Mars, Incorporated – the maker of Pedigree, M&M's, Ben's Original, and leading veterinary service provider – announced today that Alastair Child, currently vice president of global sustainability, Mars Snacking, has been named as the new chief sustainability officer, Mars, Incorporated, effective February 3.

Alastair will be responsible for the development of the overall Mars sustainability agenda, leading Mars on its ambitious journey to Net Zero, as part of the company's broader Sustainable in a Generation Plan. As part of Mars' Net Zero Roadmap, the company has built a plan to halve full value chain emissions by 2030, enroute to Net Zero by 2050, and is already delivering on its promises with 16% absolute reductions in GHG emissions in 2023 against a 2015 baseline, across its full value chain. Alastair will lead a team of 30 sustainability leaders and experts with remits in climate, coral restoration, community, packaging, data and analytics. 

Throughout his more than 23-year career, Alastair has been known for his performance and passion for sustainability. For the last seven years, Alastair played a critical role in Mars Snacking, driving a strategy to embed sustainability across the enterprise. During Alastair's tenure at Mars Snacking, the company made significant strides in their deforestation-free palm oil and pulp & paper supply chains, doubled incomes for mint farmers in northern India, led a wide range of sustainable packaging innovations such as paper-wrapped bars, and helped Mars decouple Green House Gas emissions from growth with programs such as the Moo'ving Dairy Forward initiative. 

"Alastair has established himself as a strong, well-respected leader. He brings a wealth of experience to the role and will play a key part in ensuring sustainability is integrated into every aspect of our business to help us build the world we want tomorrow,” said Andy Pharoah, VP corporate affairs & sustainability.

Outgoing Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer Barry Parkin has announced his retirement following a remarkable journey at Mars over four decades. Barry joined the business in 1985 and during his impressive career he has occupied a diverse set of roles across Commercial, Engineering, Business Development, Supply Chain, HR and Sourcing. Barry was instrumental in the development of the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan and a thought leader for Mars Net Zero Roadmap.

About Mars, Incorporated 
 Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+ family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN, PEDIGREE, WHISKAS, CESAR, DOVE, EXTRA, M&M's, SNICKERS and BEN'S ORIGINAL. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, VCA and ANICURA span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom—inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.