ETHICAL COCOA SOURCING
identifying the ethical practices of all the actors in what is often a very complex value chain. “Implementing an effective traceability system is a key priority. Luker is aiming to trace its cocoa right from the farm so we can monitor farming practices, price transfer and human rights enforcement. Our current goal is to trace at least 70% of our cocoa to the farm by 2027.”
Partnering for change Achieving systemic change in the chocolate industry requires investment, innovation, and partnership at every level. Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) highlighted the Cocoa & Forests Initiative as one example of how engaging stakeholders on an agreed framework across the supply chain can move the industry toward a more sustainable future. In addition, ofi is also an active member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Tropical Forest Alliance, helping develop a roadmap for transforming supply chains. In addition, the company has created its own sustainability
ambition for the future of cocoa, as Andrew Brooks, Head of Cocoa Sustainability at ofi, explains: “Cocoa Compass sets measurable targets in the three areas where we believe we can have the most impact – empowering communities to grow by putting children first; supporting farmers to prosper; and protecting the natural world by investing in nature.” Cocoa Compass aims to eliminate child labour from the
ofi supply chain and to ensure all cocoa farmers’ children in its network have access to education by 2030. “To drive this goal forward, we have collaborated with the Fair Labour Association (FLA) to roll out Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) across 218,000 households. We have also provided more than 31,000 children with educational support,” says Andrew. By working closely with farmers on the ground, ofi believes
it is possible to help improve yields and is working towards a 2030 goal of 150,000 cocoa farmers in the ofi supplier network earning a living income. “One of the ways we hope to achieve this is by training farmers on techniques such as agroforestry – which involves planting forest and fruit trees alongside cocoa to help increase yields and produce high-quality and profitable cocoa, without harming the environment. This also helps create an additional source of food or income for farmers, meaning they are not solely reliant on the yield of their cocoa crop.”
Top priority Cheryl Allen, Head of Confectionery Sustainability and Health at Nestlé UK&I, told us that making a positive impact in the cocoa sector is a top priority for Nestlé and is something that the business has been working on for more than a decade. Commenting on some of the company’s initiatives, Cheryl
says: “Since 2009, we have invested in sustainable sourcing through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan. In that time, more than 152,000 cocoa farming families within the programme have benefited from training programmes in good agriculture practices and received disease-resistant cocoa plantlets that helped them to improve yield. “In 2012, we implemented a comprehensive child labour
monitoring and remediation system which monitors over 159,000 children from farming families. Further, 49 schools
32 Kennedy’s Confection December 2022/January 2023
“In the last two or three years we have seen a huge rise in
sustainability as a theme within the chocolate sector”
have been built in rural areas, and we have undertaken multiple initiatives to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment. “In January this year, we introduced an income accelerator
programme to build on the progress achieved through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan. This programme aims to tackle farmer incomes and child labour. We pay cash incentives directly to cocoa-farming households
through the programme
for certain activities. These include school enrolment for children; implementing good agricultural practices to increase crop productivity and agroforestry activities such as planting shade trees and generating diversified incomes.”
Leading by example Since its creation in 2005, Dutch confectionery company, Tony’s Chocolonely, has made a point of leading by example to show the world that chocolate can be made differently – in taste, packaging and in the way it treats cocoa farmers. Highlighting the fact that there is still a great deal of work
to be done to improve ethical practices in the chocolate sector, Ben Greensmith, UK & Ireland Country Manager at Tony’s, says: “There are still over 30,000 cases of modern slavery and 1.56 million cases of child labour on cocoa farms in West Africa today and we must work together to ensure lasting change. Wanting to inspire chocolatiers to act and to help us make all chocolate 100% slave free we developed five ‘Sourcing Principles’ to establish more equal business relationships with our suppliers in West Africa.” These are:
• Traceable cocoa beans – Tony’s trades directly and on equal footing with cocoa farmers and farming cooperatives, through the use of Tony’s Beantracker and CLMRS (a tool by International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), for traceability on social data on illegal - & child labour).
• A higher price – We bridge the gap between the Fairtrade price and the living income reference price (LIRP) with the Tony’s premium which is paid directly to cocoa cooperatives so they and the farmers themselves can decide how best to spend it.
• Strong farmers – Tony’s works with and invests in farming cooperatives and farms, giving farmers more power to structurally change inequality and become more profitable.
• The long-term – Tony’s engages in five-year commitments with cooperatives to facilitate investments, enabling them to make better choices.
• Quality and productivity – Tony’s invests in agricultural knowledge and skills related to growing cocoa by
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