The chocolate and cocoa industry has spent more than US$75 million over the last decade in support of cocoa families and communities. In 2009-2010 alone, the industry has spent more than US$40 million on projects across West Africa. Here’s how we are making a difference:
Promotion of acceptable labor practices
The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) is a charitable foundation created in 2002 to tackle the problems of child labour, child trafficking and forced adult labour in the cocoa supply-chain. ICI is a unique partnership between civil society, labour unions and the chocolate industry, working together with the authorities in cocoa-producing countries, with national and international technical agencies, and with the cocoa-growing communities themselves to offer a real and sustainable solution.
Based on 10 years of experience and presence in the field, ICI strongly believes that tackling the issue of child and forced labour as well as trafficking requires coordinated action on multiple fronts. Actions are not only needed at community level, but also at national, regional and international level to ensure effective results and lasting change.
Therefore, ICI currently works at the International and Regional Levels to ensure that all its efforts are coherent with international norms, and are backed up by political commitments at the highest level. At local level, ICI has developed a process that raises awareness of cocoa farmers about labour standards, and helps them address the challenges they face. In between, ICI works with all actors along the supply-chain to ensure that the problems of child and forced labour remain visible and can be appropriately and responsibly addressed.
A credible independent partner, endorsed by multiple and diverse stakeholders, ICI is now a recognized technical leader and reference point for:
- Understanding what causes child labour in cocoa-growing communities;
- Empowering cocoa-growing communities to better manage the risk of child labour;
- Protecting vulnerable children;
- Influencing other actors in the global cocoa supply chain; and
- Supporting national efforts for coordination and child labour mitigation.
Greater opportunities for economic development
- The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Farmer Field Schools program supports cocoa farmers with practical on-the-ground assistance and agricultural best practices that will help them grow a better quality cocoa crop and more of it. Additionally, farmers learn how to diversify their crops to and how to get them to market easier. As a result, participating farmers are now earning 20% and in some cases 55% more in income.
Industry has engaged with a number of partners and implementers both directly and through organizations such as the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative. These partners include: Africare, CARE International, CARITAS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Family Health International, GTZ, International Fund for Education and Self-Help, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, and Winrock International, among many others.
Company Initiatives
Individual companies also have programs designed to create a sustainable supply chain. Following is an overview of several company-led initiatives.
As one of the world’s largest cocoa and chocolate manufacturers, ADM is committed to a sustainable future for cocoa farming. In 2005, ADM launched the Socially & Environmentally Responsible Agriculture Practices (SERAP) Program, which rewards select West African cooperatives committed to implementing sustainable practices. The program seeks to foster collaboration among growers as they work to address social and environmental issues. During the 2008-2009 growing year, 24 co-ops, representing more than 12,300 cocoa farmers participated in the SERAP program. ADM believes that by working with farmers, grower cooperatives, local traders, NGOs, academia, industry partners and governments, we can help improve the lives of cocoa farmers and their communities.
http://www.adm.com/en-US/responsibility/Documents/video_africa.html
http://www.adm.com/en-US/responsibility/2011CR/Pages/cocoa.aspx
Through its broad range of sustainability initiatives and research activities, Barry Callebaut works with farmers, farmer organizations and other partners to help ensure future supplies of cocoa, improve farmer livelihoods, and address social conditions in cocoa communities including efforts to reduce the worst forms of child labor.
Barry Callebaut’s business depends on cocoa, a sensitive crop grown in a narrow geographical band near the Equator by mainly smallholder farmers and their families. While 2010/11 delivered a bumper cocoa crop due to favorable weather conditions, during the last six years the annual cocoa supply has frequently fallen short of demand. To help address the overall decline in cocoa production, Barry Callebaut has made sustainable cocoa a pillar of its growth strategy and accelerated its longtime efforts to ensure sustainable cocoa production.
Barry Callebaut defines cocoa production as “sustainable” when farmers earn equitable income, engage in responsible labor practices, safeguard the environment through sound agricultural practices, and can provide for the basic health and education needs and general well-being of their families.
In March 2012, Barry Callebaut launched a CHF 40 million cocoa sustainability initiative called Cocoa Horizons to boost farm productivity, increase quality and improve family livelihoods in key cocoa producing countries in West and Central Africa and Indonesia over 10 years. The company is investing in farmer training, infrastructure including schools, and community education and health programs.
Cocoa Horizons is the most ambitious and far reaching sustainability program in Barry Callebaut’s history. The initiative builds on Barry Callebaut’s proven Quality Partner Program (QPP) for cocoa farmer cooperatives. Launched in 2005, and now engaging more than 40,000 farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, QPP was the first program of its kind to emphasize quality improvement goals for cocoa as well as farming practices.
