Rainforest Alliance and Mars team on sustainability
Mars and the Rainforest Alliance have unwrapped new goals in their campaign to help cocoa farmers get on the path toward sustainability. The global company and the NGO agreed to redouble efforts to help thousands of farmers meet holistic social and environmental standards so that their farms could earn Rainforest Alliance certification.
Mars aims to buy enough certified cocoa so that the Galaxy chocolate bar can bear the Rainforest Alliance Certified green seal of approval by early 2010. The company also has committed to getting its entire cocoa supply certified as sustainably produced by 2020. The Rainforest Alliance accepted the company’s challenge to bring enough farms up to code so that 100,000 tonnes of Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa would be available each year by 2020.
Since farmers manage small plots of about three hectares, the amount of cocoa beans used for Galaxy will require the annual harvest of several thousand farmers. “Mars’ commitment to buying sustainable cocoa is unprecedented in size and scope, and the benefits to farmers, tropical environments and wildlife will be tangible,” says Tensie Whelan, president of the Rainforest Alliance. “This initiative is an example of the tremendous impact global companies can have when they commit to sustainability.”
The Rainforest Alliance and Mars’ staff began sharing ideas and expertise a decade ago. The Rainforest Alliance has been working with Mars in Cote d’Ivoire for two years as part of the Mars Partnership for African Cocoa Communities of Tomorrow (iMPACT) program, a coalition of groups whose goal is to ensure future supplies of cocoa and a responsible approach to its production.
“We are proud to share the vision with the Rainforest Alliance for a more sustainable cocoa industry characterised by productive and profitable farms that create vibrant cocoa communities and conserve their natural assets for future generations,” says Paul Michaels, Mars CEO and president.
