USA – Mondelez International has announced commitment to source 100% cocoa volume for all chocolate brands through its Cocoa Life Sustainability Program by 2025.
The company said that 43% of its chocolate including Milka, Cadbury Dairy Milk, and Côte d’Or brands already carry the Cocoa Life logo, meaning they are made from cocoa that is sustainably sourced.
Cocoa Life helps to create a thriving cocoa supply chain by increasing yields on existing farms, building resilience in cocoa-growing communities and preventing deforestation.
To drive its mission towards a fully sustainable supply chain, Mondelez said it is expanding the Cocoa Life family by adding Toblerone and Lacta plus other local brands.
“Our Purpose at Mondelēz International is to empower people to snack right and that journey begins with the ingredients we source, including cocoa,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dirk Van de Put.
“As demand for chocolate continues to grow, we are leading the transformation to build a thriving cocoa sector, an ingredient essential to our growth.
“This is an important milestone for our Cocoa Life program and will ensure more consumers around the world can be confident that the chocolate brands they love are made the right way.”
Launched in 2012, Cocoa Life program supports a number of farmers and communities across six cocoa origin countries: Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, India and Brazil.
In a span of 10 years since its launch, Mondelez has committed US$400 million to Cocoa Life to build sustainable cocoa supply chains by enhancing on skills, education and access to essential resources such as planting materials and crop protection.
Cocoa Life’s 2018 Annual Report
Mondelez has also released Cocoa Life’s 2018 Annual Report, which shows a great milestone made by the company by working with over 142,000 farmers and more than 1,400 communities in the first six years of the program.
The report indicates continuous cocoa yields, more community engagement and development as well as farmer-effort not to expand into protected forests.
The company has identified key areas of focus under the program: cocoa farming as a prosperous business of choice; empowered and inclusive communities that drive their own development; conservation and restoration of forests enabling climate-resilient practices.
“The expansion of Cocoa Life moves Mondelēz International a step closer to improving the positive impact the company has on people and the planet,” Van de Put said.
“Through Cocoa Life, we are leading the way in the fight against climate change in the cocoa sector and playing an active role in securing sustainable supplies of key raw materials. “
“Success will not be found by acting alone, and this is why we are building a movement for lasting change and scaling our holistic approach through productive, collaborative partnerships,” he added.
“We hope our encouraging results inspire more industry members to implement integrated approaches and broaden their impact at scale.”
