Mars, Incorporated Follow Up On Last Week's Twitter Chat

Last Wednesday we enjoyed an hour-long chat with Barry Parkin, the new Chief Sustainability Officer for Mars, Incorporated

.  You can check out a Storify synopsis of the chat here.

There were a lot of questions we didn't have time to get to, so Barry was kind enough to respond to quite a few more and sent his responses to us.  Take a look below.  We hope to have another chance to keep the conversation going with Mars, and many other companies and organizations.  If you're interested in participating in a chat.  Please get in touch!

Thanks again to everyone for joining!  For more on Mars, check out the 2012 Principles in Action Summary on Mars.com.

From @LivingUnited: is ethical corp communication always transparent, and how much so?

At Mars, we believe transparency is the only way forward in communicating where we’re making progress and where we’re learning to seek the best way forward. 

From @elainecohen: Does this include online games / activities is relation to your claim that "we haven't marketed to children under the age of 12"

Yes.

From @rob_cameron: Much of ur supp chain is dominated by a few global traders, often slow in Sust. Are they 100% engaged in making Sust real?

Our job is to ensure that they are fully committed as they often have the direct contact and influence in the origins.  We already have many strong joint sustainability activities with them.

From @Agrestafiesta @MarsGlobal Can you elaborate on your governance model? What factors make it successful in maintaining sustainable practices? 

Yes, you can learn more about Governance at Mars here.

From ‏@nashsarahm How did you decide on your 5 Principles?

You can learn more about our Five Principles here.

From @practicallygrn Please share how (or if) engaged employees boost results re: @MarsGlobal "Sustainability in a Generation" goals!

Absolutely, click here to learn more about how we approach engagement.

From @patrin What favourite examples of "Doing-Good Marketing" programs are in place so far?

You can learn more about what we're doing with programs from Pedigree, Uncle Bens and more here.

From @company2keepinc Are y/o/y trending #sustainability performance metrics against your targets available to the public?

We share our progresses annually through our Principles in Action Summary.

From ‏@BICEPnews As a signatory on the #ClimateDeclaration, what are the economic opportunities you see with tackling climate change?

You can visit the following link to learn more about our approach to climate change here.

From @ethicalbiz Human rights on the Côte d'Ivoire is an issue. How are u working w other chocolate companies to find solutions?

You can visit this  link to learn more about how we’re approaching this issue.

@LWVColorado A recent event blasted Mars as partly responsible for Indonesian forest destruction for palm oil. Response?

Mars is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a non-profit membership organization that promotes the growth and use of sustainable palm oil. Currently, Mars sources palm oil only from other RSPO members and has committed to using 100% RSPO certified palm oil by 2015.  Mars is on track to achieve our goal by 2013 – two years ahead of schedule.