Month: September 2025

While Miami-Dade County has approved an average water rate increase of $43.56 for customers, North Miami Beach approved water rate relief of up to $150 for homeowners.

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The City of North Miami Beach has approved the NMB Water Relief Act, the largest water relief package in the city’s history affecting over 100,000 Miami-Dade County residents. This relief program is launching amidst Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert III’s attempt to restrict the city from providing such relief programs with bureaucratic obstacles. His proposed ordinance is set to go before the county commission for a final vote.

“While Miami-Dade is raising water rates, as your mayor, North Miami Beach is leading with relief for homeowners. We know every dollar counts, and despite the County’s pushback, we’re standing firm. Because when it comes to our community, we believe in lifting people, not holding them down,” said Mayor Michael Joseph.

The NMB Water Relief Act, sponsored by Mayor Michael Joseph and co-sponsored by Commissioners Phyllis Smith and Fortuna Smukler, establishes a voluntary program offering a 10% discount on water bills, up to $100 annually, for customers who qualify for specific state homestead exemptions. Eligible residents include those aged 65 and older, individuals who are totally and permanently disabled, deployed service members, surviving spouses of first responders, and veterans who have died in the line of duty.

Additionally, the city is introducing a program that provides a prorated water bill discount, not exceeding $50 annually, for customers who enroll in automatic bill payment services.

“I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues on the City Commission for their swift action in establishing the NMB Water Relief Act. Their support for our NMB Water customers during this critical period is commendable. I am dedicated to leading with transparency and providing relief to our water customers is essential, for fairness and protecting families from unnecessary financial burdens,” said Mayor Michael Joseph.

Despite the city’s efforts to alleviate financial burdens for all customers, progress has been challenged. This follows Governor Ron DeSantis’ veto of House Bill 11 earlier this year, which was Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert III effort to control North Miami Beach over the issue of its water rates. Now, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert III has intervened, again, hindering progress. His opposition raises concerns about the county’s commitment to supporting local initiatives aimed at providing essential relief to constituents. At the same time, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved a 6% water rate increase where the average household would pay more than $43.56 in order to raise funds to resolve their $402 million budget deficit.

In conjunction with the NMB Water Relief Act, the City of North Miami Beach is launching NMB Water’s Facts First campaign, a new public education initiative aimed at promoting transparency, accountability, and long-term resilience. “The goal of the campaign is to educate our customers about water conservation and efficiency, and ensure our community continues to have access to safe, reliable, and affordable water service,” said Mayor Michael Joseph.

City of North Miami Beach customers can visit www.FairWaterFacts.com to learn how they can take advantage of current and forthcoming discount programs in the NMB Water Relief Act.

For more information, contact the City of North Miami Beach Communications Office at communications@citynmb.com or visit www.citynmb.com.

About the City of North Miami Beach
Strategically positioned at the ‘Crossroads of South Florida,’ North Miami Beach lies midway between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, adjacent to the Golden Glades Interchange where I-95, Florida’s Turnpike, and the Palmetto Expressway converge. This prime location, coupled with convenient access to major thoroughfares such as West Dixie Highway, Biscayne Boulevard, and 163rd Street, has made North Miami Beach easily accessible and well-connected. For more information, please visit www.CityNMB.com.

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SOURCE City of North Miami Beach

Community members are invited to stride for hope in San Ramon, California, to raise funds needed to enhance services for organ donor families and transplant recipients.

SAN RAMON, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — More than 700 participants are expected to make strides in support of patients and families impacted by organ donation at the 15th Annual Donor Network West Foundation Run/Walk. Organ donor families, transplant recipients, living donors, hospital partners and supporters will complete a 5-kilometer route starting at 7:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 13 at Bishop Ranch located at 2700 Camino Ramon in San Ramon, California. Community members and families are invited to create teams or join as individual participants by registering online at DonorNetworkWest.org/5k-run-walk.

Each step taken during the 2025 Run/Walk contributes to enhancing resources for donor families, transplant recipients, research and education initiatives. This year’s event will honor and celebrate the legacies of several organ donors, including Tyree Jackson, a Santa Clara, California resident who had a passion for teaching children at his local gymnastics gym. After losing his father and stepfather, Tyree was spurred to action to join the organ donor registry. In 2022, Tyree died in a pedestrian accident at age 22.

