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Mars Announces Partnerships Supporting Regenerative Agriculture Transition Across its European Pet Food Supply Chain

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Mars, Incorporated, is focused on scaling climate-smart agriculture in its value chain which will help to deliver more than one million acres of regenerative agriculture practices by 2030 across the globe. Multiple partnerships across Europe will help transition 20,900 hectares (almost twice the size of Paris) of wheat and maize crops to regenerative agriculture practices by 2028. In Europe, Mars Petcare is working with agribusiness companies and solutions providers, including Cargill, Agreena, ADM, Biospheres, Horta and Soil Capital.

LONDON, Dec. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Mars, Incorporated, a global leader in pet care products and services, confectionery, snacking and food and the maker of some of the world’s most-loved brands, has announced major collaborations to scale regenerative agriculture practices across its pet nutrition business in Europe.

Multiyear collaborations have begun with suppliers including Cargill and ADM, and technical experts Biospheres, Horta, Agreena and Soil Capital in Europe. Through these partnerships, farmers in Poland, Hungary, and the UK will receive financial incentives and expert advisory services to support adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, including crop rotation, minimal tillage, and cover crops. The programmes will support farmers to invest in new methods, and offer training, to build knowledge and confidence while reducing barriers to adopting regenerative agriculture practices.

The implementation of regenerative practices aims to deliver benefits such as increased yields, lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through reduction and carbon sequestration, improved water quality, enhanced soil health and improved biodiversity. Adoption of regenerative agriculture across the Mars supply chain contributes to scope 3 carbon reductions as part of the Mars Net Zero Roadmap.

“At Mars, we know businesses like ours play a key role in securing a sustainable future for pet food. Healthy soil is the backbone of a resilient food system. Through these partnerships, we’re extremely proud to be playing our part in driving regenerative agriculture practices across Europe, restoring soil health, cutting carbon and building a stronger and more sustainable supply chain for farmers and future generations of pets and pet parents” said Deri Watkins, Regional President, Mars Pet Nutrition Europe.

Mars will track the impact of the various projects through robust measurement, reporting, and verification systems to ensure transparency, focusing on enhancing soil health and reducing GHG emissions.  Through multi-year collaborations, Mars will work with partners to implement regenerative agriculture in the UK, Hungary, and Poland — promoting ecosystem resilience, supporting local economies, and securing a sustainable pet food supply for the future.

Our Partners:

•  Cargill: Through this partnership with Cargill RegenConnect®, farmers across Poland will receive payments for carbon sequestered after adopting regenerative practices, like cover cropping and reduced tillage. The program aims to improve soil health on more than 4,600 hectares in Poland from 2024 to 2026. Through the RegenConnect® program farmers can access on-the-spot agronomic support on crop rotation patterns, cover crop selection and usage of appropriate machinery.

•  Horta: This partnership with Horta aims to provide support to farmers by helping them make informed decisions about irrigation and the appropriate amount of fertilizer to use. Additionally, farmers are encouraged to implement cover crops and reduce or eliminate tilling as part of the program’s incentives. This partnership will support regenerative agriculture practices across more than 3,600 hectares of wheat and maize crops in Hungary.

•  Soil Capital: This partnership with Soil Capital aims to support and finance the regenerative agriculture transition for wheat farmers across the UK. The programme aims to improve soil health, soil carbon sequestration, and reduced erosion across more than 3,200 hectares between 2024 and 2028.

•  Biospheres and Agreena: This 3-year partnership with Biospheres and Agreena is intended to support the expansion of regenerative agriculture in Hungary through a grower-centric programme. The partnership aims to deliver an improvement in soil health, soil carbon sequestration, and reduced erosion while also providing an economic incentive for farmers to adopt regenerative practices. The partnership will cover up to 5,500 hectares of wheat crops in Hungary between 2024 and 2026.

•  ADM: This partnership with ADM is a 5-year (2023-2028) regenerative agriculture program in Poland, focusing on soil health improvement, carbon sequestration, and erosion reduction. Through this partnership, farmers across Poland will receive financial incentives for implementing regenerative agriculture practices. It will support the transition of 4,000 hectares of wheat crops in Poland over 5 years to 2028.

We are excited to be on this long-term regenerative agriculture journey with our partners, working together to expand the hectares of farmland across Europe that embrace regenerative agriculture practices. This effort contributes to Mars’ work to scale climate-smart agriculture in its value chain, which will help to deliver more than one million acres of regenerative agriculture practices across the globe by 2030. Recently, Mars, Incorporated released the  2023 Mars Sustainable in a Generation Report, announcing record 8% GHG emissions reduction, which doubled Mars’ total GHG reduction across our full value chain and delivered our single largest GHG reduction against a 2015 baseline. With almost 60% of the company’s value chain GHG footprint coming from agricultural ingredients, Mars is scaling up climate-smart agriculture initiatives to drive continued decarbonisation.

To learn more, click here.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+ family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS® and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles — Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom — inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet. 

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube

About ADM

ADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life. We’re an essential global agricultural supply chain manager and processor, providing food security by connecting local needs with global capabilities. We’re a premier human and animal nutrition provider, offering one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of ingredients and solutions from nature. We’re a trailblazer in health and well-being, with an industry-leading range of products for consumers looking for new ways to live healthier lives. We’re a cutting-edge innovator, guiding the way to a future of new consumer and industrial solutions. And we’re a leader in sustainability, scaling across entire value chains to help decarbonize the multiple industries we serve. Around the globe, our innovation and expertise are meeting critical needs while nourishing quality of life and supporting a healthier planet. Learn more at www.adm.com.

About Biospheres Group

Biospheres is a French company and an international leader in the development and large-scale deployment of ecosystem regeneration practices. It uses a method that simplifies and secures the agro-ecological transition, with both strategic support for its key account partners (territories, agri-food, cosmetics, consumer goods) and operational work on the ground with farmers in various sectors (fruit and vegetables, grapes, cereals, arboriculture, etc.). Since 2013, Biospheres has developed projects in 18 countries and has teams on the ground in France, Spain and Eastern Europe. Biospheresgroup.com

About Horta

At Horta, we assist farmers and companies in rejuvenating soil health and achieving sustainable agricultural production. Specializing in regenerative agriculture, digital farming, and emission reduction, we support the agri-food supply chain in transforming these goals into measurable outcomes. Our projects focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and optimizing production processes. With our expertise and advanced Decision Support Systems (DSS), businesses can implement regenerative practices, reduce their carbon footprint, and enhance production quality and efficiency. Managing over 130,000 plots across Italy and internationally, Horta is a trusted partner for adopting sustainable and efficient practices aligned with global development goals.

About Soil Capital

Soil Capital is a certified B Corp with a mission to support farmers in their transition to regenerative and sustainable agriculture. Operating in France, Belgium, and the UK, the business has developed an innovative programme that connects companies seeking to enhance the resilience of their supply chains with farmers who are compensated for their vital contributions to soil health, climate change mitigation, and food security preservation.

About Cargill

Cargill is committed to providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions, and industrial products to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Sitting at the heart of the supply chain, we partner with farmers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living. Our 160,000 team members innovate with purpose, providing customers with life’s essentials so businesses can grow, communities prosper, and consumers live well. With 159 years of experience as a family company, we look ahead while remaining true to our values. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing—today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Agreena

Agreena is a Danish climate solutions pioneer, supporting farmers’ transition to regenerative agriculture. Bridging the worlds of finance, technology, and agriculture, Agreena is developing a range of financial solutions for those delivering a more sustainable food and farming system. Agreena is working with thousands of farmers across 4.5 million hectares of arable farmland in 20 European markets – giving them access to carbon finance to accelerate the global shift to regenerative agriculture. AgreenaCarbon is Europe’s leading soil carbon programme. Through a network of farmers, businesses and experts, Agreena shares knowledge and resources to secure the future of agriculture. Its advanced digital Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) capabilities measure tangible impact from the ground up, supporting farmers, companies, and governments on the road to net zero. Visit: www.agreena.com

 

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Marquis Who’s Who Honors Rupin Chothani for Engineering Leadership

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UNIONDALE, N.Y., July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Marquis Who’s Who honors Rupin Chothani for his leadership in engineering and project management. With more than two decades of professional experience to his credit, Mr. Chothani leverages a unique expertise in fire and petrochemical solutions to find success in his field. As project manager, project engineer and proposal manager at Technip Energies N.V., Mr. Chothani ensures effective results.

Drawn to Engineering

Coming from a family of engineers, Mr. Chothani was naturally drawn to the profession. This inclination was reinforced by comprehensive aptitude and attitude tests administered at the age of 14, which highlighted his strengths in engineering and architecture. Ultimately, this direction reinforced his determination to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.

By 2003, Mr. Chothani earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Mumbai. After a brief role as a junior manufacturing engineer at Artech Cooling Tower Pvt. Ltd., he completed a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bridgeport in 2006. In addition to these degrees, Mr. Chothani later achieved AutoCAD certification.

Following his graduation in 2006, Mr. Chothani joined CB&I Lummus / ABB Lummus Heat Transfer (now Lummus Technology) as a thermal engineer. Though his work at Lummus Technology lasted only three years, Mr. Chothani was greatly influenced by mentor figures at the company. These mentors, including Ken Catala, Peter Harvard, Chin Dang and Miller Alanath Carter, provided essential guidance.

Building a Family

In December 2008, Mr. Chothani married his wife, Cathy. Along with his son and daughter, his family has contributed richly to his success in engineering and they continue to inspire him to excel. In addition to their support, Mr. Chothani recognizes that there is no alternative to hard work and dedicated learning.

From Lummus Technology to Technip Energies N.V.

Following his work at Lummus Technology, Mr. Chothani worked with Maco Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. By 2011, he joined Complete Heat Transfer Solutions – Environ Energy Systems as a thermal and mechanical engineer. By 2013, Mr. Chothani became a part of Technip Energies N.V. as a furnace mechanical engineer. By 2023, he added to this role and became a project manager, project engineer and proposal manager at the company.

In his current role at Technip Energies N.V., Mr. Chothani is responsible for a variety of essential duties. He manages and executes on engineering projects for ethylene cracking furnaces and heaters, and oversees proprietary technologies. Additionally, he actively coordinates with procurement, logistics, mechanical engineering and process engineering teams to ensure effective results.

Plans for the Future

Moving forward, Mr. Chothani hopes to advance his project management skills, particularly within the firejet industry. At the same time, he aims to share his knowledge of the industry with the next generation of professionals. Outside of his professional ambitions, Mr. Chothani intends to prepare his children to find success, inspiring them and their peers with hands-on experiments and full-day events.

About Marquis Who’s Who®:

Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms worldwide. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

Marquis Who’s Who
Uniondale, NY
(844) 394 – 6946
info@marquiswhoswho.com
www.marquiswhoswho.com

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COALITION OF INDEPENDENT INTERNET PROVIDERS ASKS CRTC TO FIX ERRORS IN WHOLESALE FIBRE RATES

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Coalition of competitive ISPs say current fibre rates make competition impossible and threatens to harm millions of Canadian consumers

CHATHAM, ON, July 23, 2026 /CNW/ — A coalition of independent internet service providers (the Coalition) led by TekSavvy Solutions Inc. (TekSavvy) today applied to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to review and vary Telecom Order 2026-77, which set final wholesale rates for fibre internet services. In that decision, the CRTC approved wholesale rates for fibre internet services that are higher than the retail prices charged by the large carriers. This makes competition impossible, as independent providers are forced to either sell at a loss or set prices above the large carriers, leaving millions of Canadian consumers without competitive options for essential internet services.

The application identifies key errors that led the CRTC to approve severely inflated final wholesale rates, which make it economically impossible for independent providers to compete. The Coalition argues that the CRTC’s incorrect rates negate the very purpose of Canada’s wholesale framework, which is to foster competition in retail broadband markets. Specifically, the Coalition asks the CRTC to make three key changes to Telecom Order 2026-77:

Eliminate one cost factor that is inconsistent with the CRTC’s established costing principles, which artificially increased fibre wholesale rates by an estimated 25% to 30% (the Adjustment Factor).Reduce another element of the costing that is inflated above reasonable levels: The Coalition calls on the CRTC to reduce the markup applied to wholesale fibre services from 30% to 15%, reflecting declining costs, operational efficiencies, and the need to support competition.Correct technical errors relating to certain wholesale fibre speed descriptions.

“Canadians were promised greater competition for fibre internet services, but these rates make competition impossible.” said Andy Kaplan-Myrth, TekSavvy’s Vice President of Regulatory and Carrier Affairs. “The CRTC must correct these errors to ensure its wholesale rates promote broadband competition that challenges the market power of monopoly incumbents, lowers prices, and increases consumer choice.”

About the Coalition

The Coalition consists of competitive telecommunications providers and industry associations advocating for fair wholesale access to fibre networks and a competitive broadband marketplace that delivers affordable, high-quality Internet services to Canadians, including: TekSavvy Solutions Inc., BC Broadband Association (“BCBA”), Canada-Wide Internet Service Providers Association (“CanWISP”), Fibernetics Inc., ISP Telecom Inc., National Capital FreeNet Inc., Novus Entertainment Inc. and Purple Cow Internet Inc.

About TekSavvy Solution Inc.

Based in Chatham, Ontario, TekSavvy is Canada’s largest independent telecom service company. TekSavvy has been proudly delivering award-winning services and fighting for consumers’ rights for nearly 30 years. TekSavvy is committed to providing quality competitive choice and closing Canada’s digital divide.

SOURCE TekSavvy Solutions Inc.

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Monk Launches Voice Collections, Bringing AI Phone Calls and Callbacks to Accounts Receivable

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Monk’s collections agent, Julia, can now place outbound collection calls and answer inbound AR questions from a dedicated business number, so finance teams can use the channel that collects best without adding headcount.

Multimedia: Watch Voice Collections in action: https://youtu.be/w09PoN1yACE 

NEW YORK, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Monk, the AI-native accounts receivable platform, today launched Voice Collections. Its collections agent, Julia, can now place outbound collection calls and answer inbound customer questions about invoices and payments from a dedicated phone number for each organization. The feature brings the phone, long the most effective collections channel and the hardest one to scale, into Monk’s Intelligent Collections.

Roughly $10 trillion sits in unpaid invoices worldwide, and the average invoice now takes 59 days to clear (Allianz). Most accounts receivable runs on email, and most of it waits. More than half of B2B invoices in the United States are overdue at any given time, and 92% of businesses are typically paid after their due date (Chaser, 2026). Phone calls recover overdue invoices two to three times better than email (Dunwise), yet 91% of finance teams still rely on email as their main follow-up channel and only 56% use the phone, because calling every overdue account by hand does not scale and a single human dunning call can cost $12 to $18 (HighRadius).

Voice Collections gives teams that coverage. Julia can call on the accounts a playbook flags for phone follow-up, and answer when a customer calls the same number back to ask about an invoice, a payment, or a bank detail. Businesses that follow up on 100% of overdue invoices are 76% more likely to be paid within a week (Chaser), and a voice agent is what makes full coverage possible.

