Mars Australia will transition to 100 per cent renewable power as part of the global company’s $1.2 billion commitment to combat climate change.
General manager Bill Heague said consumers want to see action on climate change, and with most Mars products sold in Australia being made in Australia, the switch to renewables made sense for business, environment and brand.
Six manufacturing sites in Asquith, Ballarat, Bathurst, Wacol, Wodonga and Wyong and two sales offices in Melbourne and Sydney will be offset with 100 per cent renewable electricity from the Kiamal Solar Farm.
It is the Australian component of the global company’s Sustainable in a Generation program aims to reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions by 27 per cent in 2025 and 67 per cent by 2050.
The Victoria-based Kiamal Solar Farm was developed by renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IPP) Total Eren. Its eventual grid output will be 200MW and it spans more than 4.6 square kilometres with 718,000 solar panels.
The 50MW that the Kiamal Solar Farm generates for Mars Australia is enough renewable electricity to power the production of:
- 185 million 180g bags of M&MS Peanut; or
- 30 million 3kg bags of PEDIGREE; or
- 1.4 billion bottles of MASTERFOODS tomato sauce; or
- 2.5 billion packets of EXTRA.
Total ErenAsia Pacific regional director Michael Vawser said the farm was unique because it was backed by four PPAs and one large-Scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) contract. “They are all with highly valued companies: Mars Australia, Alinta Energy, FlowPower, Zero Emissions Water and Origin Energy,” Vawser said.
It is also the largest solar farm in Victoria.
Mars has been active in its sustainability goals for some time, Mars Petcare Australia helped fund Australia’s first commercial solar power plant, the White Cliffs Solar Thermal Station, back in 1977. It is also working on moving to a circular economy with its packaging.
Mars was one of the first companies in Australia to sign a power purchase agreement (PPE) and one of the first to join the world’s largest renewable energy initiatives for major corporations, RE100.
RE100 Australia coordinator Jon Dee said Mars isn’t just reducing its environmental impact but setting a positive role model for other companies.
Dee said: “Last year Mars consumed over 85GWh of electricity in Australia. In light of Australia’s fluctuating energy costs, it’s a sound business decision for Mars to invest in that amount of solar power. Other companies in Australia need to follow that lead.”
More than 80 international companies with Australian operations are members of RE100. The global initiative is led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP. Its intent is to send a powerful signal to policymakers and investors to accelerate the transition to a clean economy.
Members have a total revenue of over US$6.6 trillion and operate in a diverse range of sectors. More than 80 international companies with Australian operations are also member and to date, 15 Australian companies with a market cap of $580 billion have joined RE100.
In Australia, the RE100 initiative is run on behalf of The Climate Group and CDP by the DoSomething Foundation and its co-Founder Jon Dee (the Australian of the Year for 2010 in NSW). A full list of RE100’s members can be found here.
Meanwhile, for consumers, that entire packet of M&Ms Peanut you ate watching MAFS last night was made by renewable energy, totally cancelling out the calories and questionable viewing decision.
