Cocoa farmers and their communities face several complex challenges, including:
Productivity: limited knowledge of farming techniques, limited access to planting materials, pests and disease
Environmental: climate change, deforestation, aging trees, unfertile soil
Social: lack of access to quality education, risk of child labor, gender inequality, fewer leadership roles for women
Financial: risk of poverty, lack of access to finance
Cocoa Life works with partners to help address those challenges by helping to lift the people and protect the landscapes where cocoa grows.
Cocoa Life is Mondelēz International’s global cocoa sustainability program.
As one of the world’s leading snacking companies, it is a major priority to make our most important ingredients, such as cocoa, right. Launched in 2012, Cocoa Life is a US$1 billion investment by Mondelēz International through to 2030 to help make cocoa sourcing more sustainable in key cocoa-producing countries.
Cocoa Life helps make cocoa right. It helps lift the people and protect the landscapes, with the aim of bringing dynamic change to communities and forests where the cocoa bean grows before it becomes the chocolate for the snacks the world loves.
“With our US$1 billion total investment between 2012 and 2030, we are in a unique position to apply 10 years of progress and learnings. Cocoa Life believes in smart innovation and collaboration for transformational impact. With our partners, we support farmers, communities and their landscapes through actions like Targeted Good Agricultural Practices, Payment for Environmental Services and Community Action Plans."
Cedric van Cutsem, Senior Director Cocoa Life, Mondelēz International
By 2025, we aim for 100% of cocoa volumes for Mondelēz International chocolate brands to be sourced, on a mass balance approach, through Cocoa Life1. We also have a goal to further increase our cocoa volume scale and reach around 300,000 farmers by 2030.
“Cocoa Life is on a long-term journey to help create a vibrant, strong cocoa supply chain while growing opportunities to help transform the livelihoods of farmers and their communities. We believe that empowered, thriving cocoa communities are the essential foundation for more sustainable cocoa."
Cathy Pieters, VP Sustainable Ingredients & Cocoa Life, Mondelēz International
- We aim to regularly and transparently report our progress. You can find additional details on Mondelēz International’s ESG goals and reported information within the About This Report section of our 2023 Snacking Made Right Report.↩
Our purpose is to help make cocoa right.
And our mission?
Moving cocoa forward faster by helping lift the people and protect the landscapes where cocoa grows.
Learn more
Through our integrated approach, we aim to make cocoa sourcing more sustainable.
Cocoa Life takes action for people and landscapes by:
1. Helping to grow more profitable cocoa businesses
for communities to help increase the number of farming households reaching a living income.
2. Helping to lift cocoa communities
to help enhance child protection systems and improve access to quality education in Cocoa Life communities.
3. Helping to protect and restore forests
to seek no deforestation on Cocoa Life farms.
Learn more
A more sustainable cocoa supply begins with empowered cocoa farming households
Profitable farming businesses lead to financial resilience
The work of children is education and play
When women rise, cocoa thrives
Conserving the land and forests for today and for tomorrow
Integrity and accountability are as important as sun and water
Partnership is the key to lasting change
Choosing the Cocoa Life logo means everyone can love our chocolate as much as we do, because we support making cocoa the right way.
Our brands aim to support the cocoa farming communities that make possible the chocolate we all love.
FOLLOW OUR PROGRESS
PROGRESS BLOG
10 Stories for 10 Years of Moving Cocoa Forward Together
This page was updated in April 2024.