Mars Incorporated is collaborating with suppliers and technical experts to scale the use of regenerative agriculture practices across its European pet nutrition business.
It has entered multi-year partnerships with Cargill, ADM, Biospheres, Horta, Agreena and Soil Capital to offer farmers in Poland, Hungary and the UK financial incentives and expert advisory services to support their adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.
These practices include crop rotation, minimal tillage and cover crops. The programmes will support farmers to invest in new methods, and offer training to build knowledge and confidence, reducing barriers to adopting regenerative agriculture practices.
This will allow Mars to transition a projected 20,900 hectares (almost twice the size of Paris) of wheat and maize crops to regenerative agriculture practices by 2028.
Its implementation of regenerative practices aims to deliver benefits such as increased yields, lower greenhouse gas emissions through reduction and carbon sequestration, improved water quality, enhanced soil health and improved biodiversity.
Mars will track the impact of the various projects through robust measurement, reporting, and verification systems to ensure transparency.
The initiative will contribute to Scope 3 carbon reductions as part of Mars’ ambition to reach net zero by 2050.
“At Mars, we know businesses like ours play a key role in securing a sustainable future for petfood,” said Mars Pet Nutrition Europe regional president Deri Watkins.
“Through these partnerships, we’re extremely proud to be playing our part in driving regenerative agriculture practices across Europe, restoring soil health, cutting carbon and building a stronger and more sustainable supply chain for farmers and future generations of pets and pet parents,” Watkins added.
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