Four Things Businesses Must Do to Maintain Trust

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 found that business is now the only institution seen as both competent and ethical. Indeed, it finds that business is now more trusted than NGOs, government and the media. This is quite a turn of events from a few years back when trust in business was at an all-time low.

With trust comes responsibility and growing expectation for action on social and environmental issues. Here are four things that I think require additional business focus if we hope to maintain the trust society has placed with us.

Turning the Corner on Climate Change: While there is still much to do to address climate change, 2021 could be a pivotal year. As climate rises to the top of the Biden administration’s agenda, companies are committing to collaborate through initiatives like We Are Still In’s America Is All In, of which Mars is a signatory. Businesses and investors are also putting increased momentum behind carbon neutrality. At Mars, climate action is a focus of our Sustainable in a Generation Plan. We were an early mover in setting a science-based target to reduce our full value chain emissions 27% by 2025 and 67% by 2050, over 2015 levels.

This is important not only for the planet but for people. As a recent MunichRE report showed, 2020 was the second warmest year on record with storms, fires and floods killing thousands of people and costing the world an estimated $210 billion. We must continue to amplify the implications that climate change has on health, livelihoods, housing and migration for billions of people around the world – particularly those in the Global South. It’s time for business to use our voices to advocate for not only climate action but climate justice.

Taking Action on Racial and Gender Equity: While racial injustice has been present in the United States for centuries, 2020 brought a renewed pressure on the business community to respond. At Mars, we took an important step in changing the name of our Uncle Ben’s rice products to Ben’s Originals. We also set a goal to increase racial minority representation among management in the United States by 40 percent while expanding opportunities across the total workforce. We know there’s more work to be done to truly address the root causes of racial inequality. Looking ahead, companies need to apply an intersectional lens to all corporate activities and respond to stakeholder expectations of an increased focus on equity and justice in addition to inclusion and diversity.

Gender is an important piece of this intersectional lens, especially since the pandemic has had a devastating impact on women and girls. In addition to a renewed focus on climate change, the Biden-Harris Administration has promised action on policies that impact women and girls. With renewed focus on gender equity at the federal level, I’m hopeful that companies will continue to step up our game too.

Addressing Income Inequality: With the end of the pandemic coming into view as vaccinations begin, there is hope that the economic downturn will be reversed. But, the benefits will be far from equally distributed – both in terms of vaccination and economic recovery. This emphasizes the need to holistically address both economic and income inequalities. For Mars, this means addressing the need for decent, livable wages for the people working in global value chains. We’re approaching this in a number of ways, including through the creation of the Farmer Income Lab, a collaborative ‘think-do tank’ to improve farmer incomes and act as a catalyst to transform farmers’ working lives at scale.

Shifting Commercial Relationships: The three previous focus areas play out most profoundly in corporate supply chains. In order to act on them the procurement function must be at the heart of sustainable business strategy. At Mars, we’ve embedded sustainability deep within supply chain management by having a dual Chief Sustainability & Procurement Officer. We continue to evolve our Next Generation Supplier program to better engage and support our first-tier suppliers as they deliver greater positive impact in their workplaces. I foresee this approach evolving – and working for other companies too as we work to create more resilient supply chains.

If we’ve learned anything from 2020, it’s that we are all interconnected, and that business has an important role to play in times of global crisis. As we step in to 2021, companies need to expand their efforts to help shape a more inclusive and equitable post-pandemic world. I’m feeling hopeful about what’s to come. Are you?