Learn all about our commitment to sustainability using zero waste to landfill resources and how our partnership with TerraCycle® helps support zero waste initiatives
What's in a name?
It’s an age-old question, one you might be wondering about us. Well, we’ll say this: We didn’t choose “KARMA” out of a hat or because we liked the way it sounded. We chose it because we believe in it. We believe in karma, this idea that what goes around comes around, that if you do good, then good things will happen to you. Doing good for humans, pets and the planet drives everything we do. It’s why we’re so committed to our brand and our sustainability efforts.
"Zero-Waste to Landfill:" What It Means and Why It Matters
You’ve probably seen it on our packaging or maybe on our website — and sure, it sounds impressive. But what does “zero waste to landfill” actually mean? Also called “zero landfill,” “zero waste to landfill” is a status achieved when a company diverts 100% of the waste they produce from a landfill to an alternate disposal source. The KARMA™ brand works with third parties to ensure compliance, and we are proud to partner with Northstar for this. In the past year, our manufacturing site (VIC) has not sent anything to the landfill.
So why is this so important? Well, according to the EPA, in 2018, about 146.1 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) were landfilled. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States — and methane is one of several gases that contributes to global climate change. We partner with TerraCycle® to help support their national recycling program for empty KARMA™ packaging to ensure zero waste from our packaging. By doing so, we hope to make a positive impact on the environment.
Choosing More Sustainable Ingredients
Another way we’re working on making a positive impact on the environment is by our choice of ingredients. The first ingredient in each KARMA™ recipe is sorghum — and that’s because it’s one of the most environmentally-friendly grains.
Sorghum is able to regulate its own water intake, which means it requires less water than other crops and is able to survive in a wide range of climates. Sorghum also has a deep root system that offers lots of health benefits for the soil in which it grows.
Acting With Purpose: Our Additional Sustainability Efforts
To create a better tomorrow, we focus our work in three key areas: Healthy Planet, Thriving People and Nourishing Wellbeing.
To keep the planet healthy, Mars is taking a data-driven approach to drastically shrink our environmental footprint and fight climate change, water stress, deforestation and unsustainable use of packaging.
To help people thrive, we are committed to meaningfully improving the lives of 1 million people in our value chain by providing opportunities to enhance their livelihoods and by respecting their human rights.
And to nourish well-being, we use our global reach to supply healthy meals, support the welfare of our associates, improve our products’ nutritional value, advance food safety science and ensure the transparency and responsible marketing of our foods so consumers like you can make informed choices.
If you’d like to learn more, check out our whole sustainability plan. And if you want good karma, choose KARMA™ brand.
