SUSTAINABILITY
“ Successfully scaling innovation therefore requires close collaboration across R & D, sourcing, manufacturing and regulatory teams working together with our demand functions, to ensure every part of the system evolves together.” Regulation will continue to evolve, particularly in areas such as sustainability, transparency and packaging; the goal isn’ t to predict every individual change. It’ s to build enough flexibility into the system to respond effectively when change occurs.
“ Resilience starts with designing systems that can adapt,” says Dane.
“ That begins with horizon scanning and planning. We spend a significant amount of time evaluating future scenarios, identifying potential risks and understanding where additional flexibility may be required across sourcing, manufacturing and packaging.”
Increasingly, Mars is also using digital tools and AI to help model different outcomes and make better-informed decisions earlier in the process.
Local production also plays an important role. Around 85 % of the Mars products sold in the European Union are produced within the EU, giving the company greater responsiveness while maintaining consistency across markets.“ Ultimately, resilience isn’ t about creating buffers for every possible disruption. It’ s about building adaptable systems, strong partnerships and the ability to make informed decisions quickly when conditions change.”
Supporting a circular future Many of the systems needed to support a circular future are still emerging,“ which means partnership is essential,” says Dane,“ no single organisation can build the infrastructure, technologies and processes needed on its own.” Therefore, progress depends on collaboration across manufacturers, material suppliers, recyclers, researchers and policymakers.“ Our approach is centred on working together to solve practical challenges. We collaborate with suppliers to explore new material technologies and test how they perform in real-world manufacturing environments,” says Dane.
86 September 2026