Stewarding one of the biggest family-run companies in the world is no small task—especially when that company comes with a 106-year history. Chairman Stephen Badger and his fellow board members take this challenge seriously. Here, Badger discusses the challenges and rewards of his role and the future of the company.  

On shedding Mars’ “secretive” reputation: 

Women are disproportionately affected by poverty, climate-related risks and other barriers to sustainable development. This distressing finding by a recent World Economic Forum report also reveals a startling projection: It will take women 202 years to be on even footing with men. If we want to change this, we have to act today.

What does it take to be one of the most reputable companies in the world? We think it starts by doing business with purpose and working toward positive impacts we can be proud of. And we’re proud of our efforts being recognized, too.

For the second year in a row, we’ve secured a spot on Reputation Institute’s Global RepTrak® 100. And we’re rising through the ranks for 2019—landing at #69 on this year’s list. For an organization that constantly focuses on action and integrity—we consider this quite the honor!

New and noteworthy: When her grandmother was growing up, girls, especially in poor areas, never had the chance to go to school; but in Weina’s class, 80 percent of students were women. “Women now represent more than 25 percent of all scientific researchers worldwide,” she says. “And I’ve seldom felt the need to advocate for stronger policy because at the Mars GFSC, everyone — male and female — has equal opportunities to pursue excellence.”

Empowering women to thrive is one way Mars is taking steps today to secure the world we want tomorrow. 

“We can only solve these issues through collaboration, and making sure we all keep pushing for this gender balance,” says Victoria Mars, member of the board of directors at Mars. “It’s key to the long-term success of our business, and key to our supply chain. These women need to be thriving.” 

This article, written by our Chief Procurement & Sustainability Officer Barry Parkin, originally appeared in our 2017-2018 Sustainable in a Generation Plan report. Click here to read the full report.

Into every Mars creation goes a little—or a lot—of science, as we research, analyze and learn how to create the highest quality products and services. But at Mars, it's not just about what we sell. We believe that today's research can lead to a better future that's healthier and more sustainable for communities across the globe.  

Here are three recent Mars scientific research projects, and how the results will impact the future. 

Currently, 42 percent of Mars Associates in our talent pipeline are women. If you look around, they're making their mark—especially in STEM-related careers across the company. For example, Lauren Bellomy, digital transformation lead, is working with a small group of peers to use digital automation to grow peanut plants in a fish tank. Cui Wang conducts field research around the world for her role as a global microbiology research scientist in the Mars Global Food Safety Center.

In today’s world, we all expect more: from ourselves, from our employers, and from the products and services we buy. We’re also savvy consumers with a conscience. We want to understand more than just what a product does and how much it costs. We want to understand the why behind our buying: the broader, longer-term impacts our purchasing decisions will have on our Earth and our global community. Today, our actions as consumers are about much more than just products and price points. They’re about principles.

When computer gurus put their heads together and face a tight deadline, amazing things can happen. That’s the concept behind hackathons, where teams of programmers and others involved in software development collaborate intensively to come up with a functioning product solving tomorrow’s problems today … by the end of the event.

“A Hackathon reaches out to new talents, solves real business challenges and envisions future possibilities.” — Marcelo Oliveira, Customer Relationship Manager