Mondelēz International has announced the next phase of its Cocoa Life program, which has been backed by an additional US$600 million through 2030, marking a total of $1 billion investment since the beginning of the program.
The goal is to increase cocoa volume at scale and work with approximately 300,00 farmers by 2030. With the investment, the company aims to catalyse sector collaboration to address systemic environmental and human rights challenges and improve cocoa farmer livelihoods.
“As one of the world’s leading snacking companies, it is a priority to continue making our most important ingredients, such as cocoa, right, and Cocoa Life sits at the heart of this strategy,” explained Dirk Van de Put, Chairman & CEO, Mondelēz International. “While we are excited about the promise of our investments, we are calling for more sector-wide effort and actions to drive greater impact, including new private-public partnerships.”
Cocoa Life was introduced in 2012 to secure supply of more sustainable cocoa and establish an integrated approach to tackle issues in cocoa including farm productivity, farmer livelihoods, community development and child labour and deforestation. 10 years on, the program has reached over 200,000 farmers with $400 million having been invested by the end of the 2022.
The impact of the program has been reflecting in its results which includes farmer net incomes having increased, by 15% in Ghana and 33% in Cote d’Ivoire; cocoa yields are higher; and 61% of Cocoa Life communities in West Africa have been covered with Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems.
Key lessons from the last decade will allow Mondelēz to accelerate the program as “more work remains to be done”. This includes focusing on enabling farmers to increase their income, professionalise smallholder cocoa farming and introducing climate-resilient production models.
Focus areas of the program will be on farmer income – working to secure decent prices for farmers – child protection and education, and no deforestation – strengthening deforestation monitoring systems.
“As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Cocoa Life, we are excited to announce the next phase,” said Christine Montenegro McGrath, Senior Vice President and Chief Impact and Sustainability Officer, Mondelēz International. “While progress and impact have been made, cocoa farmers and their communities are still facing big challenges. We are passionate about helping to drive lasting change across the whole cocoa sector.”
“[We] are doubling down on Cocoa Life’s integrated approach because we know only a sector-wide long-term strategy, supported by action by all industry players, producing and consuming governments, and civil society will lead to lasting impact,” she concluded.
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