The Scope of our assurance
The assurance provides the reader with an independent, external assessment of the summary and, in particular, with how it corresponds with the AA1000 assurance standard. It is intended for the general reader and for more specialist audiences who have a professional interest in the way in which Mars puts its principles into action.
Mars has chosen to use the AA1000 assurance standard AA1000AS (2008). Our assurance is a Type 2 assurance as defined by the standard, in that it evaluates the nature and extent of adherence to the AA1000AS principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness and assures the performance of the organisation as reported here. Our assurance used disclosed information as its starting point and then investigated the underlying systems, processes and sustainability performance information to arrive at its conclusions.
In addition, it has verified the reliability of the sustainability performance information included in the summary, principally but not confined to that included in the Performance Summary. We have judged the information and performance data contained within the summary against the GRI G3 Principles for Defining Report Quality. The level of assurance is moderate, that is to say that, based upon the procedures conducted, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the data is not in accordance with the GRI G3 Principles.
Mars is entirely and solely responsible for the contents of the summary, Corporate Citizenship for its assurance. A detailed note of our assurance methodology appears at the end of this statement.
Commentary
Mars as a business cannot be correctly understood except through the prism of the Five Principles.
The responses given to us by Mars associates and the documentation we have seen reflect the principles of Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom. They also reflect Mars’ strong endorsement of evidence-based science. This shows in the overall approach to business and in the individual strategies in key areas from climate change through to health and nutrition.
This impacts how Mars gets work done. This is certainly the case where sustainability is concerned. Here Mars acknowledges the legitimacy of stakeholder concerns but the prime driver is the principle of responsibility. Mars asks all associates to take direct responsibility for results, to exercise initiative and judgment and to make decisions as required. The consequence is that the management processes used are flexible, solution-centred and empirically grounded.
One other factor should be noted. Mars is a private family-owned company and has long-term timescales. Its approach is to tackle sustainability issues in a considered, long-term and strategic manner. This is most fully evidenced by the Sustainable in a Generation strategy.
Inclusivity: Does the organisation accept a responsibility to those on whom it has an impact? Does it involve stakeholders in developing a strategic approach to corporate responsibility and sustainability?
Mars recognises its responsibility to those on whom it has an impact. Its shaping of the overall approach to sustainability has taken into account the interests of stakeholders. This is most evidenced through Mars Global Advisors who provide a means of strategic engagement for Mars senior management with external experts in public policy, geopolitical trends and macroeconomic issues. At a strategic level Mars benefits from other methods of engagement such as The Mars Scientific Advisory Council.
Alongside this high level activity through our engagement, we encountered Mars associates who are giving deep, long-term thought to specific sustainability issues. They are freely addressing the issues; engaging appropriately with informed stakeholders; and setting up Mars to impact sustainability in a profound and strategic manner.
Going forward the response of external stakeholders to the Principles in Action Summary offers a new opportunity for engagement with stakeholders about the whole of Mars’ sustainability strategy.
Materiality: What are the issues that really matter to the organisation's sustainability performance (“material issues”)? How does the organisation identify these issues?
It is both a requirement and pre-requisite of the Mars system that associates identify issues for which they should acknowledge and accept responsibility.
In recent years Mars has been moving to a more formal materiality process with leadership given by the Sustainability Leadership Team supported by the Sustainability Working Group. Through the work of these groups Mars has identified which are the most important sustainability issues for it at this time. The issues so identified are all covered within the Principles in Action Summary. The degree of coverage accorded to each varies.
Looking forward the process of preparing future Principles in Action Summaries will offer Mars the opportunity of reexamining and testing which issues it believes to be truly material to the business. Stakeholder feedback on the current summary will assist in this process.
Responsiveness: Does the organisation respond to stakeholder issues that affect performance through its actions and communications?
Mars has a solutions-based mindset. Consequently it is no surprise that the greatest degree of external stakeholder engagement is found where Mars is most vigourously acting to meet its responsibilities and to find sustainable business models.
