operational and environmental – in its supply chain. “We work together with our partner
cooperatives to professionalise farming cooperatives and farms, giving farmers more power to structurally change inequality and become more profitable. If incidents of child labour are found, instead of stopping our work with that farmer, we work together on remediating the situation and improving circumstances because punishment won’t solve the issue. We believe this is the way to have true impact and change the norm of the cocoa industry,” reasons Joke.
All farms that Tony’s sources cocoa from,
no matter the size, are GPS polygon mapped to ensure cocoa is not growing in protected/ deforested land. This data is owned by its partner cooperatives, which means they can use it to make informed decisions. “It is thanks to this that we can state with confidence that 100% of our cocoa is verified deforestation-free, resulting in 87% lower emissions in Ghana and 95% lower emissions in Côte d’Ivoire,” continues Joke. Tony’s is calling for broader mandatory due diligence legislation that encompasses both environmental harms and human rights violations to ensure the products we all enjoy do not cause the exploitation of people or the planet. Those who are interested in making a change, can join the Tony’s Open Chain way of working- an industry-led initiative that helps chocolate brands transform their cocoa supply chains and become sustainability frontrunners.
Technology is key
Driving sustainable change is easier said than done, even if the will is there, however, because the cocoa supply chain is made up of many thousands of smallholder farmers in remote areas. It requires a granular understanding of how and where cocoa is sourced so interventions can be targeted and impactful. Developments in technology are making easier to collect, analyse and act upon vast amounts of data. From detailed deforestation mapping and child labour monitoring to AI-powered carbon measurement tools, new technologies can help accelerate sustainability progress and provide companies with enhanced traceability and transparency – which is key ahead of new regulations in Europe and beyond. We have been harnessing the power of technology in our own supply chain, using
KennedysConfection.com Tony2
The issue of poverty is important to
the overall sustainability of cocoa, as it leads to so many other issues”
it to accelerate progress towards our Cocoa Compass sustainability goals,” says Andrew Brooks, Global Head of Cocoa Sustainability at ofi. “For example, we achieved 100% deforestation monitoring in our direct cocoa supply chain to farm or community, in 2020. Now, we have gone a step further by rolling out polygon mapping to over 80% of cocoa farms in our direct supply chain.” Andrew explained how this not only maps the landscape around a farm but also traces its perimeter using GPS polygons – an extra layer of detail that helps ensure the volume of cocoa purchased respects the farm’s capacity and supports its ability to grow cocoa in the future. “This advanced traceability and farm mapping helps to identify and tackle deforestation, while also helping our customers to comply with incoming EUDR requirements,” he says. Increasingly, it looks like technology is being employed to identify areas for intervention and track progress, it will also model the potential future impact of sustainability action. ofi’s Carbon Scenario Planner, for example, helps
confectionery customers model and understand the impact that different agricultural practices could have on greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chain, helping them deliver on their Scope 3 emissions targets, which are emissions that are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organisation, but that do form part of its value chain. “The impact of this can be significant,” continues Andrew. “We recently used the Carbon Scenario Planner as part of a GHG reduction project in Nigeria, with a global chocolate manufacturer to help achieve its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) targets. We modelled that, by training over 1,700 farmers to mulch cocoa pod husks instead of leaving them to rot on the ground, there is scope to reduce emissions from crop residues by 85% over the 25-year project term.” While there is no easy solution to ensuring truly sustainable cocoa production, it seems that collaboration and the use of technology are going some way to helping identify the way forward. However, unless all stakeholders in the chocolate supply chain are willing to engage in the process, progress will remain difficult. It is time for the chocolate giants, and their shareholders, to actively engage in the process of collaboration and change. Business models need to change and the chocolate industry needs to do more than simply paying lip service to the issues of sustainability or it risks killing the goose that is laying its golden eggs.
Kennedy’s Confection June 2024 23
mage courtesy Tony’s Chocolonely.
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