By Andy Pharoah

The last 18 months have been dominated by uncertainty, by hyperbole, by misinformation, causing consumers and employees to turn in ever greater numbers to companies as trusted news sources. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which for the past 20 years or so has chronicled annual shifts in consumer trust, business is now more trusted than NGOs, governments, and the media.

The Edelman data makes it clear that business is expected to do more. CEOs are expected to step in when the Government is unable to fix societal problems. To lead, not follow. To have a wide agenda. And why? Edelman concludes that society has reached a stage of “information bankruptcy,” with trust in information at record lows and a raging “infodemic” feeding mistrust.

The situation in India is a little less stark than the global picture. In India, trust in business is at 82%, the highest in all 27 countries examined, and trust in ‘my employer’ is at 89%, second only to Indonesia. Trust in Government follows at 79%, in NGOs at 78%, and finally Media at 69%.

Trust is a commodity that is more precious than gold. It can take years to build and just minutes to tarnish or even destroy. Trust in business has not always been at the levels of today. Business has a great responsibility to wield its influence with great care. Building trust matters for business success. Divided and conflict-ridden societies are good for no one.

We are all living through one of the greatest challenges the world has faced in decades. For Mars, our principles and purpose as a privately held family business are guiding our response in India and around the world. Most importantly, we are prioritizing the well-being of our Associates, which is how we refer to our employees, by doing our part to end COVID infections and encouraging Associates to get vaccinated.

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We are supporting local communities with $30 million of cash and in-kind support that includes working with organizations like the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) to aid in the transport and delivery of critical supplies for all United Nations agencies as they respond to the pandemic. As part of these efforts we committed $5 million to support our partner, CARE, in impacted communities across our supply chains. This was important to us as CARE is providing emergency supplies, bolstering community leaders with training and awareness-raising resources, distributing cash transfers and catalyzing resilience efforts with a focus on women and children in mint growing communities of India, cocoa-farming regions of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and migrant workers in the seafood sector of Thailand.

In India, we worked with NGOs to reach health workers with our products, as well as collaborate on addressing animal welfare, particularly in feeding homeless dogs and cats during throughout the crisis.

Globally, we continue to deliver the products and services that our consumers and clients depend upon, including those that people have stocked their pantries with (for themselves and their pets) and care through our 2,500 veterinary hospitals.

As businesses play a vital role in building trust and making society work, they must be sure to own their narrative. Because if businesses don’t tell their own stories, someone else will tell it for them.

Now, as all the purpose statements written pre-COVID are put to the test, leading with Purpose—a simple articulation of an organization’s North Star—has never been more important. It almost goes without saying that purpose without performance isn’t possible, and performance without purpose isn’t meaningful.

At Mars, we view purpose as a journey. You can see and hear this in our purpose statement: The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. We use that to look at every aspect of our business and our role in society, considering how to use our business to drive positive change. Consequently, purpose is a fundamental part of our business.

As a family-owned business, Mars’ heartfelt focus on purpose sets us apart from other brands. We do not have to report to shareholders, giving us the financial freedom to take a long-term approach and view things in generations, not quarters.

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Moreover, our purpose is active and recognizes that where we are today is not always where we want to be. We use that to examine areas of our business where we may not be living up to our purpose, so we can make the necessary changes. For example, you may have seen our announcement to rebrand Ben’s Original™ rice last year, stemming from an acknowledgment of the inequities that were associated with the name and face of the previous brand.

Businesses must use their resources and global scale to enable better, more sustainable, more purpose-driven ways of working as consumers and the business community at large begins returning to pre-pandemic activity. To create the most meaningful and measurable difference, you have to create a movement. And with big brands comes a big responsibility. That’s why, as we work to deliver on our purpose, we are building new partnerships and action-oriented coalitions to find and scale breakthrough solutions to sustainable growth.

From communications to our factories and beyond, we’re working to advance respect for human rights, improve levels of productivity, ensure accurate representation and equal access, and increase incomes throughout our supply chain. This proactive collaboration with our peers, suppliers, customers, governments, non-governmental organizations and the scientific community is driving industry-wide improvements and ensuring we’re able to create mutual benefits for all involved.

The role of corporations is evolving, and having a focused mission to deliver and articulating positive change is now a clear part of our mandate as communicators. In the end, though, the most important thing is what you choose to do, rather than what you choose to say. Now, as we all go through the biggest ever test case of missions and purpose, walking the walk is what’s most important.

-The author is vice president, corporate affairs & sustainability, Mars. Views expressed are personal.