Mars Wrigley notes progress on traceability for cocoa supply chains, yet acknowledges challenges
Image by David Greenwood-Haigh from Pixabay
US-headquartered confectionery giant Mars Wrigley, today has released a key update on its Cocoa for Generations progress report on delivering sustainable supply chains, expressing confidence in reaching its major goals, reports Neill Barston.
The company conceded that while there were notable challenges ahead in its target of 100% traceable sourcing from its origin of purchase by 2025, it maintained that significant gains have been made, including a total of 61% of its sector crops now being acquired through its dedicated programmes to improve conditions for farmers in Ivory Coast and Ghana.
As the business noted, its progress against the goals laid out in the Cocoa for Generations strategy include two notable milestones: this includes unlocking opportunities for women. In collaboration with CARE, the Women for Change program has reached more than 77,000 members in cocoa farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, through its Village Savings and Loans Association program. This effort has supported almost 58,000 women, resulting in over $7.4 million in collective savings and over $3.7 million in loans distributed.
These funds have been used in a variety of ways, including cocoa farming activities; household related expenses, such as access to education, health needs, and nutritious food; and additional income-generating activities, including growing other crops like rice, and raising sheep, pigs, and other livestock.
The second factor is in tackling deforestation, with the company asserting it is on its way to achieving a deforestation- and conversion-free supply chain for 100% of the cocoa it sources by 2025. One effort driving the company’s progress is farm plot polygon mapping, which traces the perimeter of a farm rather than only one GPS point and results in increased traceability from the farm to the first point of purchase; by the end of 2021, almost 80% of cocoa plots from which Mars Wrigley sources have been mapped.
Through its suppliers, Mars Wrigley has distributed more than 1.9 million new non-cocoa trees in 2021, helping to increase shade and biodiversity and capture carbon.
Achieving its goal of the cocoa it sources being 100% deforestation- and conversion-free will deliver an estimated 20% reduction in Mars Wrigley’s total greenhouse gas footprint, progress towards Mars, Incorporated broader ambition of achieving a 27% reduction of value chain emissions by 2025 as well as net zero emissions across the full value chain by 2050.
Andrew Clarke, Mars Wrigley Global President noted the situation remained complex. He said: “Too many cocoa farmers continue to face a series of challenges from poverty to child labor and deforestation. The impacts of climate change and global crises are exacerbating existing vulnerabilities across cocoa farming communities and beyond. This is why we aim to accelerate the transformation of the cocoa supply chain so that it benefits both people and the planet. To get there, we’re working to protect children, preserve forests, and improve farmer incomes. We are challenging ourselves and the entire sector to evolve and adopt approaches that deliver greater impact where it matters most – in cocoa farming communities across Latin America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.”
The company’s report details Mars Wrigley’s significant progress in 2021 and highlights notable achievements to date. Enabled by its Cocoa for Generations strategy, Mars Wrigley is strongly committed to accelerating the transformation of the cocoa supply chain. Mars Wrigley is backing its commitment with action. Recently, the company launched two groundbreaking programs that aim to support 14,000 smallholder farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia on a path to a sustainable living income by 2030.
Amber Johnson, Vice-President Mars Wrigley Cocoa added: “We can’t do this work alone. The shifts and the scale to reach sustained, demonstrable improvements for cocoa farming families and their communities requires thinking and collaborating in new ways. We are working to transform the cocoa ecosystem, and while we’ve made important progress to-date, we’re not done yet.
“Through our programmes and in collaboration with key global partners, including industry peers, governments, development agencies, research institutions and civil society organisations, we’re sharing what works and what we learn along the way. We remain constructively discontent – relentless in our work to create a modern, inclusive, and sustainable cocoa supply chain. One where the environment is protected, human rights are respected, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”