Procurement and Sustainability at Mars

Alison Polite's job focuses on packaging for some well known brands. Discover how she incorporates sustainability into her work and the role MSES played in preparing her for the position. 

Whenever Alison Polite (MSES '22) enters a grocery store, she finds examples of her work.

Polite is a senior procurement operations manager for packaging at Mars, producer of iconic brands like M&M’S, Skittles, and Snickers. In that role, she focuses on strategic programs and technical initiatives that span across all types of packaging in North America. 

"Most of my projects have focused on simplifying our packaging specifications to be more sustainable and more efficient," Polite said. "It's amazing to work for a company with so many iconic — and delicious — brands and to be able to see the impact I'm making anytime I head to the store."

Polite spent four years as a senior procurement analyst at Food+ by Compass at Google before returning to grad school, where she handled food and beverage sourcing, product management, and programmatic initiatives for 17 Google offices locations across North America. She picked Northwestern's Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES) program to broaden her sustainability knowledge and professional skill set. MSES is jointly offered by Northwestern Engineering and the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy.

"I really liked the multidisciplinary nature of MSES, which allowed me to learn more about aspects of sustainability I was less familiar with, such as the energy transition," she said. "I also appreciated that it was an intensive one-year program with a focus to get back into the workforce to start making change."

That is what she did.

Polite was intrigued by the Mars position and turned to Jessica Adelman, who teaches sustainable branding as an MSES adjunct professor, to inquire about the role. Adelman is vice president for corporate affairs at Mars, and she connected Polite with the hiring manager to learn more about the position. Soon after, Polite had a new job and was ready to make a difference.

A key component of Polite's job is incorporating sustainability benefits into projects wherever possible, either by reducing plastic, shortening the distance traveled in the supply chain, or by using more sustainable materials.

One project Polite worked on changed the type of wrapper used for share-sized Snickers, Milky Way, and 3 Musketeers bars. The change allowed Mars to source material domestically and save 90,000 pounds of plastic per year. A second project is focused on changing material composition and sizing for brown box cases that will help save about 300,000 pounds of corrugated paper per year.

"I love having visibility to the full supply chain for our products, from sourcing an item to using it in manufacturing at our plants to the end consumer," she said. "Procurement offers a unique opportunity to impact our business from the start of the process."

Polite's work is guided by Mars' overarching sustainability goals, which includes transforming how the company does business. In 2017, Mars launched its “Sustainable in a Generation” plan that guides all sustainability efforts. The plan focuses on four interconnected areas for growth: Healthy planet, thriving people, nourishing wellbeing, and transforming packaging.

"We are always consumer-centric and focused on how we can inspire moments of everyday happiness," Polite said. "Our goal is to align our long-term sustainability mission for the world we want tomorrow with minimal negative impact and maximum joy for the consumer."