Candy and pet food giant Mars used 14,000 metric tons of recycled materials for its products in 2024, according to its recently released sustainability report.
That represented 7% post-consumer resin use across the company’s entire plastic packaging portfolio in 2024, according to the report, representing a significant increase from 1.5% in 2023. Specific products reached higher percentages: The company incorporated 100% RPET in jars for its Starburst, Skittles and M&M’s products.
“Resilient businesses that endure the test of time are those who invest to continuously adapt, while being mindful of their impact on both people and planet,” CEO Poul Weihrauch wrote in the report. “At Mars, we take this responsibility seriously and we believe we don’t have to sacrifice performance to operate sustainably.”
According to the report, 64.1% of the company’s consumer packaging was reusable, recyclable or compostable, up from 61% in 2023. Mars previously set a goal of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025, before announcing the company was expected to fall short of the goal last August.
In 2024, Mars eliminated 350 tons of plastic from its manufacturing by optimizing the packaging for its Whiskas cat food and using more compostable paper packaging for M&M’s in China. The company also launched 60% recycled packaging for bags of Schmackos dog treats in Australia.
According to the report, Mars transitioned to mono-material packaging for several of its candy and pet food products. But because “infrastructure is not always ready to sort and recycle mono-material packs,” the company is taking a “targeted” approach about “when and where we redesign flexible formats to mono-material.” Mono-materials are often cited as the gold standard for recyclability, but some mono-material products can pose their own recycling challenges.
Mars additionally highlighted continuing efforts in the reusable packaging space. The company’s M&M Colorworks mass dispensers that use reusable containers were extended into Australia. The company also presented its “MiWa” minimum-waste pet food dispensers at a U.K. dog show and tested pet food refill stations in France.
