S05 EP 03: Kevin Rabinovitch, Mars Inc.

In September, Mars unveiled its Sustainable in a Generation plan, which sets a new standard for its responsible growth as a business. Mars believes that transformational, cross-industry collaboration is required to fix the extended global supply chain, and the plan leads the way by investing $1 billion to tackle threats such as climate change, poverty in its value chain and resource scarcity.

The private, family-owned brand has been in business for over a century and sells its products in nearly every corner of the globe. Its six businesses — from chocolate to pet products — reach billions of consumers and earn more than $35 billion in global sales.

Bard MBA student Alistair Hall talked with Mars’s Kevin Rabinovitch shortly after the launch of Sustainable in a Generation about the plan and how it evolved.

Rabinovitch, Mars’s global sustainability director and chief climate officer, was instrumental in developing the plan. His team manages a global portfolio of renewable energy projects in conjunction with efficiency work led by the business units. He also leads the assessment of environmental impact for Mars’s value chain and the translation of external environmental science into policy and strategy for the business.