Farsightedness frees up capacities for the continuous optimisation of business processes. One example of this involves concepts for using resources efficiently and with due care and consideration.
An internal management system based on ISO 9000 ff and 14000 ff ensures compliance with and further development of the highest environmental, quality and safety standards. The environmental commitment of the German sites focuses primarily on the following three areas:
1. Energy
Mars Germany uses energy efficiently and reduces its CO2 emissions. For instance, the enterprise in Viersen makes use of residual energy from its production processes. The most advanced technologies allow effective recirculation and utilisation in this respect. Furthermore, solar tubes direct daylight onto the workplaces of the employees. With these measures, some 750,000 kWh of energy have been able to be saved each year to date. In Verden, optimisation of the boiler plant with an additional flue gas cooler will reduce gas consumption by six percent.
In the field of logistics, Mars was able to position itself as a leading force in 2008: stimulated by the company, logistics experts from industry and trade have developed joint approaches for the sustainable distribution of consumer goods in Germany. These include, for example, the increased bundling of transportation and the joint use of vehicle fleets. The cooperation partners include competitor Ferrero and trading partner Fressnapf. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 15 to 25 percent by the year 2012.
Above that, Mars is focusing on having an environmentally-friendly fleet of vehicles. Mars products are almost exclusively delivered to their destinations by vehicles certified in the pollutant categories Euro 3-5. The portion of Euro 5 vehicles is, for instance, currently at 49%. This means Mars is the leader and remains far above the national average of only 5%.
2. Water
Mars Germany uses water economically. All production sites monitor both water consumption and the volume of wastewater generated. Furthermore, the company has initiated various projects to drastically reduce consumption at the individual sites. A concrete example of this is that the water consumption for pet food production in Minden has been reduced by 50 percent and wastewater by 65 percent since 2003 thanks to ongoing optimisations.
3. Waste
Mars Germany saves paper. The focus in this respect is on the principles of recycling and reduction, ongoing analysis of the status quo and continuous process optimisation. Today, 65 percent of the paper used is recycled paper, especially transport packaging. From 2010 onwards, this proportion is intended to reach 80 percent. And by 2010, Mars will reduce the volume of its sales packaging by 10 percent. One example of how this can be achieved is the continuous work aimed at reducing the weight of tin cans.
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