Mars to measure its social value

Mars Incorporated in the UK has partnered with Social Value Portal to measure its social value in what it termed as an industry-first initiative.

The business has also urged other businesses to join them on this journey.

Social value is a holistic measure of social, environmental and economic value, which an organisation contributes to society beyond a reported profit. Where profit is measured in standard accounting terms, social value is measured by actions.

Social Value Portal will help Mars Incorporated to evaluate, measure and report the net societal contribution that it is making in the UK. Their methodology will calculate a net financial figure that represents the contribution of Mars’ economic and employment footprint, investments in sustainability, and charitable/CSR activity.

Mars said it is the first brand in the FMCG sector to adopt the TOM System of Social Value measurement, which is unique to Social Value Portal and endorsed by the Local Government Association. It promotes transparency and accountability, and enables organisations to measure and track impacts across multiple areas.

“Understanding our Social Value delivery will be a powerful vehicle for demonstrating our commitment to putting our purpose into practice with our different audiences. We are committed to supporting our suppliers, employees, customers and consumers, and now we want to take this further. We want to measure the value and impact of this work, boost our Social Value in the UK and set the standard for our industry,” Adam Grant, general manager at Mars Wrigley UK, said.

“This is a major milestone in our journey, and our first step is to build a picture of where we are by recording and reporting so we can benchmark and set targets for the future.”

Mars Incorporated is now calling on the FMCG industry in the UK to join them on their social value journey. Together with Social Value Portal, Mars is developing a toolkit to help other consumer-facing companies get started.

Grant added: “As the societal expectation for businesses to demonstrate greater accountability and transparency grows, being open and honest about our broader impact is an imperative. By encouraging other businesses to join us on our journey, we can create a community in our industry that supports one another whilst enabling us to benchmark against other like-minded businesses.”

Guy Battle, chief executive of Social Value Portal, added: “We are honoured to be working with Mars Incorporated to guide them on the Social Value journey - especially as this is one of the first organisations in the FMCG sector to make a formal commitment to delivering Social Value.

“Behind every number, there is a life; a person, a family and a community that stands to benefit from Social Value so we are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this highly respected organisation.”

Mars Wrigley has also been asked to join the National Social Value Taskforce, which has representatives from across the public, private and third sectors.

Lorraine Cox, chair of the National Social Value Taskforce, commented: “We need more private sector organisations to integrate Social Value into their core business strategies and through radical collaboration to support the delivery of the Social Value Economy.”