At Mondelez International we are passionate about chocolate. We channel that passion for positive impact through Cocoa Life, our global cocoa sustainability program designed to ensure cocoa is made right. As the world continues to manage a global pandemic, this impact feels more important today than ever. While many things have changed due to COVID-19, the issues we are tackling and actions we are taking to respond to the needs of the people at the heart of Cocoa Life remain equally as pressing.
Mondelēz International is living its purpose of empowering people to snack right by using its scale to create lasting change for the better. Our 2019 Snacking Made Right Report shows the significant progress we have made towards creating resilient and sustainable supply chains – progress that has been made possible in great part due to our Cocoa Life program.
By the end of 2019, there were 175,017 farmers registered with Cocoa Life, on track for our commitment to reach 200,000 cocoa farmers by 2022. Furthermore, 63% cocoa volume for our chocolate brands is now sourced through Cocoa Life, which brings us even closer to our 2025 goal of 100%.
In 2019, we also made strong progress across our three key areas of intervention.
MAKING COCOA FARMING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
At Cocoa Life, we work on the ground with 175,017 farmers in 2,012 communities focusing on where we can make the biggest difference. Working with the men and women who make their living from cocoa, we help them become more knowledgeable and to make their farms more productive.
We encourage the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in a targeted way, to help farmers prioritize the most effective actions. To date we have trained all cocoa farmers in GAP and distributed 10,809,555 cocoa seedlings across our cocoa origins, to improve farm productivity, a figure which has almost doubled since our 2017 figure of 5,753,969.
CREATING EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES
At Cocoa Life we believe a sustainable cocoa supply begins with empowered cocoa farmers. We are empowering men, women and youth within cocoa communities to lead their own development and improve livelihoods through entrepreneurship. By the end of 2019, we had trained over 19,000 youth in cocoa-related enterprises to support their income. This is more than double our 2017 figure of 7,591.
Gender equality benefits everyone. By including women and young adults in the decisions, the whole community benefits from more rounded sustainable plans and actions. At the end of 2019, we had trained 97,860 community members on gender awareness.
Through savings and loans groups we support farming families in increasing their resilience and ability to withstand the impacts of crop seasonality and changes in weather patterns. Over the past two years, we have more than doubled the number of community members participating in Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), from 51,566 in 2017, to over 121,000 in 2019.
CONSERVING AND RESTORING FORESTS
Working closely together with farmers, communities and partners, we protect and restore the land and forests where cocoa is grown. Cocoa Life encourages and equips cocoa farmers and communities to protect the land where cocoa is grown, providing training on the importance of environmental protection. By 2019, the number of farmers we had trained in Good Environmental Practices was 172,285, more than double the 2017 figure of 68,163.
Understanding where and under what conditions cocoa is produced is also vital. The most efficient way to achieve this is to map and monitor farms. We openly publish this data to promote supply chain transparency. We have already mapped more than 149,700 farms registered with Cocoa Life by end of 2019.
Cocoa Life’s work conserving and restoring forests plays a critical part in achieving Mondelēz International’s company-wide science-based target to reduce end-to-end greenhouse emissions by 10% by 2025, compared to 2018.
LOOKING AHEAD
During this extremely challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to doing everything we can to keep our farmers and their communities safe and as prosperous as possible. We’re supporting government-led activities, while also contributing to relief projects of our partners on the ground, with a focus on health and safety, income continuity and child protection. Read more here.
Now more than ever, as we all continue to tackle the unprecedented challenges, we’re not losing focus on the vital work on the ground. We have a responsibility to the farmers and communities in our program. Our commitment to supporting these communities through this time stands strong.
Through Cocoa Life we are leading the action to drive the sector wide collaboration needed to address key issues and achieve real change in cocoa-growing communities. It is the only way to build a resilient supply of cocoa for the long-term, grown by empowered communities so that consumers can enjoy their chocolate knowing it has been made right.
"We know consumers are increasingly aware of the impact their choices have on the world and what the companies behind those products stand for. We believe in making our snacks the right way, which means to both create a future in which people and planet thrive and to stand up for what we believe in. Today’s release of our Snacking Made Right report is an important step forward as we continue to demonstrate our progress on that journey."
Christine Montenegro McGrath, Vice President and Chief of Impact, Sustainability and Well-being at Mondelēz International