Through organ donation, he saved the lives of four individuals, including Isabelle Estrada, a 16-year-old who has been given a second chance at life after receiving Tyree’s heart. For the first time, Summer Eyo, Tyree’s mother, will meet Isabelle and her mother, Heather Harr during a private meeting Friday, Sept. 12. Summer, Heather, Isabelle and her sisters will walk together at the Run/Walk event in honor of Tyree’s memory and legacy of generosity.

“I have so much pride and admiration for Tyree,” Summer said. “He was a giver. It’s just who he was.”

Presented by Blue Skies Transplant, the Run/Walk will feature 36 teams, 20 business sponsors, and special entertainment from DJ D Sharp, the official DJ of the Golden State Warriors. Donor Network West President and CEO Janice Whaley, PhD., and former San Francisco 49er and Donor Network West Foundation Executive Director William “Bubba” Paris will address participants, highlighting the importance of supporting donor families and transplant recipients through community-driven events like this one.

“The Run/Walk continues a community-driven tradition that brings people together to recognize the impact of organ, eye and tissue donation,” said Whaley. “It inspires hope for those who are waiting for a transplant, while honoring those who gave the ultimate gift of life. Our community, hospital partners and passionate employees and ambassadors bring this event to life each year, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow to meet the needs of those we serve.”

Through events like this, the Donor Network West Foundation bolsters healing and restorative services for those impacted by organ donation. Every step taken at the Run/Walk will be made with purpose––to provide hope for the more than 100,000 people nationwide waiting for a life-saving transplant.

Those interested in learning more about organ donation or in joining the registry can visit DonorNetworkWest.org.

Photo caption: The 15th Annual Donor Network West Foundation Run/Walk contributes to enhancing resources for donor families, transplant recipients, research and education initiatives. This year’s event will honor the legacies of several organ donors, including Tyree Jackson, a Santa Clara, California resident who saved the lives of four people through organ donation. Tyree’s mother, Summer Eyo, will lead Team #BeLikeTyree at the Run/Walk alongside her son’s heart recipient, Isabelle Estrada.

Media note: Please contact Jena Esposito, jena.esposito@kps3.com, 702-513-0606, to speak with Summer Eyo, Heather Harr, and/or a Donor Network West spokesperson at the event. A 2024 Run/Walk video is available here.

About Donor Network West and the Donor Network West Foundation
Donor Network West saves and heals lives by facilitating organ and tissue recovery for transplantation and research. Established in 1987, Donor Network West is designated and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), is a member of the Organ Donation Alliance and is an official Donate Life organization. Donor Network West is federally designated to serve 45 counties in northern California and northern Nevada, Donor Network West partners with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the state-authorized donor registries to help increase donor registration.

Donor Network West Foundation was created in 2023 to amplify the work of Donor Network West. The Foundation’s mission is to support donor families and transplant recipients, to fund clinical innovation and research, and to educate our communities about the power of organ and tissue donation. For more information or to make a contribution, visit DonorNetworkWest.org/Foundation and follow us on social media: @mydnwest.

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SOURCE Donor Network West Foundation

Event Brings Experts, Community Leaders and Residents Together to Address Dust Challenges

DIAMOND BAR, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD), in partnership with Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, will host a Dust Summit on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. in Palm Desert. The event will bring together experts, community leaders, academia and residents to discuss research findings, health impacts along with current and future dust mitigation efforts.

The Coachella Valley has long faced challenges with dust pollution (PM10), which is often generated and carried by high winds across the desert. This not only impacts air quality but also poses risks to public health and quality of life for local communities.

Before effective solutions can be put in place, it’s critical to understand where the dust is coming from and what factors are driving it. Insights from this summit and upcoming work will help guide the development of the right mitigation projects for the region.

The event will feature presentations, a panel discussion, and an interactive Q&A session. Community participation will play a vital role in identifying the most effective solutions for reducing dust and improving air quality. More details will be released closer to the event.

The Dust Summit marks the beginning of a broader, long-term strategy to reduce dust pollution in the Coachella Valley. All residents are encouraged to participate and be part of this important conversation.

