At Mars, we recognise that success is not only determined by the great products that we make, but also by the way that we interact with the environment around us. We aim to be in business for the long term and this means making every effort to reduce our impact on the environment and do what we can, where we can.

In the last 5 years energy prices have doubled. By 2016 the bill is expected to be 60% higher again. Climate change is something that is widely accepted to be occurring across the world and green house gas emissions are the cause of this global issue. These issues are at the fore of Mars’ agenda and we are committed to reducing our CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020.

One of the initiatives that we have launched in our Slough chocolate factory is the Energy Action team. This was set up with the goal of reducing the amount of energy used on our site. The team is made up of a variety of experts from across the business ranging from operators to engineers. Through a methodical selection of projects and focused communications to associates, significant change has occurred both in the actions and attitude of the entire workforce. This has resulted in massive savings of energy.

One of the first actions the Energy Action team was tasked with was to monitor the amount of energy that was being used by each production line at Slough. From initial tests, it was clear that by upping the levels of communication around the importance of turning machinery off during a shutdown it was possible to reduce the amount of energy used by the line on these occasions by 90%.

The majority of the early savings were made through simple behavioural changes. The next step was to target projects where a small amount of investment would result in a large saving of energy. For example, by replacing the lights in the office with more energy efficient ones it was possible to reduce their energy consumption by 40%. Similarly, by insulating pipes, adding lagging to tanks, and repairing leaks, it was possible to reduce steam energy consumption by 10%.

The Energy Action team’s approach has been to find a large number of small wins that amount to a significant contribution to reducing energy consumption.

All of these individual projects have made it possible to make an 11% reduction of energy consumption throughout the year at the Slough site and we continue to look for ways to improve our practices and exceed our standards.