Barry Callebaut’s sustainability activities focus on three main spheres of activity:
Farmer Practices – Enabling farmers to boost farm productivity and cocoa quality through training programs in yield enhancement techniques and sustainable cocoa production, and to be eligible for independent certification according to multiple cocoa sustainability standards. Barry Callebaut expects to reach an additional 50,000 smallholder farmers through its various training activities over the next 10 years. Agricultural training offers a pathway for interested farmers and famer organizations to works towards compliance with certification standards including Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified, organic and others. Barry Callebaut began offering certification training to farmers in 2001. Currently, Barry Callebaut is conducting more than 400 Farmer Field Schools and working with more than 50 cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire alone to help enable famers to meet their goals for independent certification. By working with cocoa farmers to improve crop yields and quality, Barry Callebaut aims to increase farmer incomes and improve family livelihoods and well-being.
Farmer Education – Community-centered education activities aim to develop the next generation of young cocoa farmers, including tailored activities for women and youth. A curriculum to promote cocoa farming education and business skills training will be promoted. Farmers participating in Barry Callebaut programs receive sensitization on the issue of the worst forms of child labor as an integral part of their training. Focus areas also include functional literacy and health and safety practices.
Farmer Health – Integrated actions to improve access to basic health care and potable water for cocoa farmers and their families. These actions aim to enhance rural community welfare and support local institutions and services.
With the launch of the Cocoa Horizons initiative, Barry Callebaut further underscored its long-term commitment to ensuring that cocoa is grown in a sustainable and responsible way that generates income for farmers and their families. In addition, the company works in partnership with other companies, civil society and government authorities on multi-stakeholder initiatives that aim to build thriving cocoa communities.
http://www.barry-callebaut.com/csr
http://www.qualitypartnerprogram.com/en/
At Cargill, sustainability is an integral part of our cocoa and chocolate business. The Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program is working to secure the long term sustainability of cocoa production and to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and their families.
By teaching sustainable agricultural practices and introducing more business transparency it is enabling farmers to increase their yields and incomes. Cargill has been training Ivorian cocoa farmers for more than 10 years and each year our network of over 1,100 farmer field schools in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon help tens of thousands of farmers to adopt more sustainable practices that enable them to increase their yields and incomes, as well as enable cooperatives to obtain independent UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification.
As well as strengthening the cocoa supply chain, the program is improving livelihoods in cocoa farming communities by supporting better access to education and healthcare. In partnership with industry, governments, NGOs and local communities, the program is making a real and lasting difference while working towards a sustainable future for mainstream cocoa.
More information about the Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program is available at http://www.cargill.com/corporate-responsibility/pov/cocoa-sourcing/index.jsp
The Ferrero Group and all of its companies have the highest commitment to human rights and dignity for all people, and thus support numerous universal declarations and conventions on human rights and child labor. In addition, the Group adheres to the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, which directly addresses human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
Importantly, Ferrero is working tirelessly with partners in different regions to reach the goal of 100% sustainable cocoa by 2020 and achieve independent, credible, third-party verification of its cocoa sourcing by recognized certification programs such as UTZ Certified, Rainforest Alliance and CCE (Certification Capacity Enhancement). This verification aims to ensure that trafficking, the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor will be eradicated in its cocoa supply chain.
Towards this goal, the Group has created a roadmap for achievement in the core cocoa-producing countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Ecuador:
Percentage of Cocoa Verified on Total Volume by Year
| 20% | 2011/2013 |
| 40% | 2013/2015 |
| 60% | 2015/2017 |
| 80% | 2017/2019 |
| 100% | 2020 |
Ferrero’s commitment to the respect of human rights, together with its core values, constitutes the basis of its policies and everyday activities. Ferrero implements this commitment through:
- The application of a Code of Business Conduct to all trade partners throughout the entire supply chain.
- The application of a Code of Ethics for all employees and all supply chain partners.
- Corporate Social Responsibility engagement, including policies applied at the global level in all relevant fields.
Ferrero diligently integrates the standards and obligations of these codes into its everyday business practices. Through its Code of Business Conduct, Ferrero requires all of its trade partners to be compliant with the goals of the Code. Towards this end, a standard clause is inserted in all third-party contracts confirming that all goods purchased by and from suppliers have been obtained and transformed in full compliance with all local and other applicable laws, regulations and rules, as well as with the requirements established by relevant international conventions.
Whenever possible, Ferrero uses its influence towards reducing the worst forms of child labor, slavery and human trafficking by deploying on-the-ground efforts with the full support of relevant authorities. For example, in early 2012 Ferrero joined with Source Trust Ghana to create an innovative, community-based, farmer-organization program–The Ferrero Cocoa Community Commitment (F3C)–which accelerates the “Ghana Child Labor Monitoring System” from 30 pilot communities to 162 (in partnership with the Ghanaian government) while providing training and educational services for farmers and children through the establishment of eight “village resource centers”. The program reaches over 8,000 cocoa-farming families and more than 26,000 children. Farmers will be trained through “Certification Capacity Enhancement” (CCE).
In addition, Ferrero is a Board member of both the International Cocoa Initiative and the World Cocoa Foundation and is actively supporting the African Cocoa Initiative.
Web resources: http://www.ferrero.com
The Hershey Company cares deeply about improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their families in West Africa and other cocoa-growing regions. We work hard to ensure that our cocoa is responsibly sourced. In fact, our support for cocoa communities goes back more than 50 years.