Event Details
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: UC Riverside Auditorium, Palm Desert Center, 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Palm Desert, California 92211

South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. For news, air quality alerts, event updates and more, please visit us at www.aqmd.gov, download our award-winning app, or follow us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Nahal Mogharabi, (909) 396-3773, Cell: (909) 837-2431
Rainbow Yeung: (909) 396-3373, Cell: (909) 967-2477
press@aqmd.gov

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SOURCE SOUTH COAST AQMD

Repressed Report Continues Concerning Pattern of Ignoring Alcohol Harm Data

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Alcohol Justice calls on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release the suppressed Alcohol Intake and Health report, and let the state of the science guide the forthcoming USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans. On Thursday, September 4^th, Vox reported that the Department of Health and Human Services had decided to bury an internal study on the health impacts of alcohol, which found that, for known causes of harm, the risks of drinking rise starting with the first sip. The study, one of three major alcohol-related publications compiled by the government at the beginning of this year, was intended to be used to inform the updated Dietary Guidelines. By refusing to release it, HHS gives the impression of “data shopping” and turning a blind eye to robust science that contradicts its predetermined findings.

“The government has a duty to consider all the evidence when giving alcohol-related guidance,” said Miryom Yisrael, Executive Director of Alcohol Justice. “Their mission is not to selectively interpret data, but to provide comprehensive information that safeguards health and preserves life.”

In January of 2025, three reports on alcohol harm were released, each through a different governmental or quasi-governmental entity, and each with distinct key findings.

• The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released the Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health, finding that “moderate” drinking protected against all-cause mortality.
• Mere days later, the Office of the Surgeon General released Alcohol and Cancer Risk, highlighting the carcinogenic properties of alcohol and noting that the risk rises starting with the first drink.
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a draft of the Alcohol Intake and Health study, which found that, when looking at known alcohol-related causes of death and disease including but not limited to cancer, risk likewise rises starting with the first drink.

For more background on the competing methodologies, aims, and concerns around this type of alcohol health research, please see Alcohol Justice’s “Alcohol’s Impacts on Health” FAQ.

“There are real flaws in the NASEM report, indications of bad science corrupted by industry,” said Carson Benowitz-Fredericks, MSPH, Research Director at Alcohol Justice. “But you don’t clear the air by burying later research. You do it by tackling the question from new perspectives—that’s what SAMHSA did, and now the government needs to release that vital report.”

Publishing the Alcohol Intake and Health report does not just provide important data for the USDA Dietary Guidelines. It also provides context for the alarming trend towards more alcohol-related deaths in the U.S., even as the numbers of drinkers fall.

• In under 10 years, alcohol-related mortality rose 29%, from 138,000 per year in 2016-2017 to 178,000 per year in 2024.
• Alcohol-related harms cost the U.S. $249 billion annually.
• This is particularly affecting older Americans, for whom alcohol-related causes of death have been steadily increasing since 2000.
• At the same time, Gen Z consumption rates are falling.

To understand and reverse the outsized impact on remaining drinkers, the United States needs consistent, evidence-based, actionable behavioral recommendations from credible sources. HHS’s decision to disown its own findings cripples the ability to generate that. And the loss of key research does not start with the buried report. The alcohol mortality trends were first highlighted by a department at CDC that was eliminated in the DOGE-driven cuts earlier this year.

“As alcohol-related harm grows, withholding the risks does real harm,” said Raul Verdugo, Director of Advocacy at Alcohol Justice. “The public deserves the full facts to make informed choices. Many at HHS understand this—let evidence, not silence, guide our public health policy.”

The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans has, for decades, included advice on recommended drinking thresholds. They have consistently honed in on two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women as a “moderate drinking” threshold. This threshold, however, has been accompanied with advice that drinking less is always safer than drinking more. Mounting evidence now suggests that two drinks per day for men is still excessive, and previous USDA advisory committees have recommended lowering that to one. Instead, according to sources close to the process, the guidelines committee may move to remove all concrete recommendations beyond “drink in moderation”.

This follows the concerning pattern where health authorities relinquish their obligation to educate, prevent, and protect. Alcohol Justice insists that the public have access to high-quality information—including studies, analyses, and guidelines.

