful and sustainable company with innovative thinking and long-term considerations to benefit future generations. In addition, Mars also hopes to influence more companies to join in through its own environmental protection actions and use renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions, because it is the responsibility of all companies to help address global warming. I believe that with the joint efforts of the government and the industry, we can definitely curb the trend of global warming.