FMCG / Consumer Goods

Mars sustainability score: 36/100

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About Mars

Mars is a privately held global food manufacturer headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with ~80,000 employees and $35B annual revenue (FY2017). Known for confectionery (Mars, Snickers, M&Ms), petcare (Pedigree, Whiskas), and rice (Ben's Original).

More about Mars

A major player in FMCG with significant agricultural supply chain exposure.

Founded 1911Head office McLean, Virginia, USStaff ~150,000Revenue ~$55BWebsite ↗

Our verdict

Mars has cut absolute emissions 16% since 2015 while growing revenue 69%, with SBTi-validated targets and strong supply chain mapping. But greenwashing allegations persist: RAN disputes deforestation claims, ad agencies face whistleblower suits, and packaging recycling rates lag designed targets. The company needs to triple its decarbonisation pace to hit 2030 goals.

Mars scores 36/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Companies can never pay for anything about their own score. Last verified May 2026.

That places Mars joint 512th of 934 companies scored, and joint 27th of 45 in FMCG / Consumer Goods.

The ten questions

What is Mars doing well, and where does it fall short?

Strongest on Targets & Commitments and Carbon Footprint: Operations (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Resource Use & Waste and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 5/10).

What's missing

Where Mars lost points

For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.

  • Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
  • Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
  • Whether its emissions are falling6/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
  • How clean its energy is6/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
  • Its effect on nature5/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
  • How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
  • Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
  • Its climate targets8/10No validated long-term net zero target.
  • How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
  • Its record on controversies5/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.

A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.

The calculation

How is Mars's SINK score calculated?

Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.

SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale
Industry base impact
FMCG / Consumer Goods sector ceiling.
30 / 100
Performance score
Sum of the ten questions, each scored 0 to 10.
60 / 100
Raw score
Weighted average before scale penalty.
(0.3 × 30) + (0.7 × 60) = 51.0
Scale penalty
Multiplier based on total emissions. Bigger polluters lose more.
× 0.7
Final score
Rounded. Below expectations.
36 / 100
Where the evidence comes from

What evidence is Mars's score based on?

17 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.

29% of them were published by Mars itself; the rest come from independent sources.

Scored on 4 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.

12 of 17 sources are independent of the company.

[1]Self-reported
Sustainability Reports — Mars
Ongoing
Q1
View →
[2]Independent source
Mars Decouples Growth from Emissions, Firms Up $1bn Climate Commitment
Unknown
Q1Q2
View →
[3]Independent source
Mars Sustainability Report: Three Takeaways
Unknown
Q2Q8
View →
[4]Self-reported
Mars Releases 2024 Sustainable in a Generation Report
2024
Q3
View →
[5]Independent source
Mars Has Decoupled Growth from Emissions Over the Last Five Years
Unknown
Q3
View →
[6]Independent source
Mars Unveils Emissions Reduction Progress, Launches MSIF $250M Green Investment Fund
Unknown
Q4
View →
[7]Independent source
Mars Signs New Solar PPA to Source 100% Renewable Power Australia
UnknownArchived copy from 2022-01-12: the original link no longer opens for us.
Q4
View →
[8]Independent source
The Nature Scorecard — Planet Tracker
Unknown
Q5
View →
[9]Independent source
Mars Claim of Achieving Deforestation-Free Palm Oil: Nothing But Greenwash — Rainforest Action Network
Unknown
Q5Q10
View →
[10]Independent source
Mars 2024 Sustainability Report: PCR, Post-Consumer Recycled Content
2024
Q6
View →
[11]Self-reported
Sustainability Report Progress — Mars
Ongoing
Q6
View →
[12]Independent source
Reduced Emissions: How Mars Promotes Sustainability
Unknown
Q7Q9
View →
[13]Self-reported
Water Stewardship — Mars Policies & Practices
Ongoing
Q7
View →
[14]Self-reported
Climate Action — Mars Policies & Practices
OngoingArchived copy from 2025-12-09: the original link no longer opens for us.
Q8
View →
[15]Independent source
Mars Reports 1.9% Further Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2024, Launches $250 Million Sustainability Investment Fund
2024
Q9
View →
[16]Public record
Ad Agency Greenwashing Lawsuit — Climate Whistleblowers
Unknown
Q10
View →
[17]Public record
Violation Tracker: Mars Incorporated
Ongoing
Q10
View →

If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.

For Mars

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    Mars: SINK sustainability score 36/100.

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Mars in context

How does Mars compare with other fmcg / consumer goods companies?

Where Mars sits among fmcg / consumer goods peers.

Among the 45 major fmcg / consumer goods brands we've scored, Mars is tied =27th of 45, with 3 others.

=27/45
Mars's rank
39
Industry average
23
Industry low
53
Industry high
See all 45 in FMCG / Consumer Goods →
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