Dive Brief:
- Mars is making a $27 million, five-year investment to incentivize farmers to reduce dairy farming carbon emissions, according to a Feb. 17 press release.
- Mars’ Farmer Forward Program — created in partnership with dairy co-operative Fonterra — will use half of the funding for sustainability-focused tools and technology for around 2,000 farmers.
- The remaining money will be allocated to about 165 farmers who meet sustainability targets, who will be paid up to $15,000 each annually.
Dive Insight:
Dairy is Mars’ fourth-largest contributor to its carbon footprint, according to the press release. Currently, more than 200,000 cows supply dairy for the confectionery giant’s sweets brands, including M&M’s and Snickers.
Through the program with Fonterra, Mars anticipates to reduce Scope 3 dairy sourcing emissions by more than 150,000 metric tons by 2030, against a 2015 baseline, per the release. The Farmer Forward Program — which stretches across 26,000 hectares of farmland — is part of Mars’ larger Moo’ving Dairy Forward initiative which launched last year to help the company cut down on emissions.
In 2024, the M&M’s owner announced a $47 million commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of dairy used.
Fellow confection giant Nestlé also has also been working with Fonterra. Dairy is currently Nestlé largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Feb. 18 press release from Fonterra.
Like Mars, Nestlé and Fonterra’s agreement will be split between two categories. For eligible farmers, half of the funding will be allocated to more sustainable and efficient on-farm solutions, tools or services, per the press release. Last season, about 87% of farmers would have been eligible.
The remaining half will go toward incentive payments of 10 to 25 cents per kilogram of milk solids for farmers with some of the lowest emissions footprints in the co-op. Using last season’s data, Nestlé estimated that roughly 300 to 350 farms will be eligible for the payments next season, per the release.
The press release did not specify how much funding Nestlé is providing.
New Zealand-based Fonterra has worked with the two companies before. Last year, Fonterra dairy farmers were able to participate in a Mars pilot which provided tools and services to help reduce the carbon footprint associated with dairy sourcing. Mars has also supported Fonterra’s Greener Choice program which helps farmers buy more sustainable products at Farm Source stores.
In 2022, Nestlé and Fonterra launched the Net Zero Pilot Dairy Farm in a bid to reduce on-farm emissions.
A growing number of companies have been partnering to maximize resources to lower environmental footprints, as it can become costly. For instance, in 2022 PepsiCo and Archer-Daniels-Midland inked a 7.5-year agreement to help corn, soy and wheat farmers across the Midwest U.S. receive funding, technical and agronomic support.
More recently in 2024, The Campbell's Company and Kind Snacks announced projects to push regenerative agriculture practices for ingredients using funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For The Campbell's Company, the funding would be used to advance the adoption of more sustainable practices and reduce water consumption for California-based tomato farmers.
