Mars Named In Europe's Best Multinational Workplaces List For 2013

- Global food company also recognized with Great Place to Work® Special Award for its "culture of appreciation"

BRUSSELS, July 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars has been ranked 16 in the category of Best Multinational Workplaces in Europe, one of three categories that make up the 2013 100 Best Workplaces in Europe list by Great Place to Work®.  The category, announced June 27 at the Europe Award Ceremony Gala at The Mansion House in Dublin, Ireland, honors the top 25 global companies to work for in the Europe. The business has been featured in the top 100 list for three years running and the company's position in the category rose by two places from the 2012 ranking.

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Mars was one of just three companies within the 100 ranked to also receive a Great Place to Work® Special Award in the "Showing Appreciation" category. Special Awards recognize best practices that enable companies to effectively build high levels of trust – and therefore a great workplace. This year's awards focused on the theme of "People giving their personal best". The "Showing Appreciation" category recognizes the company that "best nurtures a culture of appreciation, where employees are regularly rewarded for good work and extra effort".

"Our Associates are at the heart of our success and we are proud to recognize the work, effort and impact they have on our business' performance and the communities in which we operate. By doing so, we have our Make the Difference Awards in which last year included 15,000 projects involving 48,000 Associates that were nominated for their best practice in areas such as innovation, line manager excellence, people and planet. The number of nominations and Associates involved is testament to how ingrained our Five Principles are in the company, uniting each and every Associate," commented Zelda Gray, vice president people & organization, Mars Multisales Europe.   

For its "Special Award" Mars was credited by Great Place to Work® with a culture of appreciation and applauded the ways in which the company recognizes employee contributions.  This includes its global Make the Difference program celebrates Associates that have best embodied the Mars' Five Principles and rewards Associates who have made notable contributions in specific areas: innovation; line manager excellence; people and planet.

To qualify for the Great Place To Work list, Mars, alongside other qualifying multinational companies were required to be featured on at least three lists within countries in Europe, have at least 1,000 employees worldwide and have at least 40 percent of their workforce located outside the country in which their company is headquartered.  Eleven of Mars' European operations are featured on national Great Place to Work lists including:  Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.  In addition to European lists, other Mars' operations around the globe have been featured on national workplace ranking lists that include: US, New Zealand, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Korea, as well as number 25 on the Great Place To Work Best Multinational Workplaces. 

About Mars, Incorporated

In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' first roots as a confectionery company.  In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of  building a business based on the objective of creating a "mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders" – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 72,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, KITEKAT®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, NUTRO®, SHEBA®, DREAMIES® and CESAR®; Chocolate – M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® AND LIFESAVERS® mints.  Food –UNCLE BEN'S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA ® Coffee Roasters coffee,  THE BRIGHT TEA CO.® tea, DOVE®/GALAXY® Hot Chocolate, and FLAVIA® brewer; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA™, WISDOM PANEL™ and SERAMIS®.  For more information, please visit www.mars.com.  Follow us: facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars.