We are in a race against time.
Those were the words of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the recent signing of the historic Paris climate accord. He couldn't be more right. We all have a shared responsibility to prevent climate change from spiraling out of control - and now is the time for the world to come together in this duty.
But let's be clear: That responsibility isn't solely on the shoulders of governments. Businesses must step up to the plate and lead by example. It's in the best interest of not only the planet and the people who live on it, but industry as well - climate change is a very real threat to every sector of business. Take for example the food industry. The heart of the industry - farming and agriculture - is highly affected by climate change. As chief sustainability officer at Mars, Incorporated, I see this firsthand - the farmers in our supply chain are not immune to the realities of climate change. If both industry and government set and follow through on ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments, then we have a chance of limiting global warming to a manageable level. Nearly 90 percent of countries have committed to the Paris Agreement - isn't it time for at least 90 percent of companies to make strong commitments of their own?
We know today that the best way for business to curb greenhouse gas emissions is by eliminating the use of fossils fuels as an energy source. It's a tall order, but companies around the world are doing just that by setting their own reduction commitments. But in this race against time we need to make progress now. At Mars, we are on track to reach zero GHG emissions in our global operations by 2040. We're not there yet, but as of 2015, we have reduced our GHG emissions by 25 percent.
The path towards carbon-neutral operations isn't easy, but the good news is that it's possible. For years, businesses have struggled with the most efficient and cost-effective ways to reduce emissions. One promising avenue, among others, has been wind energy. Globally, wind is the fastest growing renewable energy type, allowing businesses to capitalize on this abundant natural occurrence to power their operations several times over.
Our own path toward zero GHG emissions includes wind energy. Last year, we collaborated with energy partners to create the Mesquite Creek wind farm in Texas - a facility that generates the equivalent of 100 percent of the electricity required to power our entire U.S. operations. With those learnings in hand, today we've taken the next step on our journey, unveiling a new wind farm in Moy, Scotland, that will generate 100 percent of the electricity needed by Mars' U.K. operations, consisting of 12 sites that employ nearly 4,000 of our 80,000 global Associates. This is thanks in part to Scotland being the windiest country in Europe - a natural home for investments in such renewable energy.
Collaboration is the key to a sustainable future. Like Mesquite Creek, the Moy wind farm is a partnership, this time with Eneco, a Dutch sustainable energy supplier. We don't build and operate these wind farms - we're the guaranteed long-term customer that enables our partners to build.
The Paris climate accord was a major milestone for government, but it's not enough to protect our people and our climate - the emissions reductions are too slow and not deep enough. By taking strong action now, industry can create the momentum to inspire governments to close that gap. This is the time for industry to step up and show what we can achieve - just imagine if we had 200,000 companies working hard on this alongside the nearly 200 countries that have made commitments!