infrastructure, and environmental projects. In 2023 alone, cocoa cooperatives received €57.6 million in Fairtrade Premium, funding initiatives such as school construction, climate “Sustainability is also central to the work undertaken by Fairtrade,” continues Marina. “We are tackling deforestation through advanced satellite monitoring and strengthening human rights protections. In West Africa, tens of thousands of farmers have undergone Fairtrade training, equipping them with tools to improve productivity, prevent child labour,
and
build climate resilience. Yet, to scale these efforts, we need a new approach, one that encourages collaboration in building supply chain sustainability and resilience that no single company could accomplish alone.” It was this need that led to the creation of the Shared Impact initiative.
Sourcing cocoa sustainably should be a shared effort across different businesses and shared Impact allows multiple businesses to collectively source Fairtrade cocoa. This approach expands market access for farmers, increases sales under Fairtrade terms,
and generates more Fairtrade
Premium, resulting in greater investment in sustainability and ethical production.
KennedysConfection.com
Global
challenges such as
climate change and disease have shifted the need for a sustainable cocoa sector from being a moral imperative to a matter of survival”
By pooling sourcing from multiple companies and committing to longer- term contracts, competing businesses can work together to reduce supply chain risks, increase transparency, and align with new regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation. Shared Impact ensures that the responsibility for sustainability is distributed more fairly across the industry, scaling up positive change rather than limiting it to a handful of companies.
Marina warns of the importance of rapid
change. “In 2024, global cocoa prices surged due to climate-related production declines. for farmers, they do not guarantee long- term security as high prices combined with lower yields do not necessarily translate into better livelihoods for farmers. Instead, it can perpetuate income insecurity. What farmers need is consistent support, not just temporary price spikes. We believe that Shared Impact will provide a solution, creating a system where cocoa farmers receive stable prices and thrive despite ethical and sustainable cocoa supply chain.”
Leading by example Joke Alerts, Head of Credible Scaling, Tony’s Open Chain by Tony’s Chocolonely, pointed out the worrying statistic that one-in-two children in cocoa-growing households are still being engaged in child labour in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, where 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from. “At Tony’s Chocolonely we believe it is our mission to lead by example and show the world that we can end exploitation in cocoa. Not just in our chocolate, but in all chocolate worldwide,” says Joke. “Tony’s
Kennedy’s Confection April 2025 15
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