Our Commitment to Our People,
Partners, and the Planet
At MARS, Corporate Social Responsibility isn’t a bolt-on initiative it’s built into how we operate. As a young, fast-growing global CRO, we’ve made a deliberate commitment to ensure our growth is matched by responsibility. We conduct business ethically, protect the people and communities we work with, and hold ourselves to the same standards we ask of our partners and suppliers.
Our approach to sustainability is organized around four pillars:
- Green Inspired — reducing our environmental footprint through responsible resource management and sustainable operations
- Social Focused — building a safe, diverse, and equitable workplace while supporting the communities around us
- Quality Centered — promoting responsible sourcing and holding our supply chain to shared ESG standards
- Ethics Driven — conducting business with integrity, transparency, and accountability at every level
Business Sustainability & EcoVadis Rating
In our first-ever EcoVadis assessment, MARS earned a Bronze medal with an overall score of 61/100 placing us in the top 35% of companies assessed globally.
For an organization just four years into its journey, this reflects the discipline our teams have shown in building sound governance and environmental accountability from the ground up, rather than retrofitting it later.
We remain committed to strengthening our sustainability performance year over year through measurable objectives, regular monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement.
Green Inspired: Environmental Responsibility
MARS is committed to making our value chain environmentally friendly and responsible, in compliance with local environmental laws and regulations across every country and region in which we operate or source materials, products, and services.
MARS did not undertake any activities generating direct emissions from owned or controlled sources during the reporting period. The majority of our carbon footprint arises from indirect activities across our value chain, an area we are focused on understanding more deeply as our reporting matures.
Social Focused: Our People and Communities
Diversity, Equality & Inclusion
We believe a diverse and inclusive workforce strengthens scientific innovation, deepens collaboration, and helps us better serve our clients, patients, and research communities. We’re committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, disability status, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic with merit-based hiring, compensation, and advancement at every stage of the employee lifecycle.
We’re proud to have a talented, mixed workforce across the company, with continued focus on ensuring equal access to career and skills development for all genders.
Health, Safety &Employee Well-Being
The health, well-being, and financial security of our people are fundamental to how we operate as a responsible employer. This year:
- Comprehensive health and term life insurance were extended to every eligible employee and their dependents
- Our health insurance programme achieved a 100% claim settlement rate
- Zero work-related illnesses were reported during the reporting period
- Employees had access to complimentary online mental health awareness programmes and confidential counselling
- We ran four employee surveys this year (double the prior year) to keep listening and keep improving
- The majority of our team continues to work under flexible, remote-first arrangements, supporting work-life balance without compromising business continuity
Quality Centered: Responsible Sourcing
By integrating sustainability into procurement decisions, we aim to strengthen supply chain resilience, reduce environmental and social risk, and contribute to sustainable economic growth for our customers, employees, suppliers, and communities alike.
Learning & Development
Continuous learning is how we build a responsible, resilient, security conscious workforce. Our training programmes cover cybersecurity awareness, phishing and social engineering prevention, secure information handling, data privacy, and regulatory compliance helping our people identify and respond to potential risks while promoting ethical business practices.
This year, our team logged the equivalent of 1 year, 10 months, and 9 days of combined training time, completing 3,106 course completions at a 90.5% completion rate and a 99.7% test pass rate.
Ethics Driven: Governance & Integrity
As a trusted partner in clinical research and drug development, ethics and compliance form the foundation of everything we do protecting patient rights, safeguarding data, and ensuring responsible business practices across our global operations.
Our commitments include:
- Code of Conduct — governing integrity, professionalism, regulatory compliance, and confidentiality for all employees
- Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption — a zero-tolerance policy toward bribery, corruption, and unethical business practices
- Conflict of Interest — mandatory disclosure of any personal, financial, or professional interests that could influence business decisions
- Whistleblower Protection — confidential, secure reporting channels with protection from retaliation for concerns raised in good faith
- Data Privacy & Information Security — robust controls safeguarding patient, clinical trial, employee, and business data, including cybersecurity controls, access management, and incident response
- Responsible AI — as AI and advanced analytics expand within clinical research, we’re committed to fairness, accountability, human oversight, data integrity, and regulatory compliance in how we use these technologies
- Human Rights — respecting internationally recognized human rights principles, including freedom from forced or child labor and fair treatment for all
- Supplier Code of Conduct — extending our ethical, social, and environmental expectations to every supplier and business partner in our value chain
Culture
Built on People, Powered by Purpose
Giving Back to the Community
At our core, we believe that success is not just measured by business growth but by the positive impact we create beyond the workplace. Our team actively participates in community outreach programs and one of the most heartfelt initiatives has been our collaboration with local NGOs supporting underprivileged children.
These moments serving meals, sharing stories and simply spending time with the children reflect the spirit of compassion and unity that defines our culture. It’s more than just volunteering; it’s about building connections, spreading joy and making a difference where it truly matters.
Through these activities our employees not only contribute to meaningful causes but also experience the power of empathy, teamwork and purpose-driven engagement. These experiences enrich our workplace and remind us that kindness and service are at the heart of everything we do.
Looking Ahead
Acting responsibly isn't a separate initiative at MARS, it's intrinsic to how we deliver rigorous, ethical, patient-centred clinical research. As we grow, we will continue to strengthen our environmental reporting, deepen supplier engagement on ESG performance, and raise the bar on training and awareness across ethics, data privacy, and responsible AI.