Candy Maker and Pet Care Giant Mars Inc. Promotes Alastair Child to Chief Sustainability Officer: 4 Things to Know

Mars Snacking veteran Alastair Child has been promoted to chief sustainability officer (CSO) of global parent Mars Inc., effective February 3, 2025.  

On the sustainability front, Child essentially succeeds Outgoing Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer Barry Parkin, who is set to retire in March 2025 after a 40-year career at the company.

Here are four things to know about the business; various sustainability goals; and Child's professional experience.

1. Business Scope and Scale: Mars Inc., founded in 1911, is based in McLean, Virginia. The family owned company generates more than $50 billion in annual revenue, though the privately held business does not disclose audited financial figures.

Mars Inc. is perhaps best known for its candy business -- which includes M&M's and Snickers. But take a closer look, and you'll find diversified revenue streams that food products, pet care and more. The overall company has roughly 150,000 employees.

2. Sustainability Strategy: Under former Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer Barry Parkin, the company developed the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan in 2017 and a Mars Net Zero Roadmap. Mars is striving to reduce value chain emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to a 2015 baseline. And the company is striving to achieve net zero by 2050.

3. Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Experience and Team: Alastair Child, a military veteran, joined Mars as a brand manager in 2001. By 2008, he rose to director of global programs and partnerships. And in 2017, he became CSO for Mars Snacking. While Child was in that role, Mars Snacking 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 greenhouse gas emissions from growth with programs such as the Moo’ving Dairy Forward initiative," the company said.

In his new role, Child leads a team of 30 sustainability leaders and experts with remits in climate, coral restoration, community, packaging, data and analytics, Mars Inc. said.

4. Executive Perspectives: In a prepared statement, Andy Pharoah, VP of corporate affairs & sustainability and member of the Mars leadership team said: “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.”  

Added Mars Inc. CSO Alastair Child: “It’s an honor to take on this role. With average global temperatures exceeding 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels for the first time in 2024, it is imperative that we continue to perform on our promises and in doing so prove that sustainability is good for business. I look forward to collaborating with our partners, Associates and stakeholders to ensure we continue to grow responsibly.”  

Chief Sustainability Officers: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.