Our Operations
Product Transport
Our products are transported from our factories to millions of stores around the world, which has a significant impact on the planet.
Product transport is not included in our Sustainable in a Generation program and targets, as we use third-party providers. However, we are applying a similar approach as for our direct operations. Our aim is to eliminate transport-related carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2040. As we outsource product distribution, we recognize that we cannot achieve this goal without collaborating with others and are already working with partners to share best practice.
We have introduced sustainability roadmaps to help our product transport units work toward this goal. We are focusing on improved efficiencies and processes that will have more immediate effects. Other improvements, including the introduction of new technologies, require further exploration to play a greater role in the future.
Working with Others to Find Solutions
We work with our third-party transport providers to reduce transport-related emissions. We also help customers to understand that the way they place their orders impacts the environment.
In 2009, our Western European operations launched GREEN ORDERTM, an initiative to raise awareness of sustainable transport among customers. We print the carbon footprint of each journey on the delivery note and keep a scorecard of the carbon impact of each customer's ordering behavior.
Our transport contractors use a combination of measures, such as onboard computing and driver training, to improve fuel efficiency. We retender these contracts annually and are rolling out a Green Tender program across our global operations to integrate sustainability criteria into transportation purchasing.
We are also working with other manufacturers to both learn about and encourage the use of sustainable processes across the industry. During 2010, our transport specialists took part in several forums, including the 2020 Future Value Chain workshop. Organized by the Consumer Goods Forum, this event was designed to get industry partners working together to make their distribution networks more efficient. The resulting report will provide a practical framework for companies and industry to mobilize "smart" transport initiatives in the future.
Improving Our Own Network Planning
Although we use transport contractors, we plan the routes by which our products are delivered and regularly examine our distribution network to determine the best locations for our warehouses and to minimize miles traveled.
We also seek opportunities to optimize the modes of transport we use. Different modes of transport, such as road, rail and ship, each have different environmental impacts. By increasing our use of ship and rail transport we can reduce CO2 emissions and, on some routes, combine these modes with road transport on the same journey to reduce emissions.
In Western Europe, Wrigley applies this approach to transport overseas containers from its Biesheim factory in France to the major European ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam. By sending more than 86 percent of outgoing shipments on river barges, we cut our carbon emissions for this leg of the journey by an estimated 50 percent.
The best solutions are often simple. By seeking ways to store and ship our products more efficiently, we can reduce the number of journeys needed. Examples include double stacking items to optimize truck space. In the United States, Mars Petcare reduced CO2 emissions per tonne of product sold by 5.9 percent in 2010 by improving their network and combining different modes of transport to reduce the miles traveled.
We have also identified opportunities to collaborate across our business segments to amplify our positive impacts. In India, Mars Petcare and Wrigley store product in the same facilities and consolidate shipments. By shifting a significant portion of our freight from trucks to rail, we also anticipate a reduction in transportation CO2 emissions of nearly 25 percent over the next couple of years. In Western Europe, all categories are stored in the same facilities and shipped consolidated to our customers.
Our Mars Food operation at King's Lynn, U.K., uses double-decker trucks with nearly twice the capacity of typical trucks. This has almost halved the number of daily journeys between the operation and the warehouses and cut transport CO2 emissions by 40 percent. In addition, we are converting the trucks to run on natural gas instead of diesel, which will reduce CO2 emissions by 75 percent.
