Partnership will see two state-of-the-art warehouses build in East London and Midlands partly powered by on-site solar
Mars has teamed up with delivery giant DHL to invest £350m in two state-of-the-art warehouses in Midlands and East London, in a move the firms estimate could remove one million road miles per year from the US food giant's operations.
Part of a multi-year partnership between the two companies announced today, the two facilities will be "partially solar powered" and rated among the most energy efficient buildings in the UK, while boosting Mar's warehouse capacity by over 50 per cent, they claim.
Mars estimates the move will help shrink its UK carbon footprint by 7.7 per cent, equivalent to the annual emissions of heating more than 500 homes, by providing more space to efficiently store and manage the deliveries of the 1.2 million pallets of its products transported each year.
The new logistics operation will avoid one million road miles each year, while helping Mars to keep pace with increasing customer demand for its products, according to the firm.
"Our partnership with DHL will deliver a world class logistics operation that is sustainable, smart and agile," said Tim Walker, supply chain director at Mars UK. "What is good for our business is also good for the planet. This project is a meaningful step in our sustainability journey as we look to create the world we want tomorrow - which we know starts with how we do business today."
The two purpose-built depots - East Midlands Gateway and London Thames Gateway - are set to become operational in the spring of 2022 and 2023 respectively, according to Mars. The sites have been designed with a combined square footage of over a million feet.
Across its global business and value chain, Mars has set science-based targets to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 27 per cent by 2025, and 67 per cent by 2050, from 2015 levels. Within its own operations, meanwhile, the firm is targeting net zero emissions by 2040.
Jim Hartshorne, DHL Supply Chain's managing director for retail and consumer, and Ireland, said the two firms' share environmental commitments and joint investment would also help create long-term jobs at both hubs.
"This project will be the foundation of the UK logistics chain for Mars for many years to come and we are incredibly proud to be selected to lead in this project," he said.