BARRY PARKIN TITLE : CHIEF PROCUREMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
PROCUREMENT
BARRY PARKIN TITLE : CHIEF PROCUREMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
COMPANY : MARS INC INDUSTRY : CONSUMER PRODUCTS LOCATION : UNITED STATES
Barry Parkin is Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer at Mars , and is also Chairman of the World Cocoa Foundation . He has enjoyed a 30 year career at Mars in a diverse set of roles across commercial , engineering , business development , supply chain , HR and sourcing .
“ Our job is to re-imagine and re-design supply chains so that they have a dramatically lower carbon footprint ”
BARRY PARKIN CHIEF PROCUREMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER MARS INC
This means the role of procurement , supply chain , and supplier engagement is integral to the company reaching their ambitious sustainability targets , and Parkin is acutely aware that means it is essential for them to do things differently . “ Our job is to re-imagine and re-design supply chains so that they have a dramatically lower carbon footprint ,” he says . “ To put it another way , unless we change what we buy , or where we buy it or how we buy it we are not going to really change our carbon footprint . ”
Their roadmap involves removing approximately 15 million metric tons by 2030 and then another 15 million metric tons by 2050 when they reach net zero . Since 2015 Mars have already reduced emissions by 8 %, whilst growing the business by 60 %, showing that it is possible to decouple emissions from growth and success of a business .
Supplier relationships As for any major organisation trying to address their sustainability strategy , it is impossible for Mars to make significant progress with their carbon footprint without the help and buy-in from their enormous supply networks .
“ As a global company , we rely on suppliers across our value chain as essential partners in our journey to reach net zero ,” says Parkin . “ Like most companies , addressing our Scope 3 emissions is challenging because of their indirect nature and our lack of direct control or visibility . Only by working with our Tier 1 suppliers can we make progress with them on their own emissions and on their upstream emissions with our Tier 2 suppliers and beyond .”
Mars was a founding member of the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition coalition , that is a dedicated body for instigating climate action through industrywide supply chains . This allows companies
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