This is most clearly evidenced in the areas of supply chain (particularly key crops like cocoa), product responsibility and health and nutrition. However we found evidence of the stakeholder engagement in all areas. We look forward to expanded coverage in future summaries of the effectiveness of the work Mars is doing with other partners in areas such as rice and peanuts.
Looking ahead
Future Mars summaries will take and develop themes that are in this summary. As the external agenda changes, new themes will be added and old ones fade in importance. We look forward to Mars being in a position to comment more in future summaries on economic impact, human rights, the ‘field-to-fork’ footprint of its products and the implementation of its Supplier Code of Conduct.
In addition, Mars should consider whether it can increase readers’ understanding by broadening the range of performance data given in the summary, particularly with regard to social and economic matters.
The theme of the summary is Mars’ principles being put into action. The associates of Mars are the people who make the Five Principles a reality. They are best placed to contribute to further development of Mars’ sustainability agenda. They should be engaged in conveying the reality of principles in action more fully and completely in future summaries.
The real long-term challenge for all companies is to define what a sustainable business is, answering the question of how a company can grow a business while using fewer natural resources. Mars is in the process of answering that question and has set stretching environmental targets for its own operations and the supply chain. We look forward to future summaries involving stakeholders, reporting on progress and giving an ever more complete answer to the question.
Corporate Citizenship
London
29 July 2011
Methodological notes
The assurance work was commissioned in January 2011 and was completed on 29 July 2011. Detailed records were kept of meetings, assurance visits and correspondence relating to the inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness of the summary, as well as to technical matters relating to the accuracy and presentation of data. A team, led by an Associate Director, undertook the assurance and commentary process. A director acted as adviser to the group. The team has a variety of professional and technical competencies and experience. For further information please refer to our website www.corporate-citizenship.com
Our external assurance and commentary process for Mars’ Principles in Action Summary has involved, but not been limited to, the following elements:
- Understanding Mars, its own and broader cultural contexts; its approach to and understanding of its responsibility and sustainability; how it identifies issues material to its operations;
- Benchmarking the approach, commitments, behaviour and management of responsibility and sustainability by Mars’ peer companies;
- Examination of the summary at five stages in its development, giving detailed commentary to Mars upon the text. We tested assertions throughout on a section-by-section basis, drawing from evidence and supporting documentation, reporting mechanisms, frameworks and processes;
- An analysis of the summary against the detailed definitions given by AA1000 of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness;
- An analysis of the content and quality of the summary against the Global Reporting Initiative’s Principles for Defining Report Content and Principles for Ensuring Report Quality;
- A detailed evaluation of the summary against the ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility;
- With regard to certain key environmental performance data at sites selected by Mars Incorporated, a limited assurance review was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the results of which can be found here.
- Engagement with the subject owners regarding the summary's coverage of Health and Nutrition Mars Petcare, Health and Nutrition Mars Symbioscience; Our Associates Associates in Communities; Our Associates Pay and benefits; Our Products Gum waste; Our Products Packaging; and Our Supply Chain Seafood.
- Engagement with Mars associates who had responsibility for Sustainable in a Generation related matters in Foods and across all of Mars’ factories. Engagement with the associate responsible for development of procurement policies.
- We have also drawn upon the findings of a previous internal, assurance exercise which we conducted for Mars in early 2010.
Our work did not extend to a complete audit of the summary's contents. We have not been responsible for the preparation of Mars’ Principles in Action Summary nor in devising the internal management and reporting systems that yielded the data contained therein.
The opinions expressed in this external assurance statement and commentary are intended to extend understanding of Mars’ non-financial performance and should not be used or relied upon to form any judgments, or take any decisions, of a financial nature.
Corporate Citizenship is a leading assuror of corporate responsibility reports. The company is a member of Accountability (Institute for Social and Ethical Accountability).
We have worked with Mars on sustainability issues since December 2009. During 2010, except as noted below, our work with Mars focused exclusively on assurance and stakeholder engagement.
During the 2010 reporting period we worked on advising on stakeholder expectations of Mars’ sustainable agriculture sourcing