In January 2012, we announced a $10 million, five-year commitment behind a comprehensive set of programs and initiatives to reduce child labor and improve cocoa supply in West Africa. These initiatives include making Hershey’s Bliss® products with 100 percent cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. Rainforest Alliance farms have met comprehensive standards that protect the environment and ensure the safety and well-being of workers, their families and communities, including instances of identifying unsafe or illegal child labor.
In 2012, we are also creating the HERSHEY LEARN TO GROW Farm and Family Development Center in Ghana. The Center will deliver training that seeks to double yields and income and improve the living standards of 1,250 cocoa farm families over four years through improved agricultural, environmental, social and business practices that will also address the child labor issue.
We are currently expanding our innovative CocoaLink mobile phone program – launched in 2011 in Ghana – to farmers in Ivory Coast. CocoaLink is a first-of-its kind program that uses mobile technology to give farmers information that will help increase their yields and their incomes, improve their family’s standard of living, reduce the need for child labor, and increase the opportunity for their children to attend school and receive an education. CocoaLink became one of the first corporate programs reviewed and endorsed by the Department of Labor and other key stakeholders as part of the $17 million Framework of Action to combat the worst forms of child labor in West Africa.
We have also formed strong partnerships with U.S. and local governments, development organizations, nonprofits, and industry peers to develop programs that are making a significant difference in West Africa. No one company or entity – or single approach – can effectively address these issues.
We are a founding member of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and the WCF’s ECHOES (Empowering Cocoa Households with Opportunities and Education Solutions) Alliance. For more than a decade, these programs we help fund have:
Established farm schools based in cocoa fields and vocational training opportunities for underserved rural youth in cocoa-growing regions.Please visit The Hershey Company website for more information about our cocoa sourcing programs and all of our Corporate Social Responsibility programs.
Kraft Foods is committed to the sector. We are interested in seeing the region and its citizens prosper. Both the viability of the cacao crops and success of its farmers are also important to our own long-term success in the region.
Our commitment is clear when you look at our cocoa sustainability investment in the sector: $10 million in 2010 and over $70 million for our commitments to date.
To learn about our work and investment with many valued partners, e.g., Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Cocoa Initiative, and the World Cocoa Foundation, we invite you to visit our website on how we’re Sweetening the Supply of Cocoa. One of our key investments to the sector is our Cadbury Cocoa Partnership. Launched in 2008, the Partnership is a multi-stakeholder initiative and includes government, NGO, farmer and business input. It is a £45mm investment over 10 years across all of our cocoa origins, including a £30mm investment in Ghana as a key origin. Our vision and approach of the Partnership remain the same, to develop thriving rural cocoa communities that support a sustainable cocoa supply chain by empowering communities to take ownership of their own development.
The Framework of Action has approved $1.548 million through a set of initiatives supported by Kraft Foods. The proposals will be coordinated under the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, a holistic program that supports thriving rural cocoa communities through the improvement of the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and the reduction of child labor in farming families. By working to increase the incomes of households with at risk children and increasing educational access for children in those farming families, the program furthers the goals of the Framework.
Through its Sustainable Cocoa Initiative, Mars Chocolate invests tens of millions of dollars annually in cocoa-focused agricultural research, technology transfer programs to increase yields and income for farmers in Africa and Asia, and certification programs to promote acceptable conditions for farmers in our supply chain. Our guiding principle is to put ‘Farmers First,’ by prioritizing activities through which farmers will achieve higher yields and larger incomes that will in turn support broader social development and better environmental protection.
Mars was the first manufacturer to commit to 100% certified cocoa by 2020, and in 2010, we completed mapping the cocoa genome 2 years early and have since released the genome into the public domain at www.cacaogenome.db. Our Vision for Change program in West Africa is currently working to double or triple yields for 150,000 farmers in the Soubre region of Cote d’Ivoire.
As a supporter of World Cocoa Foundation, International Cocoa Initiative, Sustainable Treecrops Program and the Gates Foundation’s Cocoa Livelihoods Program, Mars recognizes that a sustainable cocoa industry will only come from radical collaboration across the whole sector. For more information, please visit www.cocoasustainability.com or www.mars.com/cocoasustainability.
The Nestle Cocoa Plan brings together all of Nestle’s activities to promote sustainable cocoa supply under one banner.
The plan, which is backed by an investment of CHF 110 million, aims to address the key issues facing the cocoa farming communities Nestle works with from an economic, social and environmental perspective. By improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers, the Cocoa Plan aims to improve social conditions in cocoa farming communities .
Through The Cocoa Plan we are building relationships with co-operatives and farmer associations. We are also working with partner organizations such as the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF).
Our targets for 2012 are:
- Source 10% of our global cocoa supply via The Nestle Cocoa Plan;
- Deliver more than one million disease-resistant cocoa plantlets to farmers;
- Partner with the World Cocoa Foundation ECHOES programme in West Africa to build or refurbish 40 schools over four years, provide complimentary activities such as adult livelihoods education, and provide 140 family support scholarships for children’s education and women’s entrepreneurship.
The Cocoa Plan is part of Nestle’s broader approach to Creating Shared Value.