Procurement is on the frontline of driving sustainability at Mars Wrigley, chief procurement and sustainability officer Amanda Davies told said in a recent CIPS Futures podcast.
Sustainability is a big deal for giant food producer Mars, Inc. The company has two major environmental aims: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. This means investing in regenerative agriculture, enhanced renewable energy usage and tackling deforestation – and procurement plays a leading role in these incentives.
Procurement’s power to drive change
There are three reasons why we can lead, Davies told podcast hosts Emma Scott and Sam Achampong. Firstly, she notes: “As a function, procurement owns the purse of the business, we own where the dollars go. That is an incredible responsibility, and it comes with a huge amount of influence to drive change.”
Second, Davies says it’s part of procurement’s responsibility to truly understand supply chains “from the field forward, not from the office back”. As such, procurement leaders understand impact and they have the opportunity to reinvent supply chains if they’re not fit for purpose.
Thirdly, she says: “We have expertise in finding value and delivering on promises we make to P&L. We are equipped to do it, it’s part of our DNA. I call it a superpower to deliver impact, so I believe we can translate that superpower to deliver on our commitments to the planet.”
It means procurement departments and leaders need to evolve, says Davies, and get better at data analytics, but it’s also a mindset change. “We are the first generation who can’t say we didn’t know about impact of climate change,” she says. “We can’t shy away from the facts. We have to lean in. It also means we are the last generation that can act before it’s too late and take responsibility. That’s the mindset change we need.”
Net-zero dairies and cocoa tracing
Davies cites three examples where Mars Wrigley is aiming to make a difference. ‘I’m super proud that we are a founder of the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition coalition, aimed at driving industry-wide action through global supply chains,” she says.
“In terms of specifics, we just kicked off a project in Germany with a farmer at one of our dairies where we are aiming for it to reach net-zero. To be able to stand there, with a farmer, dreaming about carbon capture, it’s super exciting.”
She also points to the research the Mars Science & Technology team is collaboration on with University of California to study the cocoa plant and identify variants that can adapt to our changing world.
And, finally, Amanda says she’s excited about seeing sustainability and technology come together in a cocoa farm mapping project. “We’re tracing the entire perimeters of our farms so we can really look and monitor, and verify, our commitments around deforestation.”
Listen to the full podcast episode with Amanda Davies and subscribe to the CIPS Futures podcast.
Credit: CIPS UK.