“This research was conducted for the American people, to benefit the American people,” said Yisrael. “Secretary Kennedy, release the report.”

Alcohol Justice is a nonprofit based in San Rafael, California, dedicated to advancing evidence-based policy that promotes public health and safety. For more information, please see www.alcoholjustice.org.

CONTACT:       

Carson Benowitz-Fredericks
(917) 426-6443
carsonb@alcoholjustice.org

Raul Verdugo
(310) 6899401
advocacy@alcoholjustice.org

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SOURCE Alcohol Justice

CHICAGO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ —

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT? A proposed class action settlement has been reached in three related lawsuits. The lawsuits allege that, beginning in 2007, Discover misclassified certain Discover-issued consumer credit cards as commercial credit cards, which in turn caused merchants and others to incur excessive interchange fees. The misclassification did not impact cardholders. Discover denies the claims in the lawsuits, and the Court has not decided who is right or wrong. Instead, the proposed settlement, if approved, will resolve the lawsuits and provide benefits to Settlement Class Members.

WHO IS INCLUDED? The Settlement Class includes all End Merchants, Merchant Acquirers, and Payment Intermediaries involved in processing or accepting a Misclassified Card Transaction during the period from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2023. To view the full Settlement Class definition, including defined terms and excluded entities, go to www.DiscoverMerchantSettlement.com.

WHAT CAN I GET? To receive a settlement payment, with very limited exceptions, you will need to file a claim by May 18, 2026 and/or provide additional information to the Settlement Administrator. Under the proposed settlement, Discover will make payments to eligible Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims. Discover has agreed to pay between $540 million and $1.225 billion plus interest in connection with this settlement. Your settlement payment amount will be calculated based on a variety of factors.

YOUR OTHER OPTIONS. You can file a claim for a payment by May 18, 2026 and/or provide additional information. Alternatively, you can exclude yourself from the settlement by opting out, in which case you will receive no payment under this settlement and retain any right you may have to sue Discover about the claims in these lawsuits or related to the Misclassified Card Transactions. If you do not exclude yourself, and the Court approves the settlement, you will be bound by the Court’s orders and judgments and will release any claims against Discover in these lawsuits or related to the Misclassified Card Transactions. If you do not exclude yourself, you can object to or comment on any part of the settlement. The deadline to either exclude yourself or object to the settlement is March 25, 2026. Visit www.DiscoverMerchantSettlement.com information on how to exercise these options.

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SOURCE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

Gallaudet’s solar and battery storage system shows reliability of distributed energy resources

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Maureen Quinlan is a senior officer and Brian Watts is an officer on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ energy modernization project.

More than 150 years after its founding, the world’s first university for the deaf and hard of hearing is making a different kind of history.

Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., is reaping the benefits of one of the largest microgrids in the city, which school officials installed on the campus in 2023.

A microgrid is an energy system that can operate independently from the main grid. Gallaudet’s microgrid combines multiple forms of distributed energy resources, including hundreds of solar panels spread across seven rooftops; any energy the school doesn’t use immediately can be stored in a campus battery.

By producing most of its own energy on-site, Gallaudet is easing the burden on the local utility grid—and the university’s energy bill.

“The main reason for the microgrid is it’s going to save the university a lot of money,” said Dave Good, director of energy, utilities, and sustainability at Gallaudet University. “We anticipate it’s going to save about 40% on our energy bills every year, which is millions of dollars. It’s a very good investment. It’s going to have a relatively quick return.”

The microgrid has other benefits: It’s a resilient backup in the event of grid outages—no small matter in an era of increasingly frequent severe weather—and provides clean energy to D.C. neighborhoods through Washington’s community solar program, administered through local utility, Pepco.

Area residents who subscribe to the community solar program receive credits on their electricity bills, reducing their monthly electric bills by up to 10%. To date, more than 400 households have subscribed to Gallaudet’s community solar offering.

“We have all this space and we’re able to maximize the economic and environmental benefits, and the community benefits through the community solar program,” Good said.

Good and experts from the clean energy financing initiative Urban Ingenuity (an affiliate of Working Power, an organization that co-develops clean energy projects) and distributed energy company Scale Microgrids worked together to develop the microgrid. Officials from each entity led a tour for staff members from The Pew Charitable Trusts and university faculty to showcase the facility and explain distributed energy resources and the benefits they yield for the campus and community.

