Most major chocolate makers have committed to sourcing more sustainable cocoa, but labor and environmental issues still persist, according to the national environmental nonprofit Green America. Their latest Chocolate Scorecard ranked Mondelez, Ferrero, and Godiva at the bottom.
Green America tracks each company’s certification commitments as well as corporate programs that support farmers, address child labor when it’s found, and work to prevent deforestation. The nonprofit used publicly available information from corporate websites, sustainability reports as well as some privately disclosed information to inform the final grades.
At the top: Alter Eco, Divine, Endangered Species, Equal Exchange, Shaman, Theo Chocolate, and Tony’s Chocolonely all received A grades for having 100% certified cocoa, efforts to end deforestation, and labor certifications such as Fairtrade, Fair Trade USA, the IMO Fair for Life, and Rainforest Alliance. Guittard got a B+.
“Although companies may have programs going beyond certification that sound similar, they can vary in practice in regards to how comprehensive and impactful they are, and the final grade reflects that,” Green America noted.
Mars and Nestlé each received a C+. Mars, which is investing $1 billion over 10 years, has a goal of reaching 100% responsibly sourced and traceable cocoa by 2025. Currently the company has 47% sustainable cocoa in its supply chain, Green America’s scorecard says.
Nestlé’s investment was around $110 million from 2010 to 2019 and the company has a goal of reaching 230,000 tons of cocoa sourced by 2020 — an estimated 57% of their anticipated supply. Right now 186,358 tons of cocoa are certified, or 42.9%. Lindt and Hershey each got a C grade.
Mondelez and Ferrero were given D grades. Mondelez’s in-house certification scheme Cocoa Life does not guarantee farmers a minimum price, doesn’t have standards that were written in consultation with farmers, and there’s not much transparency about the standards, according to Green America. Despite having Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Utz certifications, Ferrero’s financial investment in sustainable cocoa was “not available.”
At the very bottom: Godiva with an F. “Godiva has stated on its website that it has a goal of sourcing 100% sustainable cocoa by 2020,” Green America said. “It has not indicated which certifications it is sourcing from, what progress it is making with this goal, or what additional steps it is taking to address child labor and farmer income. While its competitors publish annual reports on their progress, Godiva only reports minimal information on its website.”
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