We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Open PDF file of Data Source
Climate Lobbying Overview: Mars Incorporated (Mars) has mostly positive engagement on US climate policy in 2020-22. Mars has directly engaged in support of multiple US climate policies, including the Build Back Better Act.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Mars appears broadly supportive of climate policy, stating support for the Build Back Better Act in an October 2021 joint letter with CERES, and again in an April 2022 joint letter. Mars also stated support for ambitious climate action in a BICEP coalition joint letter in May 2022, and stated support for the Build Back Better Act and greater renewable energy investment in an April 2021 joint letter with the We Mean Business Coalition. According to Mars’ 2021 CDP response, Mars has engaged with policymakers to support Paris Climate Agreement aligned carbon pricing mechanism. Former Mars CEO Grant Reid expressed support for ambitions to meet the goals of the UN’s climate goals in an October 2021 op-ed in The Guardian and support for increased action in government to address climate change in a statement published on the Mars website in 2022.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Mars has consistently lobbied in support of environmental regulations. Mars disclosed in their July 2021 CDP report that they had met with multiple US senators to express their support for a price on carbon as members and representatives of the BICEP coalition. In April 2021 Mars signed onto the We Mean Business Coalition’s (WMB) joint letter supporting the significant investment in renewable energy, and Mars also disclosed in their July 2021 CDP report that they had directly engaged as members of the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance (SFPA) with US legislators to express support for the inclusion of renewable energy investments in a relief package.
In a December 2020 EU legislative consultation, Mars expressed that its current positions would be consistent with an EU demand-side measure related to deforestation, and in the same consultation generally expressed support for increased legislation to prevent deforestation. Mars also disclosed in an August 2022 lobbying report direct engagement support of the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill aimed at encouraging sustainable land use practices. Mars also disclosed in an August 2022 lobbying report direct engagement support of the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill aimed at encouraging sustainable land use practices.
Position on Energy Transition: Mars signed onto a 2021 C2ES joint letter expressing strong support for immediate Congressional investments in clean electricity, thermal energy, decarbonization of transport, and other net-zero supportive technologies. Mars also signed a WMB letter encouraging government investments in clean transport, energy, and energy efficiency. In a 2022 CERES joint letter with the BICEP coalition, Mars requested that the EPA strengthen transportation emission standards on heavy-duty vehicles to promote the transition to zero emission vehicles. Mars also helped to launch the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, an industry coalition that seeks to advance low or zero emission thermal energy sources.
Industry Association Governance: Mars has disclosed a list of its trade association memberships, as found on their corporate website in 2022. This list also contains discrepancies between memberships listed in Mars’ 2021 CDP report. The list stated that no alignment conflicts exist between the industry associations listed and Mars’ climate engagement positions. The company has not published a review of its industry trade associations and InfluenceMap could not find evidence of memberships to trade associations active on climate.