Good explained that the university uses a single “point of common coupling,” or one dedicated point, where Pepco delivers electricity to the university. That grid design allows Gallaudet to easily switch from the Pepco grid to the school microgrid when needed.

The formation and economics of the project are distinct. In 2015, Urban Ingenuity conducted a citywide microgrid study, with support from the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment. The study identified Gallaudet as a top contender for a microgrid system based on criteria and a scoring system that balanced economic, financial, and regulatory concerns.

As part of the project agreement, the university earns revenue from leasing rooftops for solar arrays to Scale Microgrids. The battery energy storage also helps the grid operator for the mid-Atlantic region, PJM, safely and reliably deliver electricity through its “frequency response program.” This allows the university to earn revenue from the energy it provides while assisting PJM in balancing energy supply and demand.

Dr. Christopher Hayes, an assistant professor of mathematics at Gallaudet who joined the tour, said energy costs are frequently a topic of conversation in his classroom.

“Students are, of course, naturally interested in green energy, but they rarely know what the costs of electricity are in daily life,” Hayes said. “The microgrid will help me give a concrete, real-world example that they can study, and help them appreciate that green energy can be the smart economic choice. I think it’s a great opportunity.”

Good is also excited about the energy reliability the microgrid provides, including during weather-related outages. “We’ll continue to be able to operate campus and really have almost no disruption at all,” he said. “When we’re disconnected from the grid, that’s called ‘islanded’ because we’re on an island of electricity generation on the campus. We’ve already tested this out a few times and were able to operate the entire campus using electricity from our microgrid. So, it’s proven, and it is an exciting benefit.”

Today, there are hundreds of microgrids around the United States, including at other universities and many facilities that depend on electricity to operate essential services—fire stations, hospitals, and wastewater treatment plants, among others.

Developing a microgrid project can be a complicated process that requires expertise to navigate regulatory, engineering, and financial complexities. However, Bracken Hendricks, co-founder and CEO of Urban Ingenuity, said microgrid technologies are advancing quickly and, with growing energy demand and rising utility bills, more microgrids may soon be operational in the U.S.

“It’s really a solid economic payback,” Good said. Further, he added, the microgrid “helps Gallaudet to achieve its mission to educate deaf and hard of hearing students.”

For more information, visit Energy Modernization | The Pew Charitable Trusts (pewtrusts.org) 

Contact: Matt Herbert, officer, mherbert@pewtrusts.org, 605-759-8911

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SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts

ATLANTA, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — YuppTV, one of the world’s leading OTT platforms for South Asian content, has announced that Willow TV is now available for streaming on YuppTV in the United States. This brings cricket fans in the US region closer to the action, ensuring they can watch the live streaming of major cricket series Asia Cup 2025.

The Asia Cup 2025 will be played from September 9 to September 28, with India taking on hosts United Arab Emirates in their opening match on September 10. The much-anticipated India vs Pakistan clash is scheduled for September 14 in Dubai. Cricket fans in the United States can stream this thrilling encounter along with all other Asia Cup matches live on Willow TV via YuppTV.

The Asia Cup 2025 will feature eight teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong to compete in the thrilling T20 format. Covering 19 matches, the Cricket tournament will unfold through group stages, the Super Four, and the grand final. Among the fixtures, the iconic India vs Pakistan clash stands out as the most popular battle, set to capture the attention of millions of fans and ignite unmatched excitement across the cricketing world.

Action-packed cricket tournament Asia Cup 2025, showcasing a total of 19 thrilling matches played across two of the UAE’s iconic cricket stadiums the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The tournament will begin with the group stage, where teams battle it out for a place in the next round.

Teams in Asia Cup 2025

Group A: India, Oman, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates

Group B: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka

Cricket fans in the United States can subscribe now to YuppTV to watch Willow TV, the live cricket channel, and enjoy live coverage of the Asia Cup 2025 along with other international cricket tournaments.

For more information: Visit  https://www.yupptv.com/allpackages

About YuppTV

YuppTV is one of the world’s largest internet-based TV and On-demand service provider for South Asian content, offering more than 250+ TV channels.

