Environmental Leader

By 2020, all of Mars chocolate candies will use sustainably sourced cocoa. The candy maker, which sells brands including Snickers, Twix and M&Ms, is first rolling out the effort in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it sells the Galaxy brand.

The announcement follows a similar one from Cadbury last month.

Next year, about 160 million Galaxy bars will carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified Seal, according to the Associated Press.

Mars will use the Rainforest Alliance program to certify a great portion of its sustainable cocoa by 2020, according to Food Business Review. Under that partnership, Rainforest Alliance will certify up to 100,000 metric tons annually.

Mars maintains a Web page about sustainability and cocoa production.

The candy maker last year began a five-year, $10 million undertaking to map the entire cocoa genome. By developing trees that can better survive drought and disease, the company would reduce its environmental impact. Last year Mars began a project to tap into gas released from a landfill, using the energy to help power some of its Texas operations.

In January, the World Cocoa Foundation announced sustainability principles and goals (PDF) to help guide industry efforts and prioritize the foundation’s development projects in West Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas. The foundation and its members say they are committed to working towards responsible environmental stewardship in cocoa-farming communities where soil and water are conserved.

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