Mondelēz to strengthen cocoa supply chain

Confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate Mondelēz International has revealed it will strengthen efforts to address child labour in cocoa production under its Cocoa Life project.

Human rights consultancy Embode has published the results of two independent assessments of child protection in the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

Mondelēz commissioned these assessments as part of the company’s continuing efforts to empower cocoa-farming communities through its Cocoa Life programme, a $400 million investment to empower 200,000 farmers and reach over 1m people in cocoa-growing communities. Embode assessed conditions in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana in 2015 and analysed the environment and national child protection infrastructure.

Embode recognises Cocoa Life’s potential to drive meaningful change at scale by tackling the root causes of child labor, and recommends Mondelēz build on its existing approach to strengthen cocoa communities’ capacity to foster the wellbeing of children.

For both countries, Embode’s recommends Cocoa Life develop and implement a child protection policy and code, which would explicitly require the reporting and referral of child protection cases, including child labor and child slavery.

In addition, the human rights consultancy suggests Cocoa Life take more initiatives aimed at improving children’s access to education as well as review targets and indicators to measure progress on children’s wellbeing.

Embode also says the programme should work alongside communities with a ‘system-strengthening’ approach to ensure sustainability of outcomes over the long term, as well as work in closer partnership with local and national authorities to align and contribute to governments’ strategies for cocoa sustainability and child wellbeing.

“We value Embode’s insights and plan to implement the recommendations for our Cocoa Life programme,” said Cathy Pieters, director of Mondelēz’s Cocoa Life programme.

“We’ll consult with our programme partners and government authorities to strengthen existing child protection structures, improve access to education and continue to address root causes like poverty in Cocoa Life communities in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.”

Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International, added, “Embode’s reports are a significant step forward for transparency and offer new thinking on ways to address the root causes of child labor in cocoa farming.

“Further engaging with other businesses through existing non-competitive platforms within the cocoa sector to address these issues will be crucial to help deliver wider impact.”