MARS DRINKS Issues 2016-2020 Sustainability Review, Citing Progress Since 2010, Announces Aim To Become Most Sustainable Workplace Drinks Solution

PHILADELPHIA, June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MARS DRINKS today issued its 2016-2020 sustainability review highlighting significant progress toward its goal of becoming the most sustainable workplace drinks solution and announcing new sustainability goals for the next 5 years. This announcement from MARS DRINKS follows the Mars, Incorporated release of the company's sixth annual Principles in Action Summary – highlighting its global achievements and progress on bold commitments across its practices and operations around the world.

According to its review, MARS DRINKS achieved the majority of the 2010-2015 sustainability targets including:

• Sourcing 100 percent of ALTERRA^® coffee and THE BRIGHT TEA CO.™ black tea products from third-party certified farms;
• Offering North American customers a solution for diverting Freshpacks™ from landfill;
• Reducing fossil fuel energy and water use on factory sites by 65 percent and 63 percent respectively since 2007, far exceeding the minimum 25 percent; and
• Sending zero waste to landfill from factories in the United Kingdom and the United States, which are certified to ISO 14001 environmental management standards.

MARS DRINKS has also achieved LEED^® Gold Certification in 2014 for renovations completed at its global headquarters.

"I am delighted about how far we've come, but I also know that we can do more," said MARS DRINKS Global President Xavier Unkovic. "Our 2016 – 2020 sustainability strategy will enable us to take another bold step towards achieving our goal to be the most sustainable workplace drinks solution."

Guided by the sustainability principles and initiatives of its parent company, Mars, Incorporated, MARS DRINKS is focusing its 2016-2020 sustainability initiatives in three areas: sustainable agriculture, sustainable operations and sustainable solutions.

"Our single most important sustainability priority over the next five years will be working to solve the waste challenge for workplaces who choose MARS DRINKS," said Unkovic. "We will achieve this through innovation and by working with our customers to keep packaging waste from our single-serve Freshpacks and KLIX^® cups from landfills."

With new targets established for the next five years, by 2020 the company aims to:

• Provide 100 percent of customers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany with a sustainable end-of-life solutions for all MARS DRINKS technologies, KLIX^® cups and single-serve Freshpacks waste; and,
• Use sustainable design to reduce the carbon footprint of single-serve Freshpacks and KLIX^® cups by 25 percent.

In addition to these objectives, the company will strive to incorporate sustainability at every stage of its value chain, from the raw materials purchased, to the factories where products are made, to the consumables and technologies they deliver to the world's workplaces.

"While we are clear that our single most important priority for the next five years is to work to solve the waste challenge for our customers, we also recognize that we have a responsibility to ensure we are making positive changes in our own supply chain by sourcing agricultural materials and manufacturing our products more sustainably," said Samantha Veide, MARS DRINKS global director, Corporate Sustainable Solutions.

Veide noted, "Coffee and tea communities face complex challenges including poor productivity, low farmer incomes and the impact of a changing climate, including: pests, droughts and plant diseases." To help address these issues, the 2016 MARS DRINKS sustainability report includes a case study of the company's partnership with World Coffee Research (WCR).

On sustainable operations performance, MARS DRINKS' Pennsylvania campus ranks first across all 140 Mars, Incorporated factories, while the Basingstoke, UK site comes in at tenth place.

Looking towards 2020, new sustainable operations targets have been identified to help maintain progress, including:

• Achieving a 15 percent reduction in water usage from the 2015 baseline;
• Achieving a 15 percent reduction in energy usage from the 2015 baseline; and,
• Ensuring 100 percent of its new technology platforms are more sustainable than previous versions.

For more information about the Mars Drinks' 2016-2020 sustainability strategy and to download the full review visit www.marsdrinks.com. Download Mars Principles in Action 2015 Summary here. http://www.mars.com/global/doing-our-part/principles-in-action

ABOUT MARS DRINKS
MARS DRINKS creates great tasting moments at work by being at the center of workplace engagement, collaboration, productivity and well-being. Throughout North America, Europe and Asia, MARS DRINKS supports businesses who want to provide great working environments for their people. Part of Mars, Incorporated MARS DRINKS focuses its energy and resources on the workplace, with the belief that people are the most important asset to any business. In 1973 MARS DRINKS introduced KLIX^® the first-ever fully automatic in-cup drinks vending machine that serves large manufacturing channels across Europe. In 1984 MARS DRINKS pioneered the single serve hot drinks category, introducing FLAVIA^®, the first system for making hot drinks using fresh ground coffee and leaf teas sealed in individual servings. Through its ALTERRA^® Coffee Roasters coffees, THE BRIGHT TEA CO.^® teas, and DOVE^® Hot Chocolate, Mars Drinks creates more than 1 billion great tasting moments at work! Find MARS DRINKS online at www.marsdrinks.com.

ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' first roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the objective of creating a "mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders" – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 75,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance. Mars, Incorporated is proud to have been ranked 85^th in the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list, compiled by the Great Place to Work® Institute, for the third consecutive year.

SOURCE MARS DRINKS

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