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SOURCE YuppTV

• Mars signs first U.S. clean energy contracts with Enel to support its Renewable Acceleration with more global projects on the way in order to cover electricity needs of its full value chain.
• Mars expects its Renewable Acceleration program to contribute an estimated 10% reduction of its total carbon footprint by 2030, against a 2015 baseline.
• Mars believes Renewable Acceleration can help expand clean energy capacity building and improve energy resilience and security for Mars and its partners; Mars is encouraging other companies to follow.

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Mars, Incorporated has announced a major step in its decarbonization journey under its new program called Renewable Acceleration by teaming up with energy partner Enel. This initiative is designed to speed up the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy – not just for Mars owned sites, but across its entire value chain by bringing the totality of their electricity usage to the renewables market.

This means sourcing renewable electricity to cover everything from the farms that grow ingredients to the trucks that deliver products, and even the energy used by consumers at home to enjoy their favorite Mars products, like Ben’s Original™ and SNICKERS^® Ice Cream, or at their BANFIELD™ veterinarian’s office. By implementing this Renewable Acceleration strategy, Mars could cut around 3 million tonnes of carbon emissions from its full value chain – about 10% of its current total footprint. Renewable electricity is one of the best understood, widely accepted and low-cost decarbonization solutions available – this new approach maximizes and accelerates its delivery potential.

“Many large companies are well on their way to sourcing renewable electricity for their own operations, but that’s just a part of the picture,” Kevin Rabinovitch, Global VP Sustainability said. “For Mars, Renewable Acceleration is a performance accelerator, cutting emissions at a scale and speed we could never achieve through traditional value chain engagement approaches. It lets us bring demand for all the electricity used in our value chain to the clean energy market in a highly efficient manner. The more demand we create together, the faster we can build the future we all want. And clean energy means cleaner air for our communities, our people, and our partners.”

Direct operations across the business globally use approximately 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity each year, roughly the equivalent of the annual consumption of The Bahamas. But when you include the full Mars value chain under Renewables Acceleration to include our suppliers, customers and our consumers, that number jumps to 8-9 TWh – the annual equivalent of Estonia.¹

Mars has signed its first Renewable Acceleration program contract with energy provider, Enel North America. A part of the Enel Group, this is their largest-ever power purchase agreement (PPA) transaction with a commercial and industrial customer worldwide as well as Mars largest contract to date. Additional global agreements are in the pipeline. These contracts support the development of renewable energy projects that serve both Mars and its suppliers while building energy resilience for the business.

The first three contracts with Enel will generate a combined 1.8 TWh annually, avoiding approximately 700ktCO₂e per year.² The agreement means that Mars value chain will benefit from the entire output from Enel’s three solar plants in Texas, U.S.A. Vegetation at all three sites will be managed through sheep grazing, a sustainable dual-use solar practice that Enel expanded through the largest solar grazing agreement signed in the United States.

“Renewable Acceleration is a bold initiative to support the buildout of more clean energy capacity, which we know is among the fastest and most economical ways to decarbonize,” said Michele Di Murro, CEO of Enel North America. “Mars is raising the bar for corporate sustainability strategies, taking a comprehensive and direct approach to addressing emissions across its entire value chain. Enel is proud to partner with Mars in launching this new program.”

With each additional contract signed by Mars, the company expects Renewable Acceleration to contribute towards a 10% reduction of its total carbon footprint by 2030. Renewable Acceleration is part of the company’s broader sustainability strategy, which also includes tackling deforestation, supporting climate-smart agriculture,³ improving transport, and embedding sustainability across the business.

About Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As an approximately $55bn 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.

Media Contacts:
marsmediarelations@effem.com

¹ Per 2023 electricity net consumption EIA data.
² Mars calculates the GHG benefits of these projects under Renewable Acceleration based on national U.S. grid factors reflecting nationwide sourcing.
³ Unless expressly noted otherwise, all references to “climate-smart” agriculture or practices refer to practices that support agricultural transformation to reduce and remove GHG emissions; regenerate soils and support biodiversity; and/or adapt to increasing climate hazards.

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SOURCE Mars, Incorporated