Monk’s collections agent is already proven on the accounts it handles by email. Across Monk’s first 100 customers, Julia reaches customers with a 24% higher response rate than standard dunning and resolves 88.2% of collections with zero human intervention. Voice extends that reach to the phone.

“For years the assumption was that customers would not talk to an AI on the phone,” said George Kurdin, Founder and CEO of Monk. “The evidence now points the other way. People engage with a good voice agent, and in AR the phone was always the channel that collected best. We built Voice Collections so finance teams can finally use it at the scale email gave them.”

That assumption is worth retiring. In a University of Chicago Booth field study of roughly 70,000 interviews, people interviewed by a voice AI agent were 12% more likely to receive an offer, 18% more likely to start, and 17% more likely to still be there after 30 days, and 80% chose the voice AI over a human when given the choice. The setting was recruiting rather than collections, but the finding travels: given a capable voice agent, people lean in rather than hang up. A call also does something email cannot, which is secure a verbal promise to pay in the moment.

Built for finance, with the phone agents kept with strict guardrails

Voice in finance has to be constrained, and Monk designed Voice Collections around that from the start. The agent is read-only on the phone. It answers questions, confirms details, and routes the next step. It will not rewrite an invoice, change a payment status, or accept a sensitive payment change by voice.

The agent is also reference-based. If a caller asks about an invoice, Julia asks for both the company name and the invoice number before looking anything up, and it will not search broadly from a single detail. Every inbound and outbound call is kept in the collection record alongside the email history, so a callback is part of the same thread the team already sees, and anything that needs judgment escalates to a person.

“Voice in finance has to be careful by design,” said Joe Zhou, Co-Founder and CTO of Monk. “Julia will not browse across accounts or move money over the phone. A caller has to bring the company name and invoice number before it confirms anything, and every call lands in the record. In finance a 1% mistake is still unacceptable, so we built for that first and added the reach second.”

Teams run autonomous collections on Monk

Monk runs collections for finance teams at companies like Unify, Pump, Siro, and Elate, and Voice Collections extends what those teams already do by email onto the phone.

“We chose Monk to help automate our collections, a process previously demanding several hours a week of manual, one-off outreach,” said Will Stewart, Head of Finance and BizOps at Unify. “Today, our Monk agent is always running in the background and I have a single dashboard to manage AR from.”

At Pump, which manages volume across more than 1,500 customers, Monk has helped collect over $10 million in recent months.

Voice AI is now infrastructure

The timing reflects how far voice AI has come. It has moved from demo to infrastructure: Vapi has processed more than 1 billion calls, Bland handles over 3.5 million calls a week, and ElevenLabs raised a $500 million round at an $11 billion valuation in early 2026. Monk builds Voice Collections on that foundation and adds the part finance actually needs, which is the AR context, the controls, and the audit trail.

Voice Collections is available now as an opt-in feature. Monk configures the dedicated number and call behavior with each organization before turning it on in Collections. See it in action: https://youtu.be/w09PoN1yACE.

About Monk

Monk is the AI-native accounts receivable platform that helps finance teams turn revenue into cash. Its agent, Julia, runs collections, cash application, and forecasting as one connected system. Monk resolves 88.2% of collections with zero human intervention, reaches customers with a 24% higher response rate than standard dunning, reduces DSO by more than 40%, automatically matches 80% of incoming payments with a full audit trail, and gives finance teams back roughly 26 hours a month. Teams onboard in under a week and see results in their first month. More than $1.5 billion in receivables is managed on the platform, including for customers like Profound and ElevenLabs. Monk has raised $25 million and is based in New York.

Media contact
Kendall Warson
kendall@monk.com
+1 415-827-6585

Sources: Chaser 2026 Accounts Receivable research; Dunwise dunning research; HighRadius collection call cost analysis; University of Chicago Booth field study on AI in recruiting; voice AI figures compiled by Enterprise DNA; Federal Reserve data; Allianz Worldwide DSO survey.

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SOURCE